<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div><span></span></div><div><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div><span></span></div><div>Courtesy of the Army Times at:</div><div><div><br></div><div><a href="http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/careers/army/2015/04/24/women-ranger-school-haircuts/26265435/">http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/careers/army/2015/04/24/women-ranger-school-haircuts/26265435/</a></div><div><br></div><div>--------------------------------------</div><div><h1 class="asset-headline" itemprop="headline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 20px 0px 0px 70px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; line-height: 34px; font-size: 32px; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Female soldiers cut off hair to meet Ranger School rule</h1></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Just like their male counterparts, female soldiers attending Ranger School are sporting short haircuts.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Nineteen women on Monday started the one-time, integrated assessment at the Army's two-month Ranger School.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The assessment is part of a wider effort to determine whether and how to open combat arms jobs to women, and it is a first for the storied Ranger School, which until now has been open only to men.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"The standard for the Ranger course is for students to have the shortest haircut authorized by AR 670-1," said Col. William Butler, deputy commandant of the U.S. Army Infantry School.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The short hair is "for hygiene," making it easier to find ticks, and for uniformity, Butler said.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">For men, the standard is a buzzed haircut using clippers with no guard.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The standard for women is defined as "hair length that extends no more than one inch from the scalp (excluding bangs), according to Butler, citing Army Regulation 670-1, which is the Army's appearance regulation.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The women's hair may be no shorter than one-quarter inch from the scalp, but may be evenly tapered to the scalp within two inches of the hair line edges, according to AR 670-1.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Bangs, if any, may not fall below the eyebrows and may extend to the hairline at the temple, Butler said.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">By Thursday, the</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span><a href="http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/careers/army/2015/04/23/integrated-ranger-school-rap-week-update/26260827/" title="http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/careers/army/2015/04/23/integrated-ranger-school-rap-week-update/26260827/" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-decoration: none;">end of RAP week</a><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">, eight women and 184 men remained in the Ranger course, officials at Fort Benning said.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">RAP, which stands for Ranger Assessment Phase, spans the first four days of Ranger School. During this time, soldiers are evaluated on a series of punishing physical events, including a physical fitness test, a swim test and a land navigation test. Students also must complete a 12-mile foot march wearing a 35-pound rucksack in under three hours.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">A total of 19 female and 381 male soldiers started the two-month Ranger School Monday.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">This is the first time women have been allowed to attend Ranger School.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">To prepare, officials had to look at everything from accommodations to personal hygiene.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade, which runs Ranger School, even updated its packing list for students to include several items specific for female students. They include feminine wipes, sports bras, cotton underwear, pads or tampons, and a female urinary diversion device, or FUDD.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">With use of a FUDD, a female soldier in the field can urinate more discreetly while standing and with minimal undressing.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The Army, through a careful selection process, also tapped more than two dozen female noncommissioned officers and officers to serve as observer/advisers. These soldiers were selected to work alongside the Ranger instructors and serve as extra eyes and ears and as a sounding board for the all-male cadre. The women will not evaluate or grade Ranger School students.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">--------------------</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="js-caption">Soldiers conduct The Darby mile and an obstacle course during the Ranger Course on Fort Benning, Ga., April 21, 2015. Soldiers attend Ranger school to learn additional leadership and small unit technical and tactical skills in a physically and mentally demanding combat simulated environment.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="js-caption"><br></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="js-caption">(Photos)</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="js-caption"><br></span></span></div><div><a href="http://www.tomandrodna.com/Photos/Army/Ranger_Training_042415_01.jpg">http://www.tomandrodna.com/Photos/Army/Ranger_Training_042415_01.jpg</a></div><div><br></div><div><a href="http://www.tomandrodna.com/Photos/Army/Ranger_Training_042415_02.jpg">http://www.tomandrodna.com/Photos/Army/Ranger_Training_042415_02.jpg</a></div><div><br></div><div><a href="http://www.tomandrodna.com/Photos/Army/Ranger_Training_042415_03.jpg">http://www.tomandrodna.com/Photos/Army/Ranger_Training_042415_03.jpg</a></div><div><br></div><div><a href="http://www.tomandrodna.com/Photos/Army/Ranger_Training_042415_04.jpg">http://www.tomandrodna.com/Photos/Army/Ranger_Training_042415_04.jpg</a></div><div><br></div><div><a href="http://www.tomandrodna.com/Photos/Army/Ranger_Training_042415_05.jpg">http://www.tomandrodna.com/Photos/Army/Ranger_Training_042415_05.jpg</a></div><div><br></div><div>--------------------------------------<br><br><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"Moscow Cares"</span></div><div><a href="http://www.moscowcares.com/" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000">http://www.MoscowCares.com</font></a></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div><div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Tom Hansen</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Moscow, Idaho</span></div></div><div><br></div></div></div></div></body></html>