“16. Must get a haircut even if it tampers with my “Samson like powers”.”
In the US Air Force, males much have their hair groomed to less than an inch and a quarter in bulk, and not touching the ears or the collar. Females can have up to 3 inches in bulk, and the hair must not go down to the collar unless they are in PT gear or wearing a gas mask. In both of the latter cases, the hair is pulled back into a ponytail that hangs down the back (tucked under the chem-suit in the case of a gas mask, of course).
FWIW I find longer hair to be uncomfortable when spending large amounts of time in the field. It gets matted and greasy, and it bunches up and make the helmet uncomfortable. I prefer to get it cut short when I’m going to be spending a lot of time in the field.
Was the rights violation the haircut itself, or the double standard for men and women? In other words, could the military have stayed within the law by requiring men and women alike to get buzz cuts?
That’s not made entirely clear in the article I linked to. Upon further research, it gets even more complicated and apparently there is no consensus after all. I will try to summarize what I’ve found, but please take it with a grain of salt. I don’t know all that much about the structure of the legal system in Germany, and I know even less about the military. Anyway, here goes:
There are two military courts of first instance, the Truppendienstgerichte Nord and Süd, with jurisdiction for disciplinary matters in the north and south of Germany, respectively. Each of those courts in turn consists of several independent chambers.
Now, the article I had linked to was about a decision of the 4th chamber of the Truppendienstgericht Nord in late 2004. They found that the army had wrongfully coerced the plaintiff to cut his hair, in violation of his right to free development of his personality (a fundamental right granted by article 2 of the Basic Law). That was an ad hoc decision, though; they did not challenge the standing order itself (the [FONT=arial,helvetica][SIZE=2]Zentrale Dienstvorschrift der Bundeswehr[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica][SIZE=2] ZDv 10/5[/SIZE][/FONT]), as I had incorrectly claimed above. The Ministry of Defense promptly stated that they had no intention of rescinding the order.
In another case before the 1st chamber of the Truppendienstgericht Süd, the court found in March 2007 that ZDv 10/5 did not excessively infringe on article 2 of the Basic Law, neither was the double standard a violation of its article 3 (equality).
This position was subsequently confirmed in several case-by-case decisions of the 8th chamber of the northern court.
It seems as if the parliamentary ombudsman for the military keeps pestering the ministry about the situation, but so far to no avail.
For what it’s worth, when I was young I was given a book on Vietnam and instantly became hooked for some odd reason. I read every book on the subject I could find, especially first person special forces accounts because they were usually more interesting, and I’ve never heard of Native Americans being sought out for their tracking ability, or for any other reason for that matter. Nor do I remember Native Americans being overly common in the units. I know many did serve in special forces, but I don’t think every unit was assigned a tracker through some recruitment drive on the reservations. I can only remember reading about one, Billy Walkabout, who became the highest decorated Native American in the war. Good soldier, but I’ve never heard a word about his tracking ability.
Special Forces did recruit locals like the Montagnards. Having lived their entire lives in the mountains and jungles of Vietnam, they were famous for their tracking abilities. In their villages, they often wore loincloths and went barefoot in the jungle, so they were a lot like what us white folks think of the stereotypical Native American with mystical tracking abilities. I’ve never seen a photo of a Montagnard with long hair.
FWIW, my dad, WW2 army vet, Pacific theater has mentioned that the army’s long-standing prohibition of beards on enlisted men was waived for those on the front lines. Seems light-skinned faces had a way of reflecting light on dark nights, making them a handy target. Everyone let their beards grow out while they were in the field. This has probably been done elsewhere too, although I suppose today it’s been supplanted by grease paint and other camouflage techinques.
SS
Differing haircuts are hardly noticeable with headgear worn in formation. Females’ hair is an entirely seperate issue, but I am just happy I dont have to deal with that. Leaders are too tolerant or too lazy with respect to the hairstyle worn by female Soldiers. The standard is simply not upheld.
As for fat people… There is a standard for that too. If you have fat people in your formation, that is your leaders’ fault! They do look like ass and they need to shape up or ship out. Thankfully the new SMA is cracking down!
And are you seriously saying that we should allow new standards that look like ass simply because we already have a couple that do now? That makes little sense.
We shouldn’t be adding new, loser standards. Instead we should focus on tightening up the standards we presently have. Wash and wear uniforms for garisson office work and even semi-formal occassions? Why!? Dirty boots? Hell no!
Interesting question… I never really thought about it much, except as others have mentioned for the “uniformity of look” factor.
As long as I can remember, the idea of short hair was because of potential lice (or other parasitic) infestations, but I haven’t found anything that confirms this. It certainly seems logical.
From a personal standpoint, wearing a crew cut is definitely the way to go when spending time in the field. It’s just more hygienic, easier to clean and cooler.
Mustaches are authorized. Not big porn staches, but yes. Lots of soldiers wear them. Usually older guys and non-white guys. Not many younger white guys, IDKW.
Not quite. When a lot of the 1968-generation was drafted, long hair was so prevalent that the Ministry of defence issued a “hair net resolution” in 1971 and bought thousands of hairnets.
The ridicule this generated in the population lead to quickly rescinding it in 1972 again.
They were pretty much mandatory during the month of March when I was in Korea. But that might have been because one of the past commanders of our wing there was Robin “The Wolf” Olds
The famous and excellent work Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Mackay, available for free download from many sites, contains a lengthy section on men’s hair fashions and the drivers for them through the centuries, which may be of related interest.
“For example, the hair follicle acts as a sensory organ and immunologic sentinel for the skin. Hairs detect mechanical stimuli above the surface of the skin, and the slightest bend in a hair activates neuroreceptors in the follicle, relaying important sensory information to the nervous system.”
The Biology of Hair Follicles / Paus, Ralf ; Cotsarelis, George
The New England Journal of Medicine, 1999, Vol.341(7), pp.491-497 [Peer Reviewed Journal]
