Just finished NROTC NSI Cycle 2... Ask Me Anything

[NJROTC-CC]

My daughter has short hair but after NSI she decided she wants to grow it out. I think she's having a hard time only using 2 visible bobby pins and figuring out how to make it look acceptable without it going shorter than she wants. I know the girls woke up extra early to make sure they had time to do their hair. From what she said, I'm not sure that shorter was necessarily easier (at least in my DD's case).

I have a DS in NJROTC. I volunteer alot and go to a lot of drill meets. I hear the other parents talk alot about girls hair and making them look perfect for drill competition. From what I’ve heard, girls have to either go real short (which most do not prefer) or fairly long and put it up in a bun. The most difficult length hair for girls to make look appropriate for formal inspection would be the mid length. If I had a DD I would advise her to go long and go the bun route. That way she can look feminine off duty and easier to make it look professional on duty. Fortunately I do not have to worry about hair length because I have a son and for drill meets they have a barber come in and buzz their heads. One size fits all! Last year was a Covid year and so we had very few drill meets. The boys grew their hair out and I didn’t recognize half of them.

 

[Capt MJ]

I can’t resist commenting on military women’s hair - it’s like catnip to female midshipmen, cadets, enlisted, officers, retirees, veterans of any length of service to weigh in on hair and uniform issues.

The women I know who had short pixie cuts or bobs too short for a bun were always having to maneuver to ensure they knew when, where and how they were going to be able to get their hair properly cut in that window before it grew too long to stay in regs but was too short to wear up, especially with deployments and at-sea periods coming up. They liked the day-to-day ease, but quickly learned just how many days they had before they needed to get a hair cut. Those with bunnable hair learned the muscle memory to quickly execute braid, twist, sock bun it or other style without looking in a mirror, wet or dry, with or without product. After 26 years in uniform, my hair just seemed to leap up by itself. I never found it took that much longer than shipmates with short styles who tried to get theirs looking “right.”

The difficult period, which is made more complex for those with thick or textured hair, is that no-man’s-land between a short cut and hair that can be pinned up tidily. At least the regs over the last several years have allowed more flexibility in styles.

At USNA, when the plebe women used to get the “plebe chop,” they usually started growing it out in May, during intercessional leave, scraped through summer training with the help of ship’s ball caps and summer leave and usually had bunnable hair by Reform in late August.

Oh - the secret for secure buns - Capezio Bunhead Bun Pins, XL, 3 colors, at Amazon and dance wear stores. The trick is knowing how to use them. Form your bun, insert pin at right angles to the bun just inside the bun perimeter until pin is at right angles to scalp, then push pin over and down to be level with the head and then push in to create the tension and hold.

 

[kinnem]

Oh - the secret for secure buns - Capezio Bunhead Bun Pins, XL, 3 colors, at Amazon and dance wear stores. The trick is knowing how to use them. Form your bun, insert pin at right angles to the bun just inside the bun perimeter until pin is at right angles to scalp, then push pin over and down to be level with the head and then push in to create the tension and hold.

Being a man, I couldn't even understand that, but I'm sure the ladies did. OTOH, maybe a YouTube video is in order?

 

[Capt MJ]

Being a man, I couldn't even understand that, but I'm sure the ladies did. OTOH, maybe a YouTube video is in order?

There are endless “bunhead” videos on You Tube demoing the pin techniques. There are also dozens of videos on military buns and hairstyles made by military women. As I said, catnip.

 

[Herman_Snerd]

REALLY?!? That surprises me. I guess some people wanted to use that as an excuse to leave instead of just admitting that they couldn't handle it or they decided it wasn't the life for them.

As a leader you’ll encounter people on your respective journeys who are not going to be able to get through a checkpoint gate: a task, a key assignment, NSI, NSO, a personal fitness test, GPA requirements, avoiding being late, etc. Multiple reasons: Mental, physical, attitude, capability, etc. Those persons will need to address issue(s), or may decide they need an exit strategy. At NSI you’ll see the difficult to diagnose injuries like shin splints, knee sprains, ankle sprains manifest - you may be skeptical and believe they are faking - you may factually be correct in many cases - but as a leader in training allow them the grace to exit with dignity. It’s a lot easier I suppose for those who need to leave to come back home and explain how an injury took them out, not a choice to quit or an acknowledgment they were overwhelmed. Let ‘em have that, and it’s a win-win they’ll move on from an opportunity to lead and serve - Better now than later when they are making decisions that have lives on the line. Hey, they tried, and the penalty of losing this scholarship is devastating to many families and dreams are fading when this happens, so where possible, feel some empathy. I encounter this in the workplace as well where people have mortgages, kids in college, food to put on the table but are not making a standard - it's also difficult.

Unfortunately more drops are to follow as you move to your units, across all branches. A few that did not pass NSI will continue on at their unit but not get far. Some will rebound and succeed. But scholarship winners, college programmers, and some that appeared to be the strongest candidates in some cases will not make it. Grades, discipline, fitness, lateness, mechanical injuries, any alcohol/drug or civic incident. The class you start with on day 1 at your unit very likely will be significantly smaller when you commission.

 

[kimchee432]

I can’t resist commenting on military women’s hair - it’s like catnip to female midshipmen, cadets, enlisted, officers, retirees, veterans of any length of service to weigh in on hair and uniform issues.

The women I know who had short pixie cuts or bobs too short for a bun were always having to maneuver to ensure they knew when, where and how they were going to be able to get their hair properly cut in that window before it grew too long to stay in regs but was too short to wear up, especially with deployments and at-sea periods coming up. They liked the day-to-day ease, but quickly learned just how many days they had before they needed to get a hair cut. Those with bunnable hair learned the muscle memory to quickly execute braid, twist, sock bun it or other style without looking in a mirror, wet or dry, with or without product. After 26 years in uniform, my hair just seemed to leap up by itself. I never found it took that much longer than shipmates with short styles who tried to get theirs looking “right.”

The difficult period, which is made more complex for those with thick or textured hair, is that no-man’s-land between a short cut and hair that can be pinned up tidily. At least the regs over the last several years have allowed more flexibility in styles.

At USNA, when the plebe women used to get the “plebe chop,” they usually started growing it out in May, during intercessional leave, scraped through summer training with the help of ship’s ball caps and summer leave and usually had bunnable hair by Reform in late August.

Oh - the secret for secure buns - Capezio Bunhead Bun Pins, XL, 3 colors, at Amazon and dance wear stores. The trick is knowing how to use them. Form your bun, insert pin at right angles to the bun just inside the bun perimeter until pin is at right angles to scalp, then push pin over and down to be level with the head and then push in to create the tension and hold.

Thanks, @Capt MJ ! I will definitely pass these pointers on. She's definitely approaching no-man's-land now and during her review at NSI was told that she needs to figure that out. She's learning that gel is/can be her friend. Hopefully her hair will grow quickly. We'll stock up on the products you mentioned so she can start practicing. I was half expecting to see her come home with a shaved head because she gave up. LOL

 

[MD dd Dad]

I can’t resist commenting on military women’s hair - it’s like catnip to female midshipmen, cadets, enlisted, officers, retirees, veterans of any length of service to weigh in on hair and uniform issues.

The women I know who had short pixie cuts or bobs too short for a bun were always having to maneuver to ensure they knew when, where and how they were going to be able to get their hair properly cut in that window before it grew too long to stay in regs but was too short to wear up, especially with deployments and at-sea periods coming up. They liked the day-to-day ease, but quickly learned just how many days they had before they needed to get a hair cut. Those with bunnable hair learned the muscle memory to quickly execute braid, twist, sock bun it or other style without looking in a mirror, wet or dry, with or without product. After 26 years in uniform, my hair just seemed to leap up by itself. I never found it took that much longer than shipmates with short styles who tried to get theirs looking “right.”

The difficult period, which is made more complex for those with thick or textured hair, is that no-man’s-land between a short cut and hair that can be pinned up tidily. At least the regs over the last several years have allowed more flexibility in styles.

At USNA, when the plebe women used to get the “plebe chop,” they usually started growing it out in May, during intercessional leave, scraped through summer training with the help of ship’s ball caps and summer leave and usually had bunnable hair by Reform in late August.

Oh - the secret for secure buns - Capezio Bunhead Bun Pins, XL, 3 colors, at Amazon and dance wear stores. The trick is knowing how to use them. Form your bun, insert pin at right angles to the bun just inside the bun perimeter until pin is at right angles to scalp, then push pin over and down to be level with the head and then push in to create the tension and hold.

Regarding female midshipman hair. From my DD her thought has always been to have it normal length and go to the bun in everyday Midn life. But cut it shorter during long trainings. This is because you have so little time and if it's long and in a bun it really never dries between pool time and showers. Three weeks of wet hair in a bun does a lot of damage. Per my DD.

 

[kimchee432]

Regarding female midshipman hair. From my DD her thought has always been to have it normal length and go to the bun in everyday Midn life. But cut it shorter during long trainings. This is because you have so little time and if it's long and in a bun it really never dries between pool timeand showers. Three weeks of wet hair in a bun does a lot of damage. Per my DD.

My DD was telling me of stories she's heard regarding moldy hair... not sure if that's actually true but it was enough for her to be thankful for having short hair. Until she had to deal with inspections. I trust she'll figure it out eventually.