Army salutes long hair, neck tattoos and men’s earrings
IT is just weeks since the Army signalled that it is considering relaxing its ban on beards to prevent putting off potential recruits.
Now military top brass are looking at easing prohibitions on male soldiers sporting long hair and earrings. They could also change the rules on tattoos on troops’ necks and hands.
A senior officer has confirmed that the Army is reviewing its rules on hairstyles, jewellery and tattoos so that soldiers are treated the same regardless of gender, race or religion. It came after an anonymous member of the military raised the issue in a letter to the Army’s Soldier magazine.
The letter said: ‘The move to open the infantry to women is a good thing but the rules are changing for some, not all, and there is no consistency.
‘Male soldiers must wear their hair short but women and men of certain religions are exempt.
‘Women can wear studs in their ears but men cannot. Wearing respirators for countering chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats is cited as the reason men should shave every day, but Sikh and Muslim troops are allowed facial hair.’
The correspondent added: ‘ We should be entitled to wear any of the above unless a specific threat is identified, as well as being allowed to have tattoos on necks and hands.
‘We should also forget all race, religious and sexual orientation and gender More traditional look: Windsor Davies in It Ain’t Half Hot Mum identification. It’s time to ditch the labels that separate us. They are a negative, not a plus, for our Armed Forces.’
Replying to the letter, Colonel Steve Davies, the Army’s assistant head for workforce policy, said: ‘Your underlying observation that inclusion across the Army is important is well recognised as being central to the generation of operational effectiveness. Change is an incremental process that requires consultation, communication and education.
‘ We therefore consider every single alteration very carefully, including all the second and third- order consequences. Operational effectiveness is the key output for the Army and must be safeguarded.
‘This approach to date has been successful, for example, opening all roles to female personnel by the end of the year.
‘The question of beards was considered in the October issue [ of Soldier magazine] in which Lt Col Rachel Emmerson highlighted that the regulations are regularly reviewed.
‘The same applies to the wider stipulations on appearance to which you refer. Such policies seek to recognise soldiers’ diversity while maintaining a
‘There is no consistency’
professional standard.’ The Army’s current rules on tattoos state that they are not acceptable on the head and face and generally considered unacceptable if they would be visible on a passport photo.
At the moment soldiers can grow a beard only if their commanding officer gives permission – normally on religious or medical grounds.
Prince Harry raised eyebrows when he had a full beard on his wedding day while wearing the frockcoat uniform of the Blues and Royals.
Weeks later the Army’s senior officers revealed that they were thinking about whether to relax their ban on beards because it could be putting off potential recruits.