Natural in the military

Hello all,
My name is Julia and I am originally from Florida. I have been in the United States Air Force for 9 years. I have been stationed at all southern bases….until now! In January 2009, I got orders to be stationed in Mountain Home, Idaho. My first question was what in the heck is in Idaho? Well in 2009 the Census Bureau statistics show that there were approximately 1.0 percent of African Americans is Idaho. So with that being said….imagine the limited number of Hair Salons that cater to “our” type of hair. Shortly after I arrived in Idaho, I noticed that my hair was shedding in unbelievable amounts. Many of my girl friends (the remainder of the 1%...lol) were also having the same problem. There is only one hair salon in town that specializes in all hair types. The problem with that is that every time I went in for an appointment, I came out feeling unsatisfied and feeling like my hair had too much product in it.

I originally began my transition in 2010. I transitioned for 10 months and then ended up relaxing it because I had a wedding to attend (I suck...I know). I was so upset with myself and I refused to continue relaxing. I started the transition process again…only this time, I transitioned for a shorter period and began to cut off more and more hair until the process was complete. I have been 100% natural since November 2010. It seems has though the entire black community in Mountain Home, Idaho is natural, however; being natural in the military comes with its own set of gripes and complains. In the Air Force hair has to be tamed and must meet certain regulations. Female hair has to be at least 1 inch in length but must not exceed 3 inches in bulk. The “scrunchy” cannot be worn and hair cannot extend below the collar. Hairstyles cannot be faddish. We, natural sistas in the military are very very VERY limited to what we can do to our natural kinks and curls.
I hear so many uniformed natural women saying that their commanders were trying to make them relax their hair stating that it was “unkempt” and “big”! WTH? This ticks me off!!!! My question/concern: Are there any suggestions for us natural hair uniform wearing women as far as styling our manes?

I wore my pony puff and this MSgt tried to correct me saying that it was out of regs. I politely stuck a ruler in my hair to prove to her that it was only 2 inches..not 3 and then reminded her that her bangs were touching her eyebrows (which is out of regs)....she turned red and walked off with an attitude.

JuliaJanelle wrote:I wore my pony puff and this MSgt tried to correct me saying that it was out of regs. I politely stuck a ruler in my hair to prove to her that it was only 2 inches..not 3 and then reminded her that her bangs were touching her eyebrows (which is out of regs)....she turned red and walked off with an attitude.

LOL. I used to work for the army and I was good friends with a MSG that was ALWAYS trying to call people out on their hair, nails, uniform, etc... Just once I would have liked to see someone stand up to her. It always seemed like she was focused on black women in particular. Most of the time she got on people wearing wigs and fake nails though.

When I get home I will try and post a few pics of how I wear my hair. On duty days, I keep it pulled back. I really dont like braids and have not mastered the twist outs or braid outs yet. I am really new to blogging....so please be patient with me...lol

I would probably be locked up if i was in the army , navy or whatever because my main issue is dealing with authority i simply despies people telling me what to do