Grooming Standards
Grooming Standards
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Do you believe that Army grooming standards are fair? And should people from different cultures or religions have exceptions to policy?
I feel that in the Army, grooming regulations are ridiculous. A Soldier must follow them, unless the Soldier is in a Unit whose leadership doesn't care, or the Soldier calls racism, sexism or such.
For the record, I am ALL FOR religious exceptions to policy. But I feel that the Army needs to loosen grooming standards across the board or actually ENFORCE the current standards. Thoughts everyone?
I feel that in the Army, grooming regulations are ridiculous. A Soldier must follow them, unless the Soldier is in a Unit whose leadership doesn't care, or the Soldier calls racism, sexism or such.
For the record, I am ALL FOR religious exceptions to policy. But I feel that the Army needs to loosen grooming standards across the board or actually ENFORCE the current standards. Thoughts everyone?
Posted in these groups: 
Grooming Standards
Grooming Standards
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 4
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yes I also feel that the Army needs to loosen grooming standards and design a promask that will work no with some facial hair. Somehow other countries have limited grooming standards and they seem to be ok.
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SSG Carlos Madden
Yes it has. This one has been covered. Check these out too MSG (Join to see)
https://www.rallypoint.com/answers/has-the-military-totally-compromised-grooming-standards
Also covered somewhat in other similar discussions like this one:
https://www.rallypoint.com/answers/what-would-you-do-if-your-csm-was-ignoring-uniform-and-grooming-standards-csm-flournoy
https://www.rallypoint.com/answers/has-the-military-totally-compromised-grooming-standards
Also covered somewhat in other similar discussions like this one:
https://www.rallypoint.com/answers/what-would-you-do-if-your-csm-was-ignoring-uniform-and-grooming-standards-csm-flournoy
Has the military totally compromised grooming standards? | RallyPoint
This particular officer is a handsome example of his religion...I actually think he flatters the uniform. However, the fact that he can wear a non-military cover because he believes in a specific deity seems a compromise born deep in the bowels of Political Correctness.
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MSG (Join to see)
Oh thank God, a SGM has noted that this topic has been covered already! Now we can all stop havin intelligent conversations about it forever!
On a more serious note, I asked this question because I was watching the news and a video of Soldiers preparing for a deployment was shown, during which a female Soldier was shown whose hair was so far out of Reg, being piled up literally FEET above her head, that I'm pretty sure her patrol cap was struggling for oxygen. And she was an NCO. Meanwhile there were other NCOs and enlisted Soldiers all around, not to mention officers, and it was obvious that no one had said WORD ONE to her about the den of snakes flowing Medusa-like from her head.
I felt that this spoke volumes to the state of our Army today, as there are numerous examples of Soldiers blatantly flaunting their out-of-Reg haircuts, hairstyles, facial hair and even in some cases makeup while no one corrects them.
And prior to my retirement (thank You God), I was told in one instance that I needed to, and this is actually a direct quote from another NCO, "back off of that Soldier, because she's claiming you're harassing her," after I made an on-the-spot correction because her hair was 1. Folded up on her head so as to make her patrol cap look like it was balanced on top of a drilling rig, 2. Falling down on the sides in braids that actually laid on her shoulders, and 3. Was THREE DIFFERENT COLORS (dark brown, tan, and blonde, for those who were wondering).
And when I asked why not even our Unit CSM or Commander said anything about it, I was told (unsurprisingly but still tragically) that no one wanted to "rock the sexual harassment boat."
So yeah, I felt that rehashing the topic to see what the current thinking was of fellow Servicemembers and Vets seemed warranted considering that my incident happened three or so years ago and the news clip that I saw confirming that the same thing was still happening was just three days ago.
Also, I wanted to give a SGM something to bitch about, since it's not like they have any REAL job to with about. Yeah yeah yeah, "Commander's most senior advisor." As my old Brigade Commander used to say, "a trained parrot can do the same thing. And I can ignore it, too."
On a more serious note, I asked this question because I was watching the news and a video of Soldiers preparing for a deployment was shown, during which a female Soldier was shown whose hair was so far out of Reg, being piled up literally FEET above her head, that I'm pretty sure her patrol cap was struggling for oxygen. And she was an NCO. Meanwhile there were other NCOs and enlisted Soldiers all around, not to mention officers, and it was obvious that no one had said WORD ONE to her about the den of snakes flowing Medusa-like from her head.
I felt that this spoke volumes to the state of our Army today, as there are numerous examples of Soldiers blatantly flaunting their out-of-Reg haircuts, hairstyles, facial hair and even in some cases makeup while no one corrects them.
And prior to my retirement (thank You God), I was told in one instance that I needed to, and this is actually a direct quote from another NCO, "back off of that Soldier, because she's claiming you're harassing her," after I made an on-the-spot correction because her hair was 1. Folded up on her head so as to make her patrol cap look like it was balanced on top of a drilling rig, 2. Falling down on the sides in braids that actually laid on her shoulders, and 3. Was THREE DIFFERENT COLORS (dark brown, tan, and blonde, for those who were wondering).
And when I asked why not even our Unit CSM or Commander said anything about it, I was told (unsurprisingly but still tragically) that no one wanted to "rock the sexual harassment boat."
So yeah, I felt that rehashing the topic to see what the current thinking was of fellow Servicemembers and Vets seemed warranted considering that my incident happened three or so years ago and the news clip that I saw confirming that the same thing was still happening was just three days ago.
Also, I wanted to give a SGM something to bitch about, since it's not like they have any REAL job to with about. Yeah yeah yeah, "Commander's most senior advisor." As my old Brigade Commander used to say, "a trained parrot can do the same thing. And I can ignore it, too."
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SGM Matthew Quick
You can have all the intelligent conversations you'd like about grooming standards, MSG (Join to see)...just no need to create an entirely new topic for it.
I'm not sure why you feel it necessary to be sarcastically dramatic and unprofessional--enjoy your well-earned retirement.
I'm not sure why you feel it necessary to be sarcastically dramatic and unprofessional--enjoy your well-earned retirement.
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I think in some instances blanket exemptions can be made. Sikhs are a good example. For them to cut their hair, is on par with a Christian urinating on a cross. They have a culture that is very conducive to the military profession so in a case like that I say yes. In cases where the exemption is cultural rather than religious, I am more hesitant to support a blanket exemption. At the end of the day, it comes down to lethality and readiness. If the exemption supports that, then I am all for it. Now I do agree that the standards are a bit too restrictive. I don't see why a Soldier cannot have a well groomed beard. Also I think the male hair standards can be loosened a bit. Of course we still want to maintain a professional appearance, but this can still be achieved with looser standards.
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