Making H-air-story

It’s ironic the U.S. military is the most diverse military force in the world, yet have some policies which reflect the opposite. Specifically, policies that dictate how servicewomen are expected to wear their hair.

Talk is cheap, but policy change, something seemingly as simple as permitting women to wear their hair in braids for better performance, was expensive, time consuming and long-drawn out. This #FreeTheBun hair journey began in 2016 when then Technical Sergeant MSgt (Join to see) “JB” had a discussion with one of his Airmen. His Airmen soon confessed she was struggling with headaches and hair loss due to Air Force hair policy, which expected female Airman to wear their hair up and within strict bulk requirements. Mind you, servicewomen have their hair up every single duty day, not to mention that buns and helmets aren’t conducive. JB relayed this information to his wife, Staff Sergeant Jocelyn Lind, and was astounded when she told him she was also experiencing similar issues due to the out-of-date hair policy. They decided to pursue a change and created the Warrior Braids Project. This team is dedicated to researching and developing solutions to the problems facing women with regards to the hair standards and has over one thousand members! They are led by the Linds, Captain Hailey “FACTR” Garrett, 1st Lieutenant Natasha Monroe, and Senior Airman Emily Stanley-Cruz

In the 1940s, when it was decided women were allowed to serve, there were extensive arguments in society regarding how this pivotal change would impact the general public. There were two main fears these conversations surrounded: women would become lesbians or steal married men from their wives. The service had to mitigate these anxieties by creating uniform policies, which made women appear conventionally pretty enough to not come across as lesbians, but not pretty enough to steal husbands. And with that airtight logic, the bun was born and has been the standard for 70 years.

The bun is highly problematic for medical, operational and inclusivity reasons. A survey conducted by the Women’s Initiative Team (WIT), garnered over 11,000 responses from female Airman that painted this picture. An overwhelming 93% of respondents expressed they felt there needed to be an update to the hair policy for servicewomen. When asked why openly, without referencing medical implications, 56% of servicewomen said they suffered from migraines and headaches. Furthermore, they experienced: traction alopecia, receding hairlines, bald spots, and scalp sensitivity, to name a few. Operationally, it was discovered female Airmen struggled with mission readiness because the equipment didn’t fit properly, which inevitably compromised their safety. Imagine pulling your scalp back tightly, putting a ball on your head then trying to fit a helmet over it. Additionally, race inclusivity was not at the forefront of the conversation in the 40s because simply allowing women to serve was already considered to be a diversifying motion. However, according to data collected by the Office of Diversity by the DoD, in 2016 women of color made up more than 20% of the Air Force’s female population. Women of color have different hair types requiring different levels of care, and restricts them from wearing certain styles without permanent damage, including a bun.

Regardless of the anecdotal and quantitative evidence JB collected over the years, which proved how multi-problematic the hair regulation was, policy change demonstrated to be a massive obstacle. In fact, it took about five years and relentless tenacity from multiple parties to get this change approved. Despite years of: collecting data, making cold phone calls, going through the chain of command four times and being turned away every time, JB and Jocelyn refused to let up. Jocelyn created and organized a document containing all of the data they had been collecting over the years. Capt Garrett bridged their efforts to the WIT when she sent 1st Lt (Join to see) that document. In early 2020, Montana expressed her concerns with female hair policy with members of the WIT leadership, Maj Alea Nadeem and Captain Sarah Berheide. In 2018, Montana had been disqualified from being a pilot in the Air Force after she was diagnosed with migraines herself. After recognizing this was a problem across the Air Force and ultimately voicing her concerns with the hair policy, Alea, Sarah, and Montana started their own initiative within the WIT that was aimed at addressing the hair policy for women in the Air Force.

The combination of these two entities, the WIT and the Warrior Braids team, was the surge of force the #FreeTheBun movement needed. They collectively recognized getting a seat at the table was hard enough and asking someone to pass the salt, even if it meant they would be able to do their job better, was going to be difficult. Eventually, these two teams found themselves discussing this proposal in the Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force’s office where they finally felt their concerns for the change were being acknowledged and having Lt Gen Mary O’Brien, the senior WIT champion back the teams up as they moved this initiative.

Nevertheless, the dedication and work ethic over five years was prominent during every single step of the way which is how the bun was finally freed. From the grassroots all the way up to senior leadership, the WIT, along with the Warrior Braids team exemplified what senior leaders ask of their Airmen. It truly was the epitome of a team effort; each member spoke incredibly highly of each other and maintained that this policy change would not have happened without one another. The 5 years of collecting data JB and Jocelyn put in, the countless hours of work (even while on leave) Montana undertook to sort through the thousands of survey responses they received, the networking and cold calls/emails Sarah sent to Air Force Generals (eventually collecting 39 letters of support), and the fearlessness Alea demonstrated while leading the team refusing to take no as an answer is just a small look into the mountainous effort it took for this change to come to fruition.

This was a big change and a needed change. It is a testimony that change happens from the bottom up, and it is possible to make a real difference in thousands of lives. Moving forward, they’re not done. Although the new policy is a major step in the right direction, there needs to be more steps to attain full inclusivity as some women can’t participate in this change without cutting their hair. The WIT hopes the hair policy change will inspire other Airmen to challenge problematic standards and action it. Furthermore, they hope this advancement will inspire others to push for changes and challenge policies that limit servicemembers from doing their jobs to the best of their ability. Here’s to, no hairs to, the future!