[symple_heading style=”” title=”By Ken Stone” type=”h1″ font_size=”” text_align=”left” margin_top=”20″ margin_bottom=”20″ color=”undefined” icon_left=”” icon_right=””]
Thanks to a lone sailor’s question, the Navy has changed its dress code worldwide, including at Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach.
Women’s hair buns can now hang out the rear of Navy ball caps.
Adm. John Richardson said the question came from a lieutenant j.g. during an all-hands call June 6 at Naval Air Station North Island near San Diego.
On Wednesday, the Navy noted what Chief of Naval Operations Richardson said: “Effective immediately you can now wear your cap with the bun through the hole in the back above the strap.”
Such a style wasn’t allowed earlier for the more than 50,000 women in the U.S. Navy.
“I think this will be more comfortable and will look a lot better,” he said via Facebook. “Thanks to the Lt. j.g. out there for making that known to me. We promised to fix it and now it’s fixed.”
On Facebook, Richardson said: ”We took a quick poll right there in the audience, and there was nobody who objected to changing that right on the spot.”
He said he came back and asked Chief of Naval Personnel Vice Adm. Robert Burke and the change was OK’d.
Military.com reported that Richardson’s message was liked 3,000 times on Facebook, and received 680 comments within hours.
One sailor, identified on Facebook as Kieran Nicole, said “Literally everyone roared” when the promise was made.
Another commenter quoted by military.com said the old way of wearing the caps looked “stupid” and wondered why the rule had existed in the first place.
“Anyway, happy for the female sailor victory out there,” Michael Hook wrote. “Really a victory for all, as we all had to look at that awful policy. Glad it was changed.”
The Navy announced other uniform changes for women as well.
Women are now allowed to wear white pearl or white synthetic pearl earrings with dress uniforms and round-cut white diamonds or white synthetic diamonds with dinner dress blue and white jacket uniforms.
“Earrings must be 4 millimeter – 6 millimeter (approximately 1/8 inch – 1/4 inch) in size,” the Navy said.
Also: Pregnant sailors can buy the NWU Type III maternity uniform if the Type I version is not available. This change is in response to the reduction in the production of the Type I uniform.