I’m a 19 yr old AA E-4 in the army and I have been in the reserves for 2 years now and since I’ve been in I’ve seen a lot of rules that i feel are unnecessary or can be against some ones culture, like having dreads. Now I understand there are rituals and originality in cutting your hair for the army, but as an AA overall and speaking for other ethnicities we have certain cultures and beliefs that include OUR HAIR. A person who takes pride in themselves also take pride in their hair and for some people who have joined the army and didn’t know about having to cut their hair lost that pride and it may have even made them lose their self esteem which can lead to OTHER things. Being in the army at this generation it’s hard to go through life by ourselves so when we are in basic training and we don’t have that support system we are use to and we don’t look or feel the same, the motivation isn’t there. Which might lead to some people not wanting to go through with the army. If you’ve joined the army in the last 2 to 3 years then you know about all the kids who have regretted their decision due to military rules. Which the army isn’t a bad decision it might have been one of my best actually so I’m not against the having the idea of uniformity and originality as in a certain length to be able to fit under the cap because some regulations should be put in place to let people know that you should take pride in your self and who you represent. I feel as though since the rules can get a little switch up for the women why not the men; dreads, natural braids, or twist  should be acceptable, it should look presentable no matted dreads or “Florida Locs” as I like to call them because they won’t fit in the cap, your dreads shouldn’t pass your eyes and it should never be covering your face because it could block you from seeing something coming your way that could harm you. When it comes to putting your dreads in the cap rubber bands, clips or a up-do styles that doesn’t interfere with the cap would do, just as the females do as of now.It shouldn’t be a double standard when it comes to hair if a man wants to have longer hair and or dreads he should be allowed.