Discrimination, or necessity? The Marine Corps Times reports on how marines with gold grills have had their careers hurt because they are not as “presentable” as those without. An excerpt:
TAMPA, Fla. — The rapper Paul Wall once said his mouth is “lookin’ somethin’ like a disco ball.” It’s a good thing he’s not a Marine.
Four years after the Corps cracked down explicitly on gold and platinum caps and other flashy dental ornamentation, Marines are still surprised by the news they won’t be allowed to serve in some high-profile jobs if they have gold teeth, officials said.
It’s not a widespread problem, but there’s at least one recent example of the Corps sending a Marine to embassy security guard training, only to kick him back when he smiled and showed gold teeth at Quantico, Va.’s Marine Security Guard School. He was later denied the chance to serve as a 2nd-tour drill instructor, even though he’d had a successful first tour and the Corps has a DI shortage at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., said Capt. Jonathan Wong, an officer in the enlisted assignment branch at Manpower and Reserve Affairs.
“It was not just one cap,” Wong told about 50 career planners gathered in Tampa on May 2. “He had a full grill.”
The acknowledgement came at the 2011 Career Planners Conference during a briefing on special duty assignments. Several career planners laughed when the story was shared, but it shows that while there is a policy on flashy teeth, there may be gaps in it.
In 2007, the Marine Corps Uniform Board rolled out restrictions that specifically address dental ornamentation.
“The use of gold, platinum caps [permanent or removable] for purposes of ornamentation is prohibited,” the rules say. “Teeth, whether natural, capped or veneered, will not be ornamented with designs, jewels, initials, etc. Unnatural shaping of teeth for non-medical reasons is prohibited. Commanders may consider waivers for permanent gold, platinum caps that were applied prior to 1 October 2007.”
It wasn’t clear how the Marine in question ended up with gold teeth or had been granted a waiver in the past. It’s affecting his career now, however. It also isn’t clear whether the Corps will adopt additional guidelines for gold teeth. At the conference, Manpower officials said they were considering it, but they later told Marine Corps Times that nothing is in the works and the service will deal with related issues on a case-by-case basis.”
The full story is here.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.