You can’t have hair down to there if you’re going to be an infantryman.
Reynaldo Arroyo, 23, had been growing his hair for 15 years, until it reached his waist and beyond. Last week, it was decision time.
On Thursday, he was grinning as great lengths of his hair were snipped off so he could join the Army. A video of the event was posted on the Salt Lake City Army Recruiting Battalion Facebook page.
He’s enlisting as an 11X to go infantry, and plans to go airborne, the Facebook post said.
“I’m just really excited to be enlisting in the Army,” he said in the video, right before he was shorn.
“Congratulations to Reynaldo Arroyo for enlisting in the #USArmy from the Missoula U.S. Army Recruiting Station.” the post reads.
“He decided to cut his hair in exchange for a brighter future with the Army.”
Arroyo plans to donate his hair to the Locks of Love foundation, according to the Facebook post.
Locks of Love is a non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to children who have lost their hair because of medical conditions.
After Arroyo’s haircut, he has an estimated 150 inches of hair to donate.
“Hopefully some lucky little girl is going to get it,” he said in the video.
For new Army recruits, it’s a good time to go infantry.
The Army has been striving to fill its 11X slots by the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. As of the beginning of July, the Army had more than 3,000 of those openings to fill by that date.
To sweeten the deal, the Army in May increased bonuses for new infantry recruits, offering from $15,000 to $40,000, depending on the length of the initial contract, said officials at Army Recruiting Command. Recruits could get the $40,000 bonus for six-year enlistments.
Kathleen Curthoys is editor of Army Times. She has been an editor at Military Times for 20 years, covering issues that affect service members. She previously worked as an editor and staff writer at newspapers in Columbus, Georgia; Huntsville, Alabama; Bloomington, Indiana; Monterey, California and in Germany.
