Posted on Apr 12, 2014
SSG Robert Burns
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Head shaving
So I was in basic training land today to help with some medical stuff. I couldn't help but noticed all the shaved heads all over the place and then the females with 20 ft of hair. In an era where we are screaming equal treatment; is this equal?I am also wondering why does a new private have to get his head shaved in the first place? Why not just a haircut within Army Standards?

Have the lines between male and female been erased?  Are they trying to be erased or are we picking and choosing which ones we want to erase? Why does a male soldier have no choice in keeping his hair but a female does? If you love Liberty you will vote below.

ADDED: Could this be considered a form of hazing with the crackdown on hazing since this is obviously not a requirement but more of a tradition? I'm not saying I think it is I'm just asking the question. If it's not required and it doesn't apply to everyone.

*****UPDATED******
Well, well, well what do we have here?
http://www.navytimes.com/story/military/careers/2015/01/08/rtc-boot-camp-haircuts-navy/21439483/
Edited >1 y ago
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SGT Kristine Limanen
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Basic training is not only a physical test but a mental one too. Turning a civilian into a Soldier, Sailor, Airman, or Marine takes a lot, especially for the civilian children now a days. The time frame is too short. Humiliating and breaking a person down will bring out the fight and courage a person has. It will give them a perspective of themselves they never knew they had. With timing, shaving heads is necessary. Many women like to believe they are capable of the same standards of men, but in MOST, not ALL, cases that isn’t true. I met many male Soldiers who weren’t deserving of the uniform. I met few women who weren’t capable of combat, but those women didn’t act superior. Standards should never be the same in the Military. The Military should not go by the same laws as the rest of the Nation, (I don’t remember if they do or not.....
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PO2 Lee Kirk
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Originally the head shaving was to ensure no lice. Recruits come from every state, ethnic background, and income level.
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PO3 Hospital Corpsman (Hm)
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I’m not Army but navy and when I came in, both males AND females had to get their hair cut, males straight shaved and females to the collar, now its different but I agree, it does represent a rite of passage symbolic of the transformation from civilian to military.
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SGT Jody Beach
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Equal rights are equal rights. "Army of One !!!!!"
Discrimination is a two way street....
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SSgt Udm (Unit Deployment Manager)
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The shaved head ENSURES a level of equality AMONG men! Makes us look the same....women have those ugly buns....military are NEVER allowed hair! And to quote a general who enforced shaving standards in the jungles of Nam: "if they are complaining (edited word) about shaving, they aren't complaining(word choice) about dying". BLUF: there's more important stuff to worry about THAN YOUR HAIR!!!

I also agree with SFC Cardin : it provides a great transition from civilian punk to miltary professional....
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LT Naval Aviator
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Does the Army have a similar rule? “Hair shall be of sufficient length to prevent the scalp from being readily visible (with exception due to documented medical condition).” -Navy Women’s Hair Regs.
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SPC Deon Holmes
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Why not they want to be treated as equal tit for tat.
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Sgt Dale Boston
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Edited >1 y ago
as it has been the tradition from the beginning for men, because men started the military, now because of equal rights women are allowed to enlist. National defence was not about hair length, but about will power and the desire to become a good soldier, “The rationale behind the short haircut is to make sure that the hair can’t be grabbed by the enemy, and thus long hair is a liability in combat.” It is better to have them join the military than to drive them away with pointless rules that have zero effect on their ability to defend their country that they love as much as men and do the job in whatever capacity they qualify for as a loyal soldier to defend against enemies foreign and domestic.
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SGT Human Resources Specialist
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I like that you brought up equality. While I'm fine with the way things are and don't understand all the feminists out there. I did find myself wondering the other day if they would ever allow females to shave their heads. It is currently out of regulations for a female to shave their head. But with changing the APFT to the ACFT in 2020, leveling out the fitness requirements between males and females to be the same, I was thinking if they're going for gender equality and such, why not permit females to have shaved heads? Not that I would but some may want that option.
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PVT Kenneth Rodriguez
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Heck yeah let's get some votes and pass a new rule that would make females have to shave their heads that would be funny!!!lol...
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SFC Senior Food Service Nco
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I also am a proponent of mustaches being a mandatory part of the NCO uniform, regardless of gender. False mustaches being exceptible for those un able to grow full mustache on there own. The warrant officers who came from the NCO Corp, should also be permitted at their own discressionry. All other ranks prohibited.
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Amn Cassandra Lynn
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When I was in basic at Lackland, I had them cut my hair short so I wouldn't have to do anything with it during training. Easy peasy!
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CPO Matthew Bigelow
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Personally, I think different uniform and grooming standards for men and women is sexist.
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SrA Robert Schels
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I think that while getting your head shaved is not a requirement, I agree that it is a form or a visual statement of someone transitioning from civilian life to military life.
I had my head shaved when I went into basic 30 some odd years ago and I considered it a point of pride did I could visually show everyone my life and entered a new phase.
But now that the military is turning into a more equal footing for men and women I believe that this tradition should be modified somewhat.
Let's face it. Hair grows back. So I think when people enter the military that men and women should get their hair cut to a basic military cut. (I'm sure all of us have seen the movie GI Jane. she got her haircut for the movies and it didn't seem to detrimentally affect her)
so everybody lineup get their haircut when they go into basic and then from there on out they can choose to keep it shaved or at a military length.
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SPC Jordan Sutich
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Uniformity, uniformity, uniformity
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SPC Robert Burrell
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I don't know about the Navy, I served my time in the army however, when I attended basic training the male recruits received abasic training bald and the females got the infamous "bowl" or budgie cut. If it works for the army it should work for the Navy... In my humble opinion
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SFC Robert Walton
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Well it would appear you Missed two things first What does the Regulation Say? Second we do that because the Military hates men. The original reason was hair is full of Germs and can cause and infection fast. I think we have passed that now people take better care about washing now than they used to, and don't forget we hate men and want to punish them for enlisting. JMHO
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SPC Casey Ashfield
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The standards are equal, until they are not. On one of my very last days of service I was walking out of the unit S-1 shop after getting a new CAC. Coming in the opposite direction was a female E-7 type (slick sleeve) with so much hair, her cover was not physically touching her head. And I swerved onto the grass next to the pavement to make sure I wouldn't come in contact with her way out of standards hair. With some mental math I determined that I had 12 days left to ETS, and I was thankful for that.
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SPC William Weedman
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There was a time when the shaving a man’s head was for hygiene reasons. If a man had head lice or ticks a close cutting of the hair exposed these and allowed them to be eliminated making that man more effective as a fighter. Generally that time has passed as hygiene standards for all have greatly improved. On a personal level, women should be required to wear their hair short either male standards or perhaps a one size fits all page boy cut. Women can learn in AIT how to pile all that hair up under a size 9 cover, it also goes back to uniformity and becoming part of something larger than yourself.
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PO1 Steve Mitchell
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The purpose of the head shaving is to make everyone equal and to look and dress alike. The idea is to get boots thinking and acting as a unit and not individuals. Not to mention the time it would take to get them a hair cut every few weeks to stay within the haircut standards.
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