USAFA hair female cadets

[Hoodlum15]

...those cadets who choose short hair had a definite disadvantage during the second half at Jacks...

I find this impossible to comprehend. How could short hair be a disadvantage? All the men have short hair, are they disadvantaged as well?
Not trying to be combative here - but I can't fathom why short hair on a female would be a disadvantage in any way - especially at Jacks Valley.
Maybe this is a simplification, but from what I have been able to glean, this Jacks Valley thing is a 5-mile march to an FTX at various obstacle/training courses.
Sort of like USNA Sea Trials, but drawn out over eleven days.
I would think that short hair would be great to have, so I am confused.

I think USAFA10s explained it well in the comment above yours. If your hair is at a length where it swings or hangs down around your face, it can be problematic.

 

[THParent]

Wouldn't hair "swinging into your face" or "hanging down over your face" be considered "long hair", then?
This is what I'm driving at. I come at this from a standpoint of someone who has had a Caesar cut for the last 32 years, however.

 

[USAFA10s]

Wouldn't hair "swinging into your face" or "hanging down over your face" be considered "long hair", then?
This is what I'm driving at. I come at this from a standpoint of someone who has had a Caesar cut for the last 32 years, however.

As someone who has had every length of hair from about 1" long to 16" long while in the AF, let's see if I can clear this up for anyone who is still confused. There is long hair - meaning it extends below the plane of the collar in uniform. If this is the case hair must be put up, as regulations do not allow it to extend below the bottom of the collar. Then there is medium length hair that is short enough to not require it be put up, but is still plenty long to be annoying, this is the common bob cut received in basic if you are not fast enough at putting up your hair (or as I understand it, used to be given to everyone at Navy who in-processed with long hair). Finally, there is very short hair, also known as a pixie cut. This is the length you need to go prior to basic for hair to be a non-issue in Jacks. I have attached a useful diagram from AFI 36-2903 for those needing additional explanation (insert army joke here):

 

[THParent]

Okay then. Turns out I wasn't confused at all.

 

[Billberna]

...those cadets who choose short hair had a definite disadvantage during the second half at Jacks...

I find this impossible to comprehend. How could short hair be a disadvantage? All the men have short hair, are they disadvantaged as well?
Not trying to be combative here - but I can't fathom why short hair on a female would be a disadvantage in any way - especially at Jacks Valley.
Maybe this is a simplification, but from what I have been able to glean, this Jacks Valley thing is a 5-mile march to an FTX at various obstacle/training courses.
Sort of like USNA Sea Trials, but drawn out over eleven days.
I would think that short hair would be great to have, so I am confused.

I am guessing this is referring to hair that is too short to be pulled back secure away from the face, but not short enough to stay out of one's face and eyes in active and windy outdoor activities.

 

[Velocity2012]

@Billberna - Absolutely correct.

 

[Velocity2012]

@THParent - what I saw is that the female cadets with short hair had hair that was just long enough to blow in their faces when outside on the Jack's obstacle courses. There is one coure there that is particularly challenging and once again simply based on the webguy pictures that I saw it seemed liked short haired female cadets had an additional challenge. That time of year in Colorado Springs it seems to be blustery with afternoon rain showers.