Are grooming standards in the military outdated and without purpose?

Military grooming standards have been and should remain fluid. There were surprisingly few "high and tights" in the ETO during WWII, and they won anyway.

I seen a lot on hair and beards and that poor horse is about dead so I just would like to say something about tattoos one they are older than dirt and if they are not telling someone to to flake off I do not see what is wrong with them they do not stop someone from doing there job now if they are gang tats yea not good bad unless they where they where there before they came in than have to go by case by case what is the person like is he or she going to be a good military person or not if not we will not have to worry about there tattoo cause don't sign them up cause they will just not stand up for for what is right

I think that grooming standards are way to relaxed it's nothing compared to when I was in.

Grooming standards have been and always will be a matter of good order and discipline for the military. Like it or not it is also a health issue. That said, the military also has to be able to adapt to the situational surroundings - the ability to blend in with the environment on an as needed basis. There have and also will always be those who march to the beat of their own drum...like BG Robin Olds who while as a Colonel stationed in Thailand had a rather obvious, out of regs moustache.

I STILL THINK THAT THE MILTARY SHOULD REVAMP THE DRESS CODE AND GROMMING STANDARDS FOR BOTH MALE AND FEMALE IT HAS GOTTEN TO RELAXED IT SHOULD BE HARDER. SSG MARK FRANZEN US ARMY VETERAN

Well, from my time at NAB Coronado, some of the Team members were told to grow out their hair and beards, so they would not be ID'd as military personnel. And that was in the late 80's.

I think there's a time and place; I came from the era of starched fatigues and spit-shined boots in garrison - I never served in a unit that allowed slackness in either haircuts or things like sideburns and/or mustaches - this during the 70s when there was great pressure to relax standards.

I remember a time when the Dutch Army unionized and they allowed the guys to do pretty much anything appearance-wise; seeing some of our allies with long stringy hair hanging from their helmets pretty much convinced this 19 -year old troop the wisdom of our regulations.

Fact is, most of our appearance regs aren't just about appearance but hygiene and safety. Short hair discourages lice and other problems our doughboys encountered in the trenches of World War 1; by the same token I've tried using a protective mask with a beard - or even a day or two's growth of whiskers, it wouldn't seal. I do think common sense should play a role, particularly in a combat or field environment. I'll never forget the one time our battalion commander came to visit my howitzer section in Grenada. Our CSM made a comment about my chin whiskers. I showed him our last half-empty 5-gallon Jerry Can of water and explained we had brought this with us when we deployed three days earlier and didn't know when we would get any more. He nodded; I will say by that afternoon we got resupplied with clean water and I shaved.

On an earlier occasion I had just returned from a two week offpost field problem and was coming up from the motor pool on my way to lunch - and the barber shop. I passed this same CSM and we exchanged greetings. After lunch my First Sergeant called me aside and looked at me and said, "Ohy, you got a haircut."

I was kind of confused, "Yes, Top."

He explained to me the CSM passed me earlier and noticed I needed a haircut. I grinned sadly, "Well, Top, we've been in the field two weeks - I was on my way to get a haircut when we saw each other. If he'd said something then I would have explained..."

I never figured out why he didn't say something - I never hesitated to make on-the-spot corrections.

I may be old fashioned, but I believe the way we present(ed) ourselves reflect(s)(ed) on our branch. When I see guys in airports in duty uniforms I shudder. But I'm an old FOG so...

Here's a question from the E-5 promotion board back in the day:
Q: How often does a good soldier need a haircut?
A: A GOOD soldier never NEEDS a haircut.

Common sense and the mission should dictate. IMHO.

Based on my 20+ year of active service I would say grooming habits is an evolving entity within the military and has/will change as a by product of social changes in the civilian sector. These changes have been allowed to exist primarily as an incentive/morale booster for the 17-21 age group who are the target population for enlistment. While on active duty grooming policies are designed and modified to maintain good order and morale for the younger service members especially in regards to retention purposes. Senior leadership will continue to evaluate this aspect of military service now and into the future.

COL, you and I know those soldiers pictured are not typical soldiers, Marines, or Navy personnel. Some of us old farts were in places for periods of time when it was difficult to look like a garrison troop. Khe Sanh, Quang Tri province, Hue during TET, just to name a few. We looked quite different than the folks at 1st MARDIV hq. As far as tattoo's, if you have to permanently ink your body to prove you are a badass, might wanna think again. What is not right is the PT standards for men and women. Same promotion system, same pay, same requirements.

The grooming standards aren't outdated or w/o purpose; I agree w/deployment situations that warrant different styles. Stateside or normal base ops or support personnel need to step up and stop pushing the limits like they are three year-olds. If your hair hits your ear, it's too long guys. If your hair can't fit inside your hat because it's too big/bunchy girls - guess what, time to fix it. Read the regulations and abide by them - I only hated being corrected for minor issues about my hair if the senior NCO saw a high ranking officer nearby! Fix the problem no matter who it is OR who is around: wrong is wrong.