# Long hair in the army **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 29, 2003, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-hair-in-the-army/198514 "2003-08-29T21:24:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2018, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-hair-in-the-army/198514/21 "2018-11-01T14:22:51Z")
Google must be broken. I can’t get an image of the sort of wig being discussed here. What the devil is a short hair wig? Is it like one of those “bald guy” latex skull caps with high & tight fuzz glued on it? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2018, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-hair-in-the-army/198514/22 "2018-11-01T16:38:56Z")
> [@racer72](#): > > I was in the Navy during this period, I never saw or experienced any of the above. The only relaxing for hair standards during this time was for facial hair, not the hair on one’s head. Instead of neatly trimmed, sailors could grow long bushy beards. What I did see was during dress inspections, were guys that did not meet the Navy’s hair standards, they would be marched over to the base barber shop for a proper haircut. If you never saw drug use or lax grooming standards, you weren’t paying attention. There were still rules for beards, but they were abused. I never saw anyone marched to the barber shop and suspect that you never did either. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2018, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-hair-in-the-army/198514/23 "2018-11-01T19:31:47Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > Google must be broken. I can’t get an image of the sort of wig being discussed here. What the devil is a short hair wig? Is it like one of those “bald guy” latex skull caps with high & tight fuzz glued on it? In my days, Army hair standards were relaxed a bit - it had to be off the ears & collar. So, wigs like [this](https://www.wigs.com/collections/mens-wigs-toupees-hairpieces/products/classic-mens-lace-front-wig-him) would have worked. ---
**Author:** ![KMS94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ad7895/32.png) [@KMS94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KMS94)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2018, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-hair-in-the-army/198514/24 "2018-11-01T20:07:52Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > I was USAR from 1971-77. After I returned from training at the end of '72, I let my hair grow to shoulder length and wore a wig for monthly drills & annual training. The only problem was that I had to get bigger caps. My father was in the National Guard in the 70’s and 80’s, working in the supply section. Has has told me of the enormous hat sizes they had to stock for the wig wearers. When I enlisted in '89, I saw no sign of wig wearers. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2018, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-hair-in-the-army/198514/25 "2018-11-01T21:50:32Z")
> [@starlifter141](#): > > I can speak first-hand to this subject. SNIP Just FYI, the original poster that asked this question passed away 12 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-hair-in-the-army/198514/26 "2018-11-02T01:15:53Z")
When I was a student at Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California, there was one Sikh student, a US Army Staff Sergeant, who had long hair in a turban and a beard. He was an outstanding soldier, too. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-hair-in-the-army/198514/27 "2018-11-02T11:20:51Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > When I was a student at Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California, there was one Sikh student, a US Army Staff Sergeant, who had long hair in a turban and a beard. He was an outstanding soldier, too. There has been a religious exemption in Army regulations for decades. It was rarely granted but several Sikhs were able to get it. Almost 2 years ago the Army made the process easier. I don’t know what that did to recruitment numbers. > **[New Army policy OKs soldiers to wear hijabs, turbans and religious beards](https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2017/01/05/new-army-policy-oks-soldiers-to-wear-hijabs-turbans-and-religious-beards/)** > > Observant Sikhs and conservative Muslims are officially able to wear religious head coverings and beards, thanks to a directive issued Tuesday that updates the Army's grooming and appearance regulations. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-hair-in-the-army/198514/28 "2018-11-02T12:14:44Z")
I remember the song in _Mad_. I assumed it was meant as a joke suggestion, not a reference to anything that had actually taken place. The words (sung to “The Caisson Song”) started out: “At Fort Dix, at Fort Knox, we will hide our bushy locks As we draftees, are keeping, our hair” ---
**Author:** ![El\_DeLuxo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_deluxo/32/9043_2.png) [@El\_DeLuxo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_DeLuxo)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-hair-in-the-army/198514/29 "2018-11-04T12:31:10Z")
Just how does one make the long-hair-under-a-short-wig thing work, as in looking even somewhat natural? A head of long hair has substantial _bulk_. Is the cap part of the wig so tight it squashes down the real hair, or loose enough that the wearer can tuck it all underneath? And wouldn’t either one make the wearer’s head look oversized or lumpy? I’ve got long hair, and i have a hard time stuffing it under a spandex hood or even a watch cap so that it doesn’t look funny. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-hair-in-the-army/198514.md?page=1)