<p>Random question; I know for Naval Academy you have to cut your hair to meet standards -- above collar and less than two inches in bulk -- but what about the other academies? I saw pictures from USAFA's basic and women hair their hair tied, but no short haircuts. Is it only Naval Academy that requires their female plebes to cut their hair?</p>
<p>(If true, I guess it just means we're more hardcore.... =P)</p>
<p>It is a good question Clif, and demontrates how each academy's policies differ.</p>
<p>At West Point the women's hair is not cut automatically. The hair must meet Army standards and be put up so it is above the collar.
Since New Cadets spend 3-4 weeks out in the field having the hair chopped all one length above the collar does not allow hair to meet Army standards.
Hair must be tied back and out of the face. The women can't be fussing with pins and hair products out in the field which is kind of hard to do when hair is chopped to above the shoulder. If a female cadet had hair that gets in the way of protective equipment or in her face, it would be cut to solve the problem.</p>
<p>If I am not mistaken, Navy cuts women's hair so it will be in regulation when in white works.</p>
<p>And no, it doesn't mean that Navy plebe summer is more hardcore - that is the subject of another debate in which everyone loses. All three are pretty tough, mentally and physically.</p>
<p>Personally, I think it's a blessing to have short hair during the summer. Putting hair up in even the simplest way takes time -- time that you don't have. And even well put up hair is prone to fall down/out of its hold during the rigors of plebe summer. Also, most of the time your hair is wet -- either b/c you don't have time to blow it dry or from the humidity. Putting up wet hair isn't great for the hair and there's not much chance for it to dry out.</p>
<p>I'm not sure whether the other SAs require women to cut their hair but, IMO, you're still better off doing so. It's only 6-8 weeks of your life and, the one thing about hair, it always grows back. :)</p>
<p>As I said above - Army and Air Force do not cut women's hair - routinely. There is a good reason for it. The training is different. Navy has a compelling reason to cut females hair and Army and AF have compelling reasons not to cut hair. One is not better than the other. </p>
<p>My daughter has long hair that is all one length. It is much easier for her to put in in a bun with one hair tie - takes about 20 seconds than trying to figure out how to pin up hair cut one length above the shoulder since it is not allowed to fly in the face. The recommendation that I have heard from many USMA female cadets is to leave the hair long so it can be thrown up into a bun. If too many pins are used or if they fall out - there is trouble. For WP and AF the hair cannot be allowed to fall into your face - this is nearly impossible with the hair cuts that Navy gives. The only alternative is a very short hair cut above the ears.</p>
<p>For those female plebes: make sure you get your hair cut BEFORE you get to the academy. I would suggest even cutting it a little bit shorter than what the maximum length is, only because you really don't want them touching your hair on I-day. I got mine cut a few weeks before and starting messing with it and curling it under to make sure it looked within regulations...if you're a girly girl and want to have your hair as long as you can...I'd suggest doing the same! Also, they typically touch everyone's hair who goes through early in the morning. However, if you wait til a little later in the day (say..0830 or so) they're already behind and probably will push you right through unless your hair looks unreasonably long. As for over the summer, there will be a series of 3 haircut sessions..don't worry though..my other female classmates and I spent that time washing eachother's hair and making sure it was well conditioned while the guys got their hair cut..if you play it right, you'll only have the initial shock of one massive haircut (being the one prior to I-day).</p>
<p>JustAMom -- Thanks. That makes much more sense to me now. And I don't meant to offend in any way -- I almost went AF, haha. I had a friend get his hackles up, when I pointed out the difference without a real explanation, so I was a little confused. And that said, I do wish that there was a component in plebe summer for Navy that involved going out into the woods like AFA and West Point.</p>
<p>That said, I'm getting my hair cut tomorrow. Good bye long hair! =)</p>