For the Love of the Beard
In January and October of 2023, I wrote two different blogs about the waning self-discipline within the Army.
You can read them here:
I covered a lot in those two blogs, but the focus in BOTH of them was the necessity of professionalism and self-discipline in a fighting force. One of the main messages was the military gets to decide what is and isn’t professional and they get to enforce discipline…which leads directly to self-discipline. If you know the regulation, whether you agree with it or not, you follow it yourself and you enforce it as a leader.
For the last few years and specifically under the last administration, there have been a number of changes made to regulations that helped to dictate the military’s view and enforcement of discipline and professionalism. One of those is the regulation focused on facial hair.
Beards have become a friction point within the military. After watching and working alongside the world of Special Operations and many of our NATO partners, there was a bit of a revolt in the conventional military regarding beards. Regular servicemembers (meaning NOT special operations) saw many Green Berets and Navy SEALs and Marine Raiders running around Iraq and, especially, Afghanistan wearing beards and they wondered “why can’t we have beards?”
For decades, the military said, “You cannot get a proper seal for your protective mask (gas mask) if you have a beard,” and that was the primary reason why we all needed to shave. Science has since dispelled that notion. You CAN get a proper seal if the facial hair is short and well maintained.
Then a single Army officer who was a member of the Sikh religion was allowed to keep his beard AND his extremely long hair due to religious reasons. The beard was maintained, although out of normal Army regulations, and his hair was kept wound under a specific Dastar (turban) that complied with Army uniform regulations. So, there was a religious exemption on the books.
Soldiers did what Soldiers do; they found loopholes to exploit. The Army suddenly had dozens of people asking for religious exemptions because they were Vikings and a number of other faiths that honored or required beards. And the Army folded like they were holding 9-2 off suit at a Texas Hold ‘Em table. They pretty much let anyone and everyone who could find a reason to grow a beard, grow a beard. Religious or medical or whatever. If you wanted to grow one, it wasn’t difficult.
It seemed the Army had worked itself out of every reason to tell them “no,” while refusing to use the ONE REASON the Army always has in its back pocket… “because I said so”.
Now, SECDEF is pulling back the shaving waivers and there is A LOT of push back. Some of the people who are pissed have a right to be. African American males are often afflicted with something called pseudofolliculitis barbae. If you know anyone who has this condition, you understand the issue. The skin becomes irritated, and the hairs end up curving back UNDER the skin, creating some really nasty scars. As long as I was in the Army, there were plenty of black guys that dealt with this. They were given shaving waivers with very specific conditions, including keeping their authorized facial hair SHORT and well groomed.
It was manageable and, honestly, not all that prevalent. If the rumors are true and SECDEF is telling these guys to get it “treated” or “get out”, I think that is complete bullshit and these guys SHOULD be pissed. I think anyone and everyone else is without a case, but that is my opinion.
Religious waivers are a Pandora’s box that never should have been opened, but here we are. I don’t care if you are a Viking or a Sikh, I don’t think religion should be a reason to allow facial hair. Most religions have a commandment, a rule, a guideline, or something against killing…we do that in the military, too, so I am sure there is a waiver somewhere. Or you prioritize your religion over your service and you get out. Sorry, not everyone can be accommodated.
Anyone else who found any other reason, besides religion and medical, NOT to shave… to bad, so sad. Shave. If that is the regulation, you shave or you get out and until you get out, you still shave. That’s how the Army works.
For those that say, “what about special ops folks?” I’ll tell you the same thing I told Soldiers when I was on Active Duty… “If you want to act like SOF and wear long hair and not shave and put your hands in your pockets like they do, go try out. If you make it, you can do all those things. Until then, shave and cut your hair and take your hands out of your fucking pockets. You are NOT them and the rules are different.”
This is a discussion about professionalism and self-discipline. The Army, and the culture of all the tribes within it, determine what is and isn’t acceptable and professional. As a Soldier, it is your responsibility to meet those guidelines, that’s called following orders. Doing it every single day, without being told, whether someone is watching or not… that is self-discipline.
And when you get out, you can grow all the facial hair you want. I did. I sit here typing this with a full beard and mustache. But, until you get out, you do what the military TELLS you to do. If you think the military somehow broke a “contract” with you by saying you could have facial hair and now they are saying you can’t… you should probably read that contract again. It says you will follow orders that are legal, moral, and ethical whether you agree with them or not. And orders change all the time, get used to it.
So, quit complaining. Shave. Go do PT. Go to work. Be good at your job because your life depends on it. And, remember, you didn’t join the military so you could grow a beard.