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, “General. The Army is a uniformed service where discipline is judged, in part, by the manner in which a soldier wears a prescribed uniform, as well as by the individual’s personal appearance. Therefore, a neat and well-groomed appearance by all soldiers is fundamental to the Army and contributes to building the pride and esprit essential to an effective military force. A vital ingredient of the Army’s strength and military effectiveness is the pride and self-discipline that American soldiers bring to their Service through a conservative military image. It is the responsibility of commanders to ensure that military personnel under their command present a neat and soldierly appearance. Therefore, in the absence of specific procedures or guidelines, commanders must determine a soldier’s compliance with standards in this regulation. Soldiers must take pride in their appearance at all times, in or out of uniform, on and off duty. Pride in appearance includes soldiers’ physical fitness and adherence to acceptable weight standards, in accordance with AR 600–9.” By this, we can see the basic fundamentals and reasons behind the uniform policies that are currently in place.
If we continue reading, we would find that there are guidelines to determine the proper length and general shape/outline that male service members are allowed to have for their facial hair. Paragraph 1-8, which covers hair and fingernail standards and facial hair policies, “(1) General. The requirement for hair grooming standards is necessary to maintain uniformity within a military population. Many hairstyles are acceptable, as long as they are neat and conservative. It is not possible to address every acceptable hairstyle, or what constitutes eccentric or conservative grooming. AR 670-1
There are many...