Military Women Ticked Off After Grooming Rules Updated, Regulations Tightened

Air Force officials implemented new dress code restrictions last week that include more stringent grooming requirements for men and women.

As of Feb. 1, males in the Air Force are required to have hair that does not touch their ears and to shave daily unless they have a medical or religious waiver, according to a copy of the memo from Air Force Chief of Staff David Allvin obtained by Air & Space Forces Magazine.

Females, meanwhile, must have “clear or French or American Manicure” nail polish when in uniform, according to the document.

Until this week, about 60 shades of tan, white, pink, red, brown, and even green polish were allowed, according to a previous edition of Air & Space Forces Magazine from March 2024.

At least some female Airmen were miffed by the new rules.

“Three options! No matter what your skin tone,” Air Force member and online influencer Elora Jean said on social media, according to the U.K.’s Daily Mail.

She noted that the latest guidance reverses recently relaxed rules that allowed women to have a much broader range of nail colors.

“People are not happy,” she added, noting that female Air Force members are using Reddit forums to vent their frustrations.

“They think that the priorities are a little bit skewed right now and nail polish is not really that serious,” Jean said.

The content creator added that “there are a lot of other things that should be focused on when it comes to military readiness and recruiting.”

Allvin, however, explained that the new policy will promote the mission of the Air Force.

“As you review the memoranda and take action to ensure compliance, never forget that discipline and accountability are, and always will be, the backbone of an effective and lethal fighting force,” he told Air Force members in the memo.

“Complying with and enforcing standards demonstrates d commitment to our winning team, as well as an understanding of the gravity of our profession in today’s volatile security environment,” the senior official added.

The new requirements also banned Duty Identifier Patches, which indicate the various positions Airmen may hold.

For instance, “SF” is used for Security Forces, “MUNS” is for Munitions, and “PA” is for Public Affairs.

“Under the principle that we have of ‘easy to understand, easy to comply with, easy to enforce,’ this fails that test,” Allvin said.

“But there’s a bigger issue at play here: as we identify ourselves as one type of Airman or another, with one specialty or one skillset or another, we really diminish ourselves,” he continued.

“While that is a contribution we make, our real value is our integral part of a winning, warfighting team. And that’s what we want to emphasize: that we value the team over the individual.”

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