Should Female Infantry and SOF Cut Their Hair?

SSG Jeff Forker — Fri, 31 Jan 2020 17:51:23 -0500

Should female soldiers, Marines, sailors and airmen, that go into Infantry, Armor, Artillery, SOF/SOCOM, Raiders/MARSOC, SEALS, SWCCC, PJs, CCTs, and other combat arms MOS's and units be required to cut their hair short? Hair length is an operational issue for males, and thus it should be for females. Right?

There are females with the athleticism and intestinal fortitude for these units and roles. But, long hair poses the same issues for females that it does males. And the only reason that females are allowed to maintain long hair, it appears, is the traditional female beauty mystique, which requires or allows for, long female hair. But being in the military, on equal terms with males, blows up that traditional beauty code. Or does it? Can women, and men, for that matter, not look good in short, even really short, hair?

If a female wants to be Infantry or Ranger or SF, and is committed to that goal, is cutting one's hair tactically short asking too much?

Response by CW2 Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 31 at 2020 6:17 PM

CW2 Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 31 Jan 2020 18:17:01 -0500

I'd rather see them disallow corn rows before forcing short hair in the Operations Division MOS'. Real professional looking right there....
"Looking good" is a subjective phrase. I have the feeling there'd be instant backlash as thousands of females would suddenly need to cut their hair if they forced it, and if you are aware of anything in this nightmare of a "society" we have now, no one wants to tackle restricting/forcing females to do anything. Good bye career, social life, anything.
The people who ate Tide pods are now entering service, I think we have bigger issues than haircuts to worry about.

P.S. Combat Arms is a dead term, about as dead as BDUs. It was Maneuver, Fires, and Effects, but was changed again to Operations Division.

Response by Maj John Bell made Jan 31 at 2020 6:43 PM

Maj John Bell — Fri, 31 Jan 2020 18:43:01 -0500

The flip side of that coin is that males in non-combat MOS's would then probably be bound by the hair regulations currently in place for females. In my opinion, the correct answer is one service, one standard. Since EVERYONE should be deployable, and personal hygiene tends to suffer in field environments, the current standard for males should be applied to everyone regardless of gender or MOS.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 1 at 2020 12:29 AM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 01 Feb 2020 00:29:51 -0500

If hair length for those positions was so much more tactical than other positions wouldn't they possibly have different standards. and if so why wouldn't non combat arms males fall under current female standards. Grooming standards for hair length have more of a tradition in professionalism. With the exception of a possible bun on the back of the head that can be lowered to accommodate a Kevlar helmet the appearance of most females hair is far closer to the scalp than the up to two inches allowed for males.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 1 at 2020 12:58 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 01 Feb 2020 00:58:12 -0500

Hair length is an operational issue for SF males??? This is the same group that embodies the stereotype of long haired frat boys? The same group who receive orders for relaxed grooming standards?

Should these females also grow beards?

Should they be allowed to run around topless like the guys? We want to be fair, correct?

Women already cut their hair off for Ranger School and they cut more off than any man. There are no operational restrictions that come with longer hair. No SOF are clearing rooms with hand to hand combat and the example of Artillery and Armor is just ridiculous. A female's hair isn't getting caught in the machinery and killing anyone.

What you really mean is "I had to cut my hair and it's not fair".

Well, I had to cut my hair in the 90s as Ranger Regiment, but if you look at any SOF today they have longer hair than most females in the Army. So, I think that no, it doesn't make sense to pretend boys and girls are the same.

Response by SSG Laurie Mullen made Feb 1 at 2020 5:50 AM

SSG Laurie Mullen — Sat, 01 Feb 2020 05:50:25 -0500

I used to keep my hair short while I was in because it was easier to deal with. During NTC rotations and deployments I kept it a little shorter than normal because it was easier to clean that way.

Response by SGM Bill Frazer made Feb 1 at 2020 11:57 AM

SGM Bill Frazer — Sat, 01 Feb 2020 11:57:22 -0500

Look, hair length- beauty should fall into operational restrictions. Yes they can wear a bun- I don't want to see what happens when 2-3' of hair gets tangled up on the recoil mechanism of an Abrams, or a C130 during a jump, nor overheat in desert environment. Too hell with beauty- save lives!

Response by Lt Col Jim Coe made Feb 1 at 2020 3:47 PM

Lt Col Jim Coe — Sat, 01 Feb 2020 15:47:50 -0500

Standards are the standard. Personal preferences within the standard should govern a Service Member's hair style. It may be more convenient for a service member to have short hair or even to adopt my hair style. When I was a pilot training instructor, I wore a flight helmet every day. The helmet was custom fit and required I wear a Nomex skull cap under the helmet. I adopted a short hair style so I could maintain what I thought was appropriate military bearing between and after flights. Many of my contemporaries did the same. I suspect Service Members with work or combat uniform requirements, locations, and environmental conditions that preclude "long hair" (maximum length according to the standard) mostly will adopt a shorter, more functional hair style, but the Service shouldn't mandate such unless it's necessary for safety.

Response by MSgt Gerald Orvis made Feb 1 at 2020 5:03 PM

MSgt Gerald Orvis — Sat, 01 Feb 2020 17:03:06 -0500

I agree with the one service, one standard idea. So if women get into a combat arms MOS or a special set of circumstances that requires short hair, everybody should cut it the same. I recall that during the early 1970s, there was a lot of resentment from the male Marines against women Marines due to the fact that the men had to keep their hair so short while women got to bind theirs up during the day when in uniform, and then let it down after working hours, making them indistinguishable from civilian women. Long hair for men was a thing then, and I recall that a lot of male enlisted Marines would wear wigs on liberty so they wouldn't look different from civilians. Grooming regulations for men started about 120 years ago to enable them to keep clean and avoid lice. Before that, there were no grooming regulations - the troops usually followed civilian trends or whatever their commanding officer wanted. I've seen plenty of photos of Marines with great mutton chop sideburns, moustaches, goatees, longer hair and beards, right on up into the 1890s. When women entered the service in WWI, they kept their hair up in uniform, but were otherwise free to wear it down. Male service members didn't have that option. So it goes today. Time for a little equality in grooming?

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 3 at 2020 2:40 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 03 Feb 2020 14:40:12 -0500

They'll probably cut it if they're going to those type of MOSs or units. But until the regulation changes - they don't have to. And SF doesn't follow regular Army grooming standards anyway.

Some women can pull off short hair. I don't want short hair ever again because my mom never gave me the option as a kid and always cut it short so she didn't have to deal with it. So now I keep it long - and with short hair I know I look like my brothers. I did the Snapchat filter that shows you what you could look like female to male - I look exactly like my brothers. I did one of one brother - he looks like our mom if he had long hair and make up.

If I had ever been infantry or combat arms, I'd probably have cut my hair as short as guys because it would just get in the way otherwise. Honestly I wouldn't be upset if the Army made all females cut our hair. It grows back.

Response by SSG Jeff Forker made Feb 3 at 2020 7:14 PM

SSG Jeff Forker — Mon, 03 Feb 2020 19:14:24 -0500

Thank you for your responses.

Response by PO2 Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 20 at 2020 9:38 AM

PO2 Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 20 Sep 2020 09:38:54 -0400

We make our Female candidates shave their head just like every male candidate. Equality.