Clayton Miller and Dennis Shea v. Captain Carl Ackerman, George Klinkhammer v. James R. Schlesinger, Secretary of Defense

The issue presented in these consolidated appeals is whether a local commander of a Marine Corps Reserve Unit may prohibit the wearing of short-hair wigs as a means of achieving compliance with Marine Corps grooming standards. The plaintiffs attend drills one weekend per month and spend two weeks annually at summer camp with the Marine Corps Reserve. Their commanding officers proscribed the use of short-hair wigs to cover the reservists’ natural hair, which is longer than that allowed by the Marine Corps grooming code. The plaintiffs were ordered to discontinue use of the wigs, on penalty of…