Troops with medical shaving waivers to face separation, Hegseth says

Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth’s pursuit of a clean-shaven navy took its newest step Monday when the Pentagon introduced that troops who require medical shaving waivers for longer than a yr will face involuntary separation, in response to an official memo.

The announcement, which is dated Aug. 20, follows a force-wide evaluate launched by the Pentagon in March to evaluate navy grooming and health requirements.

Within the memo, Hegseth mandates that troops who search particular person exemptions should obtain ultimate waiver approval by means of their unit commander, which might solely be granted after a written advice from a medical officer.

Service members granted waivers should then “take part in a medical remedy plan,” the memo states.

If medical remedy doesn’t resolve the problem and a waiver is required past the one-year window, these troops will face separation.

“I’ve full confidence in our leaders in any respect ranges to supply an correct evaluation of whether or not retention is suitable,” Hegseth wrote.

The Aug. 20 memo, which doesn’t point out whether or not mustaches shall be impacted, is the newest in a sequence of shaving regulation tweaks by the Pentagon this yr.

In March, the Marine Corps ordered Marines recognized with pseudofolliculitis barbae, which results in undesirable bumps and painful ingrown hair from frequent shaving, to bear medical reevaluation inside 90 days to find out whether or not they nonetheless required a waiver.

That administrative message outlined a phased remedy plan for Marines affected by the situation, with the final word purpose of “returning service members to grooming requirements and guaranteeing most warfighting readiness.”

About 60% of Black males are affected by the situation, in response to the American Osteopathic Faculty of Dermatology.

Past medical causes, troops lately have been in a position to submit exemption requests citing non secular lodging.

A few of these exemption boundaries, nevertheless, have been blurred beneath such guidelines that didn’t specify precisely which religions certified.

In April 2018, a heathen soldier utilized for an exemption beneath the up to date coverage and was authorized for a beard waiver in accordance together with his religion. However whereas Norse paganism encourages beard rising, it doesn’t require it.

In 2019, Military Spc. John Hoskins additional examined these boundaries — and was denied — when he utilized for a beard exemption as a part of his strict devotion to the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, a religion also referred to as “Pastafarianism.”

Hegseth, within the Aug. 20 memo, didn’t point out whether or not non secular lodging could be impacted by the brand new ruling.

“The grooming commonplace set by the U.S. navy is to be clear shaven and neat in presentation for a correct navy look,” he wrote.

“The Division should stay vigilant in sustaining the grooming requirements which underpin the warrior ethos.”

J.D. Simkins is the chief editor of Army Instances and Protection Information, and a Marine Corps veteran of the Iraq Struggle.

Riley Ceder is a reporter at Army Instances, the place he covers breaking information, legal justice, investigations, and cyber. He beforehand labored as an investigative practicum scholar at The Washington Put up, the place he contributed to the Abused by the Badge investigation.

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