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One of the panel members was a female officer who graduated Ranger School. Her inclusion helped create the new rule authorizing buzz cuts for women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen female soldiers go through training, such as Special Forces or Ranger, they shave their heads \u2026 and when they come out of the course, they\u2019re out of regulation,\u201d said Sgt. Maj. Brian Sanders, the Army\u2019s top enlisted soldier for uniform policy. \u201cAs of right now, the current standard does not allow female soldiers to have their hair lower than a quarter of an inch.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ultimately, the panel agreed to change that regulation. It will no longer tell women what length of hair they must have. But not every decision was quickly sorted out by the panel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The policy for wearing long pony tails \u201cwas the only time, out of all of [the policies], where the panel was a little bit split,\u201d Sanders said. The panel agreed to authorize the long pony tail only under specific circumstances, such as physical training and tactical operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most of the changes are designed with practicality in mind, Sanders noted. Wearing a long pony tail rather than a bun, for instance, will help women in the field with helmets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWearing a bun is not very functional when you\u2019re wearing a helmet,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cIf you\u2019ve seen some pictures of some of our female soldiers out there with this helmet on, the helmet tends to lean forward onto the top of their eyebrows, which can impair vision.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The changes authorize women to wear earrings in their Army combat uniforms, except in field environments where access to hygiene is limited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Women can also wear lipsticks that aren\u2019t \u201cextreme\u201d shades, such as blue, gold or hot pink, according to the revised regulations. Nail polish is allowed with similar limits on \u201cextreme\u201d colors. Men can wear clear nail polish now, too, a move that Sanders said will allow male soldiers who work with chemicals to protect their nails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, many of the changes are geared towards women, and that\u2019s intentional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAt the end of the day, our women are mothers, spouses and sisters,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cThey definitely want to maintain their identity and this is one way to get after it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lt. Gen. Gary Brito, the Army\u2019s deputy chief of staff for personnel issues, said the changes will better reflect the cultural and gender demographics within the service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have soldiers from all walks of life, all 50 states plus the territories, and we have to represent them,\u201d Brito said Tuesday. \u201cInclusive grooming standards help to foster our ability to recruit and retain the best talent, whether that\u2019s a new private or an officer coming in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Offensive terms will be replaced with alternative words. Dreadlocks, for instance, has ties to the American slavery experience, and will be replaced with \u201clocs,\u201d primer slides shared with reporters read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other language used in grooming standards will also be revised. At the \u201ddiscretion of the commander\u201d and \u201cprofessional\u201d are too subjective, the primer slides stated. Those phrases will be replaced with more precise terms, \u201cvisual representations, color swatches, and familiarity of hair styles and textures,\u201d the slides added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some of the incoming changes will be reflected in a revised version of Army Regulation 670-1 that will be issued in February. Other changes will not be included in the revised regulation, but will be disseminated through memorandums and official guidance in the coming month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/osutwomen.jpg.jpg\")