Re: 'Can I wear makeup in uniform?'

by **Luxray** Sun 23 Feb 2020, 8:24 am

YOU SAID IT: Plan doomed to fail

Letters to the Editor

Published:
February 23, 2020

'Can I wear makeup in uniform?' - Page 2 Operation-caribbe

PLAN DOOMED TO FAIL

Re: A few good women; Canadian Forces work on boosting female recruitment, Feb. 10

I had to shake my head when I read the article about the Canadian Armed Forces’ attempts to increase the number of enlisted women from 15 per cent to 25 per cent. After much consultation, and I am sure great expense, some of the suggestions included making skirts shorter and tighter and the shoes more stylish.

Really? If women want to enlist, the style of the uniform won’t matter. If it does, they probably are not joining for the right reasons.

Perhaps the government should accept the fact that no more than 15 per cent of the female population wants to enlist instead of spending our tax dollars trying to social engineer yet another situation.

LORRAINE SMALL

OTTAWA

https://ottawasun.com/opinion/letters/you-said-it-plan-doomed-to-fail

by **Forcell** Mon 24 Feb 2020, 9:05 am

Today's letters: Report on recruiting women was backed up by thorough research

Monday, Feb. 24: The author of a study on recruiting women to the military explains where those slogans came from; and other writers weigh in on protests and climate change. You can write to us too, at: letters@ottawacitizen.com. Please see our guidelines online.

OTTAWA CITIZEN EDITORIAL BOARD - February 24, 2020

'Can I wear makeup in uniform?' - Page 2 Prt-afg

Recruitment report based on extensive research

Re: Canadian Forces nixes post about military ‘bling’ but moves ahead with other initiatives, Feb. 14.

This article, which is certain to have raised eyebrows, contained a number of references to a study that I authored in 2017 (the Tiger Team Report). Lacking context, it portrays certain slogans as having come from my keyboard (For instance: “my bling are my medals”; “my war paint is camouflage” and the catchy “of course I throw like a girl, but I never miss”). The reader may be left with the inaccurate impression that these were part of the Tiger Team report, which is wrong.

Two key documents, as well as four working groups, were used to arrive at the recommendations: the Earnscliffe Strategy Group study of 2016, which held 14 focus groups involving approximately 2,000 women; and a second report by DGMPRA (2017) crafted from 45 focus groups held across 12 CAF locations with 335 Regular Force women of all ranks.

These in-depth studies paved the way for the work that was accomplished by the Tiger Team, and although some of the recommendations may seem questionable, they are backed up by detailed research from both the civilian and military sector; of women from all age groups, backgrounds and ranks.

If military personnel took offence, or believed these suggestions were part of the TT report, then this needs to be corrected. To move the yardstick forward, to achieve the government’s target for women in the CAF, everything must be explored. Ideas must be nurtured and developed; some pursued, others dropped.

While tangling together details from disparate sources results in an amusing read, I implore the reader to learn the truth and contribute to a positive dialogue. For somewhere, there is a key that will open the door for women to view the CAF as a viable career option.

Suzanne Raby, Thornbury, Ont.

https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/letters/todays-letters-report-on-recruiting-women-was-backed-up-by-thorough-research

by Scorpion Tue 05 Jul 2022, 6:22 pm

Hair colouring, face tattoos permitted under new military dress rules

Richard Raycraft · CBC News · Posted: Jul 05, 2022

'Can I wear makeup in uniform?' - Page 2 Military-tattoos-20190812

CBC News

by **Kizzer** Thu 07 Jul 2022, 4:07 pm

Get ready for green-haired soldiers! Inside the military’s new dress code

Tristin Hopper
Publishing date:Jul 07, 2022

TOP STORY

Face tattoos, hoop earrings and green hair could become part of military life thanks to a package of sweeping dress code reforms intended to drive more young people into the Canadian Armed Forces.

“Some will consider this progress, while others may see this as unwarranted. We must beware of the false dichotomy that we must choose between changing our dress … or (being) strong,” said Wayne Eyre, Canada’s top soldier, in a Tuesday video announcing the changes.

Starting in September, there will be no restrictions whatsoever on hair length, including for beards (recruits will also be spared the existing policy of having their heads shaved at basic training). Face tattoos will have the okay, provided they’re not racist or gang-related.

Hoop earrings, ear spacers and eyelash extensions are fine, provided they’re not getting in the way of “operational requirements.”

And the whole dress code will be “gender neutral,” meaning that men can now be issued “traditionally gendered items” such as skirts, nylons and purses.

The new regulations are even set to repeal specific prohibitions against slouching, chewing gum or resting hands in pockets. While snapping gum during an official inspection is probably still a no-no, service members will simply be given the general instruction to “comport themselves in a manner which projects a positive military appearance.”

While a number of Western militaries have been relaxing dress codes in recent months, the Canadian changes are on a whole other level. By September the Canadian Armed Forces will be home to the most permissive military dress code in NATO if not the world.

In his Tuesday video address, Eyre acknowledged as much by saying that Canada was “leading the way” on 21st century military dress codes. “We have … consulted with our allies, who have told us that we are several years ahead of them,” he said.

In a much-touted dress code modernization last year, the United States military repealed a ban on “minimum hair length” for female service members, allowed dye jobs so long as they were a “natural” hair colour and allowed men to wear clear nail polish (“no purple, blue, pink, green, orange, bright red, and fluorescent or neon” colours).

Canada, by contrast, has opened the door to any “unnatural” hair colour so long as it doesn’t have a “negative operational impact” (such as neon colours that may compromise uniform camouflage). Male service members can also sport “long fingernails” painted with a wide array of potential colours.

Last year, the British Army announced a “significant” dress code change wherein female soldiers could abandon hair buns in favour of ponytails, braids or cornrows.

Canadas’ new regulations not only allow long hair on men, but military
brass doesn’t care how it’s braided so long as the “face is visible.”

It was only three years ago that the Canadian Armed Forces still retained dress codes that were virtually unchanged since the Second World War. In 2019, the military repealed a longstanding requirement for female service members to wear high heels and nylons while in dress uniform. While male service members could occasionally wear beards and long hair, there had to be a religious or ethnic reason, such as being a practicing Sikh.

The new dress regulations have been in the works for months. Last November, the Acting Chief of Military Personnel, Maj.-Gen. Lise Bourgon, first hinted that changes were coming to “eliminate binary choices by allowing members the freedom to choose the uniform that makes them most comfortable.” In March, she confirmed that the new code would be explicitly “gender neutral.”

The dress code changes come amidst a concerted push to patch up chronic understaffing in the Canadian Armed Forces. The Department of Defence is roughly 7,600 members short of full strength. And with only 65,000 personnel total, the military is dramatically short of an official goal to boost recruitment to 101,500 by 2026.

Of course, there are plenty of non-dress code reasons for this. Most notably, the military has been plagued by sexual misconduct scandals among its top leadership.

While Canadians may soon be the only ones showing up to NATO exercises in waist-length hair and muttonchops, there was a brief and mostly forgotten period when “alternative” styles were de rigueur among European militaries.

The Dutch Army used to allow long hair among its troops as a way to lessen resistance among conscripts. But the policy was rescinded in the 1990s in order to promote a more “professional” appearance.

The German military flirted with allowing long-haired soldiers in the 1970s, but the measure was reversed within months after it was found that hairier service members were more prone to skin problems and parasitic infestations.

National Post

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