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| Europe |
| Germany: Army haircut regs infringe personality development |
| 2005-06-19 |
| Well, we don't have to worry about a resurgent German army any time soon. But it doesn't bode well for German resolve to deal with any tough issues in the GWOT or at home. GI Joe's buzz used to be troop standard, as officers meticulously monitored the length of soldiers' hair. Now even ponytails are allowed in the German army after a few shaggy men demanded equal treatment with the women. Demi Moore might have shaved off her luxurious mane to prove she was just as tough as her male colleagues. But these days in Germany, soldiers are looking more enviously towards GI Jane's long hair and demanding equal treatment. Equal treatment for all — those were the arguments German women used to gain entry into the army. Now the men are doing an about-face and learning to apply the same terms to push gender neutrality. After all, why shouldn't men also enjoy the same pleasures of coming through their long locks? That's what an 18-year-old recruit argued, when his commanding officer demanded he cut off his 25-centimeter long ponytail. When he refused to do so, he was imprisoned for subordination and fined 150 euros. Only after he was faced with up to three weeks arrest, did the young man agree to sacrifice his tresses. At the same time he sought legal council and demanded the repeal of the so-called "hair and beard regulation," which enforces strict -- and specifically short -- standards of hairdressing for men ("closely cut so that it lies flat on the head; it must not cover the ears or eyes of the soldier), while allowing longer coiffures for women. The fact that female soldiers could get away with wearing a wider range of hairdos as long as they didn't interfere with the correct placement of the hat was unfair, the soldier argued. It meant he didn't have the same freedom to develop his personality as the women. A military court in Bavaria was convinced. It said the dual standard violated the armed forces guidelines on equal rights and ruled that the hair regulation was unconstitutional. Requiring male soldiers to cut off their hair was an infringement of the basic right to freedom of expression. |
| Posted by:too true |
| #7 This is mild compared with Germany's permitting gay soldiers to sleep together in barracks. |
| Posted by: Captain America 2005-06-19 22:28 |
| #6 If they're eighteen, aren't they supposed to have a personality by now? |
| Posted by: Phil Fraering 2005-06-19 21:24 |
| #5 Not to mention ABSALOM's long hair getting caught in a thicket and giving his position away. Ask CROMWELL and America's civil war Armies, North and South, how many men suffered serious or debilitating head and upper body rashes due to pervasive head sweat and lice, ... all the way to Vietnam and Desert Storm. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2005-06-19 20:45 |
| #4 I'm not so sure about the combat thing. Germany's defense mninister did announce recently that the Bundeswehr will participate in more international missions, is likely to be involved in combat and should be prepared for casualties. That said I can't remember having met a soldier with long hair yet so I guess it's pretty much a non issue. Those guys will probably peel potatos for the rest of their draft time. |
| Posted by: True German Ally 2005-06-19 15:03 |
| #3 This reminds me of someone (jokingly) describing the 19th century British Army as "a social institution prepared for any emergency save that of war." |
| Posted by: Matt 2005-06-19 12:47 |
| #2 The one thing to keep in mind is the German army is mostly made up of draftees and will probably remain so for the near and at least mid future. Hence the focus on 'rights' and 'personality development'. If they ever get serious about having an effective army again, this sort of thing will change in a hurry, I suspect. |
| Posted by: rkb 2005-06-19 12:34 |
| #1 Since, unlike our military, any women in the German army would probably never get close enough to a battle to be part of any fighting, this works for me. With long hair, the idiot male members of the German Army won't be able to get their gas masks to fit right, and.... (fill in the blank yourself). Darwinism in action. Not that I think the German Army will actually be in combat anytime soon. Except maybe in their own country against islamofascists. (Or maybe not, if they've been hanging around the appeasing Phrogs too long.) |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2005-06-19 12:31 |