Over the years, the Army has changed its standards of grooming. We went from an Army made up of mostly farmers, and tradesmen, to an Army with career soldiers. During that time some of the grooming standards became a little more restrictive, i.e. “the high and tight, clean shaven look”. This gave the Army service member a very distinctive look. Now as our modern Army starts to integrate with a more tolerant society, and we start to allow religions to follow their own grooming standards. This raises the question; can we allow service members to wear beards, and still maintain the appearance of a professional Soldier? Beards have been around for a long time. King Solomon, Jesus, Abraham Lincoln, and Gandalf all had one, just to …show more content…
Thanks to the inception of chemical warfare and the need for gas masks, the beard and hair became a danger to soldiers that could not seal off their face from the toxic fumes. Despite this, many officers maintained a form of facial hair with the mustache. This upper lip addition would plague an officer’s life throughout WWI and WWII as it became an obvious indication of higher rank to snipers. The reason was officers, and some higher rank enlisted, tended to disregard some of the regulations and many grew mustaches. Most enlisted at those times were clean-shaven following those same regulations, but could still get away with a little lack of facial hair maintenance. As we know now the modern Army has a strict policy governed by AR 670-1 as to haircuts, hairstyles (for females), and facial hair. Yet a new Army Directive has come out that is allowing different changes to policy for religious purposes. This Directive will allow a soldier, with a religious preference hindered by 670-1, an amendment to policy that would allow a beard, as well as wear of other headdresses. Because of that and other requests, the Army is conducting research into integrating a policy that would allow an Army wide change, and give Soldiers an opportunity to grow beards. Some challenges that this intended policy will need to overcome include wearing a protective CBRN (Chemical Biological
In order for the Army to be a profession, the American people need to determine and declare us a profession. We provide security and defense to our citizens and in exchange, they trust and honor that our decisions are for the benefit of our nation. The people do not regulate the Army, but they trust that the Army regulates itself thru its ethic. I quote, “The Army Ethic is the evolving set of laws, values, and beliefs, deeply embedded within the core of the Army culture and practiced by all members of the Army Profession to motivate and guide the appropriate conduct of individual members bound together in common moral purpose.” Laws alone will not make a soldier a professional; it is the way the army educates, motivates and shapes a soldier to become a professional. A competent professional with a strong character and commitment
AR 670 - 1 Covers the various different wears of and uniforms and the standard of professional appearance for all soldier in the active and reserve army service . The professional appearance of the soldier is paramount to efficiency of a modern fighting force . Dress and appearance standards should always be upheld to show the discipline and pride of the soldier. This is the most basic soldiering task and should always be handled at the lowest level . The proper wear of the military uniform is important to keeping the esprit de corp of the military and ensuring the soldier takes pride in himself and his unit . The uniform is the most visible outward sign of military service. Both practical and aesthetic, the uniform identifies a servicemember as part of a unit and serves as an outfit in
Males are prohibited from wearing wigs or hairpieces while in uniform or in civilian clothes on duty, except to cover natural baldness or physical disfiguration caused by accident or medical procedure. When worn, wigs or hair pieces will conform to the standard haircut criteria as stated above.
Being in the army, means you are part of a team. Being part of a team means you have to rely on other people, and other people have to rely on you. If you aren't being a team player then you can let the team and your battle buddies down. By not shaving, you are letting your battle buddies and team down. The army is based on uniformity and cleanliness. When you don't shave you begin to expire that idea.
In this essay I will describe the many requirements and expectations set forth in the army's AR670-1. I will describe the importance of obedience to it and cite many of it's detailed descriptions. I am writing this essay because I failed to meet the standards asked of me me by both these regulations, and my leadership. I accept the responsibility of my actions and will not let my failure recur, nor will I let my fellow soldiers repeat my mistake. Since my failure was in regards to grooming or personal additions to uniform, I thought it would be pertinent to cover these subjects most thoroughly, If any additional information is required of me I will add on to this.
Personal Appearance Regarding Personnel Currently Serving in the United States Army. As stated in AR 670-1, Wear and Appearance of Army Uniforms and Insignia, paragraph 1-7 A,
Appearance is a very important and highly regarded concept in the military. It is the staple of first impressions, the visual hand shake. A sergeant looks at his soldiers and judges their readiness for the day with how they appear. Why? Because it is a representation of honor, integrity, and duty. A soldier who takes the time out his day to make sure he looks excellent and looks like he is a soldier shows that he is a dedicated worker and that his Non-commissioned officers do not have to waste their time with correcting his deficiencies. Aspects of appearance in the military include: looking physically healthy, If a soldier doesn’t look healthy than he looks like he may not be able to perform soldiering task and the basic duties given to
In my opinion soldiers should be allowed to grow out their beards and moustaches as long and as thick as they want. The army is about discipline and control, however like a teenage kid under his parents strict rules a soldier would want to break the rules in order to feel freedom in their lives. By placing regulations on soldiers to constrict the soldiers into doing what one person thinks is the most professional thing, helping a soldier be best prepared to protect his country when in need? What about in a several day conflict against enemy troops? Is a soldier undisciplined or unprofessional because he didn’t shave while bullets were flying over his head? Maybe not, but the army considers that soldier as undisciplined if that soldier doesn’t shave immediately after coming back from the field.
A policy in which Peter the Great brought about was most notably the beard tax. He wanted the young and educated to adopt western traditions; of these western traditions, the cutting of the beard was adopted.
This paper begins by examines the Religious Accommodations currently addressed within the ranks of the United States Army. Jewish Orthodox Jews and Sikhs are chosen to illustrate the bounds being made to accommodate Soldiers in the armed forces nevertheless maintaining standards, structure and discipline. The paper concludes with the process administered to afford anyone desiring accommodation for grooming standards the opportunity to have their needs met.
With the new revisions tattoos won’t be the only thing up for discussion; hair, makeup, and piercings will be too (Dallet). In a recent article there was a discussion about an off duty troop who was unshaven, and had on torn clothes who had a piercing. While he was out and about on the military base, he was seen by a few Airmen and who quickly labeled the Army as “The Ghetto Service”. This assumption gave the impression that the Army let anyone who wanted to enlist in. This relates back to the army tattoo policy, because I feel that the Army is placing those that have tattoos in the same category as those Airmen. Chandler took that situation as an insult and this is when he decided that it was time to fix this.
It’s important to wear to army uniform correctly because the habits you do while you are home in a safe environment will continue when you deploy. Whenever you go on a mission you should always double and triple check yourself to make sure you have the right equipment. To make sure you are not missing the little things like you camel bag, or even the big things like you weapon. That’s why it’s important to always check yourself in the mirror before you leave. Not only to check you have the right things but also to make sure everything is in the right place, looking how it should. The same goes for whenever you go out, you always want to be looking good at all times, where ever you go. That’s the same type of thinking you need to have every time you put on
AR 670–1 Wear and Appearance of Army Uniforms and Insignia This rapid action revision of 3 February 2005-o Updates figures throughout the regulation (throughout). o Clarifies the definition of unauthorized tattoos while wearing the class A uniform (chap 1). Identifies officials responsible for making initial entry determinations on tattoos and brands (chap 1). Delegates the authority to MACOM commanders to grant exceptions to policy or discharges on initial entry soldiers with tattoos (chap 1). Clarifies the definition of a privately
I too was a navy corpsman while active duty. I think most with a military background should have scored high in image/appearance because standards have to be met while in uniform. If someone is wearing the uniform wrong or if the uniform looks sloppy or dirty that person will surely be called out. Working near the command suite professionalism must always be shown since you work around high ranking officers and enlisted who are leaders. Professionalism is actually expected. Being able to communicate effectively is a must so that important information is passed from the top to the bottom of the chain of command. Having a positive attitude and being aware of others body language, facial expressions, and feelings are very important. We
Gay people have not always been barred from military service, and in fact, have served in the nation's wars throughout its history. The military's official stance toward gays and lesbians has evolved over time, often in tandem with social change. In the 1920's and 1930's, homosexuality was treated as a criminal offense, punishable by imprisonment. That attitude began to change in the early 1940's,