33 Comments
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ariane's avatar

The warriors' bodies must be shaved smooth, that they may swim with swiftness through Neptune's realm to battle the Celestial menace upon their own shores.

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Ken Klippenstein's avatar

lol

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Lori's avatar

I'd love to have been a fly on the wall for the nail polish committee. Can you imagine those conversations?

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Lori's avatar

did they specify if guys can wear it? I am super curious about that. I mean national security and all

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ScottB's avatar

I was about to enlist, but not if I can’t flash lime green nails…

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Lori's avatar

did they leave black on there for goth inclusion? so many questions

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lee levin's avatar

What is an American manicure

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Clif Brown's avatar

We have children leading us and much of male America is childlike. Big pickups, cars with loud or no mufflers, vanity license plates like "RUFFSTUF", "BADBOY", "DEMON", etc. is pure high school foolish nonsense.

The priority of "look at me!" is astonishing. Being an admirable man has nothing to do with appearances; it can't be detected by sight or sound. At the top we have the perfect example of what an admirable man is not, evident in everyday behavior with a premium on punishing and badmouthing others: Trump. What a role model of everything one would not want a man to be. John Wayne was laughable, but at least he could ride a horse. Now we've hit bottom.

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Abigail Joy's avatar

FWIW, the broken windows theory of policing has been debunked. As usual, Hegseth is completely ignorant.

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Madeline's avatar

lol "DOGE missed a spot"

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Thomas's avatar

I recall a time when potential recruits were rejected if they had a tattoo. The rule was only rescinded when standards were relaxed in order to increase recruitment numbers.

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Nan's avatar

This is great stuff. I just wish it was in some other country.

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Mickel Knight's avatar

Facial hair is a factor in whether gas masks form a seal. While in the USN in the 80’s folks had to get a waiver for a beard.

There have always been nit picky aspects to grooming and attire in the military. Some are for functional reasons. Many are likely superficial. They have always been there and aren’t because we’re trying to emulate the Russian Army.

This petty opinion piece trying to pass as news is pathetic. Ken, you’re beclowning yourself in ignorance

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Lori's avatar

dude laser hair removal tho?

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Mickel Knight's avatar

This is hand waving from my experience as a Machinist Mate on the USN Longbeach and not an analysis of why laser hair removal may be used now.

I knew several black shipmates who had a lot of problems with shaving. They got chits to skip shaving.

Fire on a boat is very bad. Everyone is trained in firefighting. We had oxygen masks to prevent smoke inhalation. Facial hair purportedly would compromise the seal on that mask.

Laser hair removal could help with keeping a seal on your oxygen mask. That’s better than dying of smoke inhalation.

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Abigail Joy's avatar

If this is the reason as you say, then it has been an issue for a very long time, and the military already knows about it. And they already have systems in place to deal with it. Why would Hegseth suddenly, now, start making a stink and demanding rule changes? It doesn't make sense.

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Mickel Knight's avatar

That a problem may exist for years, perhaps even centuries, and a government agency not address it should not be something you consider impossible.

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Cécile Stelzer-Johnson's avatar

But they DID address it, a long time ago for the good reasons you pointed out:

"When it comes to being clean-shaven, different branches of the U.S. military implemented stricter regulations at different times:

U.S. Army: The requirement to be clean-shaven became a policy in the Army shortly before World War I. This was due to the need for gas masks to seal properly in the event of chemical warfare, which was considered a serious threat at the time.

U.S. Navy and Coast Guard: These branches of the military maintained a more relaxed stance on facial hair for a longer period. It wasn't until 1985 that the Navy issued a permanent ban on beards, and the Coast Guard followed suit in 1986".

In other words, Little Peter Hegseth only repeated policies that are in place to make it look like he was doing something.

Mocking him for it was righteous.

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Cécile Stelzer-Johnson's avatar

You'd think he might want everyone trained in how to use Signal properly instead of bemoaning long eyelashes [which can't be caught in oxygen masks or other breathing apparatus] but hey a jab at women wearing eyelash extensions, that's something that improves the morale of women who already can't have abortions even if raped in the military.

Little Peter Hegseth feels useful regulating hair length. Finally, he's found something he is good at.

Like you say, "many are superficial". The piece shows that Hegseth is a show horse, not a workhorse. Nothing wrong with pointing that out.

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NMTonyG's avatar

Ah yes, Pete "Captain America" Hegseth, worst SecDef since Robert McNamara. Will the troops get free laser tattoo removal, too, Mr Secy? Or will you require Hegseth-approved christian, white-supremacist tattoos be affixed on new recruits while getting their boot haircuts? I look forward to the day where your name and image are forever deleted from the annals of the Defense Department and history of the military. As a Vietnam Marine Corps combat vet I am appalled at your lack of true leadership and audacity of chickenshit rules and regs.

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Laura H's avatar

I hope we don't have any serious situations happen - well dressed and hair less with old school eyelashes and French manicures ... Ready for duty!!

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Laurie Davidson's avatar

When nothing really matters any more, I find myself obsessing over what an “American” manicure is.

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Todd's avatar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfsP9fGUvJY

(Start at 6:05, go until 6:30)

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Tom's avatar

"British Intelligence" is an oxymoron in more ways than one. I would take anything those sLimey bastards say about Russia, Ukraine or frankly anything else, with a huge grain of salt. Personally, I doubt Russia has had 1M casualties as the war entered the attrition phase a long time ago and the number of dead was hovering around 250K.

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Ken Klippenstein's avatar

I would say all intelligence is!

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Tom's avatar

Agree. I just hold Perfidious Albion in a particularly low regard.

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JennyStokes's avatar

Me too. Having lost their Empire they do love 'dabbling!'

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Maier Amsden's avatar

PR over substance is the GOP’s brand.

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MrInevitability's avatar

Recruitment is up. Retention is up. Let the pretty boy do his thing. This seems more like a non-story geared at dividing us by race yet again.

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Cécile Stelzer-Johnson's avatar

Dividing us by race AND sex.

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Peter Murphy's avatar

Both stories - American and Russian - sound like outtakes from Norman Dixon's "On the Psychology of Military Incompetence". The book was written mainly about the appalling generalship of WWI, which often combined authoritarian personality disorders with a obsession with style over substance. The tech may have evolved, but the pathology remains the same.

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