A service of Salisbury University and University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Evaluations & Ponytails At the Naval Academy

U.S. Naval Academy
U.S. Naval Academy Website
U.S. Naval Academy

WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. Naval Academy's superintendent says a new initiative to identify midshipmen who lack the overall aptitude to be naval officers will be implemented throughout the school this year.

Vice Adm. Ted Carter discussed the initiative before the academy's Board of Visitors Tuesday.

Carter says he started a pilot program at the academy last spring because he was concerned that a small number of midshipmen didn't measure up in some areas. In addition to academic and physical requirements, midshipmen are supposed to demonstrate aptitude in leadership, character, professionalism, teamwork and judgment.

Carter says the new initiative aims to find shortcomings in midshipmen much earlier on, so that they can be addressed before students enter their last year.

He says new Midshipmen Development Reports will create clearly defined measures of performance.

Ponytail

Credit University of Cambridge
/
University of Cambridge

WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. Naval Academy is allowing female midshipmen to wear ponytails and other longer hairstyles.

The policy was announced during a Board of Visitors meeting Monday.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson first announced the Navy's changes in July, saying they make the Navy more inclusive. The academy conducted its own review before accepting the changes.

The regulation allows braids and ponytails in service, working and physical training uniforms. The width or diameter of hair buns can't extend beyond the width of the back of the head. The academy is stipulating that ponytails cannot be seen from the front.

Vice Adm. Ted Carter, the superintendent, says the incoming class is one of the academy's most diverse. He says the class of 2022 is about 28 percent female.

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.