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. behind every silly appearance there was a woman that told him he looked good that way.
Sorry Huckleberry (love your name btw), there is nothing silly about a military mans appearance! Personally, I am partial to Marines. Nothing like a man in uniform......
I've kept my hair within AF standards for the last 11 years since retiring. However, I shaved it off two months ago to join my wife who lost her hair during chemotherapy.
In the Navy: No hair longer than 3 inches, no hair touching the ears, no hair touching the collar, and the sides and back of the head must be 'tapered' [not blocked].
Beards can not have any individual hair longer than 3/4 inch, the bulk of the beard must lay within 1/2 inch from the face, and the growth of hair must be continuous [if there is a mustache and a beard they must connect, there can not be any dis-connected growths of hair anywhere on a sailors face]
I volunteered as a barber on subs when I was not on shift.
About 50% of my career I wore a full beard. In 1985 beards were restricted to "at sea" only. At sea beards were still common as late as 2000.
By the time when I retired in 2001, most guys were wearing the marine-looking buzz cuts. It was largely about Evals. If you could be marked down for sloppy appearance, and that could keep you from advancing, then by having a buzz-cut you look less sloppy and have one less worry. Also you can then lose the comb. Both showering and dressing becomes faster.
I still buzz-cut my head, I use a #2 clipper. It is fast, it only needs to be done once a month, I do not have to pay a barber, and it is convenient.
In the Navy: No hair longer than 3 inches, no hair touching the ears, no hair touching the collar, and the sides and back of the head must be 'tapered' [not blocked].
Beards can not have any individual hair longer than 3/4 inch, the bulk of the beard must lay within 1/2 inch from the face, and the growth of hair must be continuous [if there is a mustache and a beard they must connect, there can not be any dis-connected growths of hair anywhere on a sailors face]
I volunteered as a barber on subs when I was not on shift.
About 50% of my career I wore a full beard. In 1985 beards were restricted to "at sea" only. At sea beards were still common as late as 2000.
By the time when I retired in 2001, most guys were wearing the marine-looking buzz cuts. It was largely about Evals. If you could be marked down for sloppy appearance, and that could keep you from advancing, then by having a buzz-cut you look less sloppy and have one less worry. Also you can then lose the comb. Both showering and dressing becomes faster.
I still buzz-cut my head, I use a #2 clipper. It is fast, it only needs to be done once a month, I do not have to pay a barber, and it is convenient.
The last time i was underway on a submarine was in 2006, and underway beards are still popular, but with only three conditions - A) you had your fish, B) you owned a no-shave chit (small ships fundraiser), and C) it did not interfere with the sealing capacity of the EAB.
I'm a soldier and I concur with all of the above comments. It's about convenience, pride, military culture, etc. Still, I wear my hair fairly long by Army standards -- there are a few of us "hippies" out there. I'd say I have almost a full inch on top!
Many of my Army & Navy friends say it is just easier to keep it short, and like others have said a lot of the guys do it because there are those of us females that find the military cut to be sexy!
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