British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace criticized the commanders of the armed forces, rejecting suggestions that male soldiers should be allowed to use cosmetics while on duty. The Ministry of Defense said it was looking to update guidelines on what male soldiers could use, after a list of guidelines for British soldiers in Canada leaked, which caused a sensation.
These guidelines prevented men from using cosmetics, but it allowed female soldiers to use an amount that she described as "unattractive."
But Minister Wallace appeared the next day and mocked the idea of men using cosmetics. The only cosmetic that men are allowed to use is "camouflage," he said. The minister's comments came at a Conservative Party conference in Manchester earlier this week, causing him to clash with the armed forces he is already responsible for. Asked at a questioning session, Wallace was asked: What can be done to ensure that joining the armed forces remains attractive to young people? “I think you will ask me about the possibility of men using cosmetics, which I saw in the news,” he said. The army is obviously thinking of allowing men to use cosmetics. "My answer is that men are only allowed to use camouflage colors in battle."
The leaked instructions said that for men "cosmetics are not allowed", and for women can use a small amount "can not be observed". "The Queen's current guidelines state that at the time of service men are not allowed to use cosmetics, but we are reviewing these guidelines so that there is no discrimination between men and women," an army spokesman said.
Wallace used his appearance at the party convention to emphasize that he supported the modernization of the armed forces. "In the armed forces, there are things that cannot be changed: a sense of adventure, a sense of belonging to something, a sense of contributing to greater value than the individual, which I think is attractive," he told party activists.