Male sailors are now allowed to wear earrings out of uniform on leave or liberty, women can now wear heels up to 3 inches in height in uniform, up from 2 5/8 inches, and rules on eyeglasses and sunglasses colors have been relaxed.

“There are just so many options available today for glasses and we needed to get some standardization of appearance in uniform,” Carroll said.

Sailors “whose legal names contain accents can now have them reflected in name tags, name patches, or name tapes on Navy uniforms.”

The new regulation also lets sailors wear smartwatches and fitness trackers as watches, but the message notes that they "are subject to applicable security regulations," alluding to the fact that many contain GPS and cellular technology.

Though the Navy did not explicitly cite diversity or inclusion as reasons behind some of the changes, Carroll noted that they got “feedback” from sailors on some of these policies during the Navy’s anti-discrimination “Task Force One Navy” listening sessions throughout 2020.

“TF1N did not drive the policy changes, but it can be noted that some of the changes align with the Navy’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives,” he added.

The Navy is not the only branch to loosen rules on hair styles in recent months. In January, 2021, the Army began allowing women to sport ponytails and buzzcuts. The Air Force gave their servicemembers permission to wear longer braids and bangs in the same month.