THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 22, 1995 TAG: 9503210266
SECTION: MILITARY NEWS PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KRYS STEFANSKY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
Petty Officer 3rd Class Donna Robinson is wearing surgical scrubs and a chic hairstyle that allows dozens of shiny multiple braids to fall neatly to her chin. A hip pageboy 'do, and perfectly within Navy regulations.
If they were taking pictures, Robinson would qualify for a ``how to'' snapshot.
After some rough going, personnel at Portsmouth Naval Medical Center are getting a handle on new grooming standards for women that were issued by the Bureau of Naval Personnel.
The new standards specifically allow multiple braids and corn rows, a hair-raising prospect for some old salts in the service. What are multiple braids? How are they supposed to be worn? What's not allowed on duty?
Within weeks of the official change last fall, personnel at the medical center noticed that some women were interpreting the new policy a little too freely. Braids were sticking out haphazardly, hair was too long.
Many people, even some administrators, had missed word of the official policy change until after it went into effect.
``The rule had been one braid. Then in the '80s, we went to two braids,'' said Cmdr. Alverine Mack, head of the command training team. ``Then, one day in October, I came to work and saw a lot of multiple braids and I said, `Whoa.' ''
She boned up on the new rules: Tightly interwoven multiple braids are OK, as long as they're ``symmetrical fore and aft'' and fit under the brim of a command ball cap; beads and ``outrageously multicolored'' hair are not.
Mack said the rules are fine with her, but creative interpretations are not.
Rather than clarifying the service's new position on hair fashion, the new regulations left many loose ends. Also, fearing accusations of ethnic or gender bias, even senior leadership seemed reluctant to correct the problems.
That's where Mack and a special committee, stepped in.
``Over the next few months I could see that the folks were not in compliance with the basic regulations,'' said Mack, who is black. Women in uniform were getting away with bangs, decorated fingernails and eccentric makeup. ``We decided to do a survey to check understanding of the new policy.''
A questionnaire went out to the staff at Portsmouth and other area clinics.
``We got back comments that showed their understanding of the new regulations was not complete. So we decided to do something pro-active,'' said Mack.
``We wanted to do a positive, educational thing,'' said Suzanne Holmes, a petty officer serving on the committee.
The result is a two-hour presentation called ``Grooming In Today's Navy,'' scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. next Wednesday in the hospital's second deck auditorium. Supervisors, both men and women, are welcome.
Women sailors can get a makeover that will include advice from professional hairstylists, makeup consultants and manicurists.
Those who attend will also get a copy of the new grooming standards and will have their questions about grooming answered. Photographs of acceptable and unacceptable hairstyles will be on display, and models will show hairdos demonstrating the ``dos'' and ``don'ts''.
Committee members have gotten an enthusiastic reaction from women at the hospital who want more help in interpreting the Navy's new standards for their appearance.
``Several have told me it's about time,'' said Teresa Barnet, another petty officer on the committee.
Mack agrees, noting wryly that she recently saw a Navy woman in uniform wearing red, white and blue striped nail polish. Patriotic, she said, but not in the regs. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
BETH BERGMAN/Staff
Members of a Portsmouth Naval Medical Center committee wanted to
clarify the Navy's new grooming standards for women, so they
conducted a survey and organized a presentation.
by CNB