ROTC Grooming Standards (men)

[Daisy]

I have a son who is about to enter an ROTC program and I'm wondering if I should even bring this up to him.

His haircut is fine and I'm pretty sure that his hair won't be re-cut but the back of his neck looks a bit rough.

I'm just guessing that the grooming standards for men in NROTC are very similar for men in ROTC... so is the back of the neck hair something that needs to be addressed?

Thanks.

 

[Pags]

Yes. If he's going into Army ROTC, it can't hurt if he shows up with a "military" haircut. Will help him be the gray man. I'll let some of the more motivated souls* on here advise on how it should look and what he should ask for from the barber.

*My "haircut" would never cause me to be confused with a Grunt, Marine or Army.

 

[sanders]

It probably depends on which school's program he is going into. Some care more than others. If it is too long, I'm sure they well let him know.

 

[sickboy]

At PSU everyone gets a haircut. Even if you show up with a good one.

 

[squorch2]

Most indoctrination programs give you a haircut whether you're "in regulations" or not.

 

[Bevo16]

At Texas you had to have a regulation haircut. There was a barber available if you needed to get into regs. Nobody got a buzz or anything more than was required to get into standards.

The barber used to show up (and I think he still does) once a week. The rate was $6 back in 2002 when I left. It was a nice way for us to save a little cash, and he made some good money with his captive audience as well.

 

[scoolbubba]

We got cue balls for rat week. It was the suck. Hopefully your sons ROTC experience is better than mine was.

A bit of advice: If someone in a position of authority says to your son that he needs a haircut, even if he's in regs, its probably best to humor them and get the haircut. He can always let it grow out later.

 

[christaphurrr]

I just e-mailed my intended school 2 days ago about this very subject. Keep in mind its NROTC, but their response was basically show up with your hair definitely within regulations and it will show dedication. I'm sure you could find the regulations on the internet. Like stated above though, it probably differs between schools.

 

[C420sailor]

Get a high fade and be done with it. Blend in, don't be that guy, and then when things settle down you can grow it out.

 

[KCOTT]

for most NROTC programs it won't matter, the first week is freshmen orientation week and pretty much everybody gets their hair cut the good old military style anyway

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

At Texas you had to have a regulation haircut. There was a barber available if you needed to get into regs. Nobody got a buzz or anything more than was required to get into standards.

The barber used to show up (and I think he still does) once a week. The rate was $6 back in 2002 when I left. It was a nice way for us to save a little cash, and he made some good money with his captive audience as well.

Junior charges $5 now and still does a pretty solid job. Every now and then he'll mess up a bit, but nothing too serious. He still has his little shop up in the third deck all the way in the back. I wonder where he'll be when they tear down the ROTC building next year.

 

[OSUbeaver]

Listen to C420, a high fade is the way to go. It's not too extreme but not nasty long either (furry necks and hair poking out around the ears is not the way to be, people notice). When it comes to haircuts be a professional, you can always grow it out later.