Military OKs dreadlocks and cornrow hairstyles

Freda'sMom

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The Pentagon is rolling back its grip on how military personnel wear their hair, and will now allow twisted braids, dreadlocks, and cornrows after complaints that banning them was racist.

"Each service reviewed its hairstyle policies to ensure standards are fair and respectful while also meeting military requirements," Hagel wrote in a letter to Congress. "These reviews were informed by a panel of military personnel of mixed demographics reflective of our diverse force."

The previous regulations prohibited female soldiers from wearing twists or multiple braids bigger than a quarter of an inch in diameter. The regulations also banned all dreadlocks and required that cornrow styles be uniform and smaller than a quarter of an inch.

The changes come after military personnel voiced complaints that the regulations were targeted mostly at styles worn by black female soldiers. The Congressional Black Caucus, including member Rep. Terri Sewell, R-Birmingham, wrote to Hagel asking him to reconsider the changes.

I don't think this will cause any problems, what's the big deal with a hairstyle anyway? As long as it's not unsafe, let them wear it the way they want to.
 
How about facial piercings as long as they don't get in the way?
Visible tattoos?
 
Why not, it's Friday.

My PERSONAL opinion about hair style, as long as it doesn't detract from wearing headgears and protective gears (Chemical mask or helmets), I don't care.

I simply hate military service members wearing a head gear wrong or several size bigger to accommodate their style.
 
How about facial piercings as long as they don't get in the way?
Visible tattoos?

aglages, slippery slope much? The reg prior to the recent revisions always allowed for professionally styled hair described in this article. It was only in this recent revision that they were removed haphazardly. Black hair is not just curly hair. For black women, the new reg meant it was either buzzed short or had to be regularly (and expensively) permed to meet the revision. OR they had to wear a wig. A WIG!! This fix returned the hair regs to what they were for a long time such that black women were able to wear their hair more natually while remaining PROFESSIONAL. I look at the hair styles with AF regs worn by black women around all the time and their look professional, clean, and appropriate. Their hair would not meet the stupid revision done by the Army. The fix is good. When you get beyond the shrill voices on either side of the issue, you find the old policy was reasonable and did not cause undue burden while keeping dress and appearance professional. No, this isn't a body modification issue, its recognizing an issue that shouldn't have been one and it's a hat tip to the fact that we have an armed force with all kinds of people and recognizing when small reg changes can have a large adverse effect, unnecessarily, on some groups.
 
Just to reiterate for those who may have forgotten:

Are you one who insists on body art (i.e. tattoos)? I own a belt sander and I know how to use it. It is what I tell my kids, every day. :)
 
Just to reiterate for those who may have forgotten:

Are you one who insists on body art (i.e. tattoos)? I own a belt sander and I know how to use it. It is what I tell my kids, every day. :)

That Belt Sander comment is really good, I will start using that one.
 
Just to reiterate for those who may have forgotten:

Are you one who insists on body art (i.e. tattoos)? I own a belt sander and I know how to use it. It is what I tell my kids, every day. :)

I'll attach some chain mail to my nipple and belly piercings for protection against the belt sander.







(For the record, I don't have nipple or belly piercings....)
 
So its now considered perfectly professional for one of my female airmen to show up with her hair in corn rows or dread locks...but if one of my male airmen has a mustache with a single hair beyond the corner of his mouth I'm still supposed to counsel him about professionalism?
 
So its now considered perfectly professional for one of my female airmen to show up with her hair in corn rows or dread locks...but if one of my male airmen has a mustache with a single hair beyond the corner of his mouth I'm still supposed to counsel him about professionalism?

Apples and Oranges.

If that female airmen shows up with dreads that make her look like a female Bob Marley then I'm sure you will be counseling her as well. It's all about standards within the regs.
 
Apples and Oranges.

If that female airmen shows up with dreads that make her look like a female Bob Marley then I'm sure you will be counseling her as well. It's all about standards within the regs.

I don't consider them apples and oranges at all. They're both appearance standards. I have no problem with dread locks, and think it was a common sense decision that leadership made. I just think that common sense should be applied across the board, and not selectively to please certain demographics or members of congress.

Saying that a woman can appear professional with dreadlocks and then saying a man can't appear professional with a beard or a mustache that looks any different from Hitler's is a stretch in my opinion.
 
I don't consider them apples and oranges at all. They're both appearance standards. I have no problem with dread locks, and think it was a common sense decision that leadership made. I just think that common sense should be applied across the board, and not selectively to please certain demographics or members of congress.

Saying that a woman can appear professional with dreadlocks and then saying a man can't appear professional with a beard or a mustache that looks any different from Hitler's is a stretch in my opinion.

Beards are disallowed for several reasons, not the least of which is their affect on the ability of a pro-mask to seal properly. Like "dreads," mustaches are allowable within prescribed limits, so that's a moot point.
 
Beards are disallowed for several reasons, not the least of which is their affect on the ability of a pro-mask to seal properly. Like "dreads," mustaches are allowable within prescribed limits, so that's a moot point.

Aren't beards allowed for religious reasons? Sikhs?
 
So its now considered perfectly professional for one of my female airmen to show up with her hair in corn rows or dread locks...but if one of my male airmen has a mustache with a single hair beyond the corner of his mouth I'm still supposed to counsel him about professionalism?

In the end, you will have to enforce the standards that exist (whether you agree with them or not). Its the nature and the requirements of the role you will be assuming.

More than likely, standards will change. If not these particular ones, than others. Look how the tattoo policy has been changing over the last few years.
 
Aren't beards allowed for religious reasons? Sikhs?

yes and no

Sikhs already in the military, including a doctor and a dentist, were allowed to continue to wear their turbans, hair and beards, but the stiffer regulations acted as a virtual roadblock to younger Sikhs trying to enter the service.

In 2009, Kalsi and a Sikh dentist being trained under an Army assistance program approached the Sikh Coalition seeking help to obtain religious accommodations.

Both received waivers and deployed to Afghanistan. Kalsi was awarded a Bronze Star for his service, and Captain Tejdeep Rattan, a dentist, received an Army Commendation Medal.

Sidhu said the three Sikhs currently serving in the military had shown they could appear neat and conservative in uniform and safely wear helmets and gas masks even with long hair and beards. But despite their success, a Sikh still cannot join the military like any other American.

http://news.yahoo.com/u-lawmakers-urge-pentagon-allow-sikhs-leeway-military-170217366--finance.html
 
Beards are disallowed for several reasons, not the least of which is their affect on the ability of a pro-mask to seal properly. Like "dreads," mustaches are allowable within prescribed limits, so that's a moot point.

The effects on the M50's ability to get a proper seal is a valid point, but not one that justifies a broad no-beards policy across the services. In a deployed environment where military members are issued masks, there can be an accompanying policy prohibiting beards. When service members show up to most deployed locations today, they're expected to adhere to General Order No. 1 - is it that much of a stretch to expect them to adhere to a no beards policy as well?

There is no reason to prohibit military personnel serving stateside from growing beards or mustaches that grow beyond the edges of their mouths, besides the fact that this is objective and convenient to enforce. In my opinion, that's just lazy. Commanders and supervisors should be trusted with the ability to look at their people and determine whether or not they're presenting professional appearances...not requiring the use of a microscope to ensure no hairs are protruding beyond an individual's mouth. I realize that offers up a slight degree of subjectivity, but at some point leaders should be allowed to lead and not constantly be governed by ridiculous regulations. Maybe I'm just crazy though.
 
The effects on the M50's ability to get a proper seal is a valid point, but not one that justifies a broad no-beards policy across the services. In a deployed environment where military members are issued masks, there can be an accompanying policy prohibiting beards. When service members show up to most deployed locations today, they're expected to adhere to General Order No. 1 - is it that much of a stretch to expect them to adhere to a no beards policy as well?

There is no reason to prohibit military personnel serving stateside from growing beards or mustaches that grow beyond the edges of their mouths, besides the fact that this is objective and convenient to enforce. In my opinion, that's just lazy. Commanders and supervisors should be trusted with the ability to look at their people and determine whether or not they're presenting professional appearances...not requiring the use of a microscope to ensure no hairs are protruding beyond an individual's mouth. I realize that offers up a slight degree of subjectivity, but at some point leaders should be allowed to lead and not constantly be governed by ridiculous regulations. Maybe I'm just crazy though.

I think you are just crazy (just kidding)

Can't agree with the idea that a simple solution is to just shave of beards in a combat zone as for sikh's it's a religious practice. As far as I know there is no exemption. So if you can shave or not shave, your argument becomes about how a soldier wants to look. If you cared about how you look, there are other professions.

If you want "commander and supervisors should be trusted with presenting professional appearances" without "governed by ridiculous regulations," you could simply have a commander (perhaps me) issuing an order - no beards, no visible tattoos, and no sideburns. Of course, if I did put out such an order, there will be a line by my office with soldiers citing the regulation.
 
Beards are disallowed for several reasons, not the least of which is their affect on the ability of a pro-mask to seal properly. Like "dreads," mustaches are allowable within prescribed limits, so that's a moot point.

COL Goldstein (CH) had to demonstrate that he could put on a gas mask in eight seconds, like the other soldiers, and he did so without a problem.

COL Goldstein has said "The mask issue is a bogus issue". He speculats that the larger reason for the rule is the military’s desire for uniformity in appearance.
 
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