While these issues affected airmen of all races who had shaving waivers equally, Black or African-American airmen made up the majority of the waiver holders and thus bore a disproportionate share of the consequences. Its an unsubstantiated claim, dermatologist Lt. Col. Simon Ritchie told Task & Purpose in May. The same neat and conservative approach applies to beards, which must not exceed two inches when measured from the bottom of the chin, the regulations states. The comment, which was also shared on the popular Facebook page Air Force amn/nco/snco, was made in response to a selfie she posted of herself alongside Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall and Airman 1st Class Kyle Voss-McReynolds, who was the leadership teams driver during a recent event and who also wears a beard in uniform. So I am not some expert I just watch YouTube videos of the teachings of Islam. In 2020, the department extended shaving waivers for those diagnosed with razor bumps from one year to five years. Save Page Now. No Sikh American should have to choose between their religious beliefs and their career ambitions, Klapper said in a statement Wednesday. No Sikh American should have to choose between their religious beliefs and their career ambitions, said Giselle Klapper, Sikh Coalition Staff Attorney. Sorry airmen, you're not getting beards without a medical or religious waiver anytime soon, as Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles 'CQ' Brown and Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force . Eugene Oliver/U.S. (In heathen lore . The standards for growing a beard for medical reasons remain unchanged, the Air Force said. x\[o~d/Sp|A|=hdDPwfvIQuDgg?ydtx.b`1K55'V#wLDP,(Wj 1 comment. There are conflicting published reports from the civilian sector with regard to the impact of facial hair on P2/N95 [face masks] fit testing, and none that we are aware of evaluating facial hair impact on military gas mask fit. the authors wrote. Brown Jr. covered a broad range of topics with his additions to his Leadership Library in February. This is an update to AFI 36-2903, "Dress and personal appearance of Air Force Personnel," and it will allow the headdress to be worn provided it is "neat and conservative" and that the airmen present a professional . In 2017, the U.S. Army officially updated its dress and appearance standards to accommodate hijabs, turbans and beards. See Beard News in Air Force for more information. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service. 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An airmans rank will be displayed on the turban or under-turban when worn in circumstances where military headgear is customarily worn, and removed in circumstances where military headgear is not typically worn, such as indoors or in no-hat or no-salute areas. The Air Force Surgeon General has approved five-year waivers allowing male airmen with a medical condition causing painful ingrown hairs to grow beards, the service said Tuesday. (U.S. Air Force) Airmen will be allowed to wear up to. As described in sample memos included in the regulation, safety concerns might include wearing a gas mask or going within 25 feet of an operating aircraft. We are working to take away the stigma attached to airmen who have a medical need or a religious accommodation for facial hair. Do you have information you want to share with HuffPost? Air Force Global Strike Command is launching a new study of cancer risks among Airmen and Guardians who worked near intercontinental ballistic missiles and is developing new resources for current and former service members and their families. Because its a faith that hasnt been practiced in about 1,000 years, he said, theres no set way to practice it. 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Garrett Sopchak, a 28-year-old aerospace . addresses the Air Force grooming standard for beards: "[b]eards are not authorizedunless for medical reasons, when authorized by a commander on the advice of a medical official." An Airmen who requests an accommodation waiver to grow a beard for religious reasons must follow He received a beard waiver on July 8, 2019. Thats according to a new research paper published last week in the journal Military Medicine, which found that Air Force regulations against facial hair disproportionately affect Black or African American airmen and can lead to slower rates of promotion and limited job opportunities within the service. The military branch . Also in 2019, Airman 1st Class Harpreetinder Singh Bajwa became the first Sikh airman to receive an accommodation for a turban, beard and unshorn hair, and two Norse Heathen airmen were also allowed to grow beards. If the idea moves forward, participating airmen and guardians would become the subject of a research project whose data could convince high-level Pentagon officials to allow more flexibility on facial hair. Wing commanders or other leaders at major commands, numbered air forces or other organizations will then approve or deny such a request. While the Air Force prohibits male members from growing beards, waivers are issued to airmen who, for medical and religious reasons, are not able to shave in line with regulations. Sopchak said that something about the Heathen religion felt more real to him. Does anyone have any information on how you actually get a religious exemption for shaving? That matches the length allowed for people who are medically exempt from the requirement to be clean-shaven. The study also called for re-examining the Air Forces most-cited reason for having a beard regulation, which is the concern that a beard would interfere with a gas masks seal around an airmans face. The interviewing chaplain will then send the wing chaplain a memo on whether the airman has a sincerely-held belief, whether the accommodation is related to that belief, and how the Air Force policy places a burden on that belief. And. USAF photo by Alexander Goad. It took Sopchak about 11 months to get his beard approved. Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. The Air Force in recent years has begun granting waivers to allow airmen including airmen of the Muslim, Sikh and Norse Heathen or pagan faiths to grow beards for religious reasons. Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made. Legacy sites goang.com and afreserve.com will now direct users to the central airforce.com site. The U.S. Air Force issued new guidelines on Friday giving members who wear religious apparel a way to serve the country without compromising their faith. Religious head coverings are also required to be free of designs or markings unless the individuals uniform has a camouflage pattern. Maysaa Ouza became the first Air Force Judge Advocate General Corps officer to wear hijab. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. There is no potential timeline for approval, because it isnt even at that stage, she said. While the study did not list an exact difference in promotion times between airmen with and without waivers, it did say with mathematical certainty that shaving waivers as a whole were associated with a significantly longer time to promotion compared to the no-waiver group.. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. 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Theres a lot of things that we learn from the past and our ancestry, and its just carrying on the line, really.. The Air Force has updated its grooming standards to formally allow Airmen to grow neatly trimmed beards, standardizing the religious or medical exemption process. Seven months later, this reporter could not immediately find any such progress reports. There are plenty of smaller regulations detailing how religious beards and apparel should look in order to appear neat and conservative, the Air Force writes. It was more relatable.. Gurchetan Singh, the first Sikh American to secure a religious accommodation to serve in the Air National Guard, said Wednesday that hes grateful for the Air Forces policy change. United States Air Force members who refused to take the COVID vaccine for religious reasons will soon get a reprieve from the punitive actions the military took against them. Editors note: This story has been updated with new comments from Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force JoAnne Bass. Heres how. During tours of less than 30 days, Air Force Reserve (AFR) and Air National Guard (ANG) chaplains not on extended active duty may request a beard waiver for religious observance when consistent with their faith. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service. 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However, most airmen who have waivers are Black, because they are more likely to be affected by pseudofolliculitis barbae (PFB) than White airmen. But a little more than two years ago, Sopchak was seized by an overwhelming feeling that he needed to look further into these legends and the religion surrounding them. Air Force Special Operations Command has made history by granting a religious accommodation waiver to a Sikh service member. In addition to promoting one's own well-being and four pillars, respecting others whose viewpoints differ from them is expected from the total force. Any links to regs would be appricated. Turbans and under-turbans have similar color and material requirements as the hijab. The push to create a new Space National Guard got a major boost last week as a bipartisan team of Senators offered new legislationeven as the Pentagon works to craft details on a competing plan. Click here. . . Since then, 21 Honor Guard airmen now have a pass to grow neatly-trimmed beards, according to Military.com. According to the Department of Defense Instruction 1300. The Air Force is first in many things, but in this case the branch came in second to the Army, which in 2017 became the first military branch to grant religious exemptions for beards, turbans and hijabs. Powered by GoDaddy This website uses cookies. David Roza In the event of a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or explosive threat, commanding officers could also ask someone wearing a hijab to remove it to ensure a proper gas mask fit. Rachel Cohen joined Air Force Times as senior reporter in March 2021. William Bailey received a waiver to grow a beard March 1, according to an Air Force memo posted in July to the amn/nco/snco Facebook page. Caitlyn Smoyer). [T]he promotion system is not necessarily inherently racially biased, but instead biased against the presence of facial hair which will likely always affect the promotions of Blacks/African-Americans disproportionately because of the relatively higher need for shaving waivers in this population, wrote the authors of a recent Air Force study. Want to write for Task & Purpose? The Supreme Court today upheld Indian Air Force's denial of permission to two Muslim personnel to grow beard, holding that the two orders were in compliance with Regulation 425(b) which . On Monday, Captain Toor and three other Sikhs sued the Marine Corps in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, saying the corps's refusal to grant a religious waiver is arbitrary and. This means that even though the study measured only about 4% of all male airmen, the findings would likely be similar if extended to the entire branch. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. Accommodations, after all, arent about special treatment they are about ensuring that religiously observant Sikhs and others dont have to choose between staying true to our faith and serving our country.. Chief Bass comment demonstrates her commitment to changing the culture, and there seems to be some progress already. Ou5g(O5b5md8_ -+'.$Dvqx)YDTwXD`m_~G ArVT+`oo He joined Task & Purpose in 2019, after covering local news in Maine and FDA policy in Washington D.C. David loves hearing the stories of individual airmen and their families and sharing the human side of Americas most tech-heavy military branch. In such cases, an airman's command could order an immediate removal of the turban, hijab or facial hair (although it's not clear how much time an airman would have to shave). Another example of neat and conservative is color. Based on the successful examples of Soldiers currently serving with these accommodations, I have determined He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations. DAFI52-201 23 JUNE 2021 5 Written request for accommodation received by This article has been updated to reflect the fact that another Norse Heathen airman, Staff Sgt. Published Feb 12, 2020 2:11 PM EST. By approaching recruiting centrally as a Total Force, Air Force Recruiting, The Air Force last week announced an expansive new ROTC scholarship available to older Cadets committed to commissioning, with the goal of recruiting and retaining more future Airmen in the program. William Bailey, received a waiver to grow a beard in March. The religious beard exemption in the US army was created for the benefit of Sikhs. Chaplains typically can tell if you're trying to BS them and it can affect the perceived credibility of real requests in the future. This causes inflammation and a foreign body reaction, and over time, can result in scarring. Friday's regulation formalizes such waivers into a multi-step review process. The Air Force's updated dress and personal appearance policy clarifies the gr ooming and uniform standards for members who wear turbans, hijabs and beards for religious reasons. Abdul Rahman Gaitan, an aerial porter with the 821st Contingency Response Support Squadron at Travis Air Force Base, was granted a religious waiver permitting him to keep a beard due to his Muslim faith, according to an Air Force article published Friday. The U. S. Air Force has published new guidance for religious accommodations that allow airmen to wear beards, turbans and hijabs. Published Jul 14, 2021 8:57 AM EDT. The Air Force has cited razor bumps in the past when making changes to its grooming policy. The Reserve or Guard, before finally denying a request, will first consult with the Air Force personnel directorate and obtain a legal review from the Air Force. I want to go all out with practing the religion (including reading the Quran like it is recommened during Ramadan. According to the updated regulation, Dress and Personal Appearance of Air Force Personnel, the Air Force allows all such apparel and beards as long as the airmen wearing them make it through a religious accommodation waiver process, that they appear neat and conservative, and that the apparel and beards don't interfere with personal safety. I have an approved religious accommodation and have gotten pretty knowledgeable on the process. Accommodations, after all, arent about special treatment they are about ensuring that religiously observant Sikhs and others dont have to choose between staying true to our faith and serving our country, he said. Staff Sgt. other similar condition s that prohibits regular facial shaving may requ est a waiver to wear a beard . For nearly a year, the Air Force weighed a staff sergeant's request to grow a beard as part of his religious beliefs before granting him a waiver, a decision that balanced personal liberty against military readiness, a Pentagon spokesman said. The wing chaplain or equivalent will then assign a chaplain to interview the requesting airman about what is motivating him or her to ask for it. We speculate that these members, irrespective of race/ethnicity, may perceive this bias against shaving waivers and choose to leave the service earlier.. The new study found that airmen with shaving waivers faced significantly longer wait times for promotions and were often barred from sought-after jobs such as Honor Guard, recruiting, military training instructors, or the Thunderbirds demonstration team. Dec. 26, 2022. Many airmens dearest wish may soon come true if the Air Force greenlights a pilot program allowing some men to grow beards. The Air Force currently prohibits service members from growing beards unless they are granted a religious or medical waiver, a policy that has come under scrutiny lately after military doctors studied its discriminatory effect on Black airmen. The Hammer of Thor is available to be placed on government headstones and markers in the United States. A member of the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) has received the first-ever religious-related waiver, allowing him to wear a turban and keep a beard. The new findings build off a preliminary study published in December which said that shaving waivers had negatively affected the careers of many airmen, especially those of color. Start with the chaplain, and work with them to route the request through your chain. Changing policy, actually is the easy part, Wright said. According to a statement from the Air Force, Senior Airman Dominic Varriale was granted the turban waiver in 2020. Last year, Capt. If substantiated, then the benefits of the grooming standards, as defined in Air Force Instruction 36-2903, should be re-evaluated in the context of these findings, they wrote. Beard Religious Waivers in Air Force Norse Pagan, Sikh, Muslim and other Airmen have officially been granted religious waivers to wear beards. Be aware though, that the belief must be sincere, which means you will likely be interviewed by the chaplain about your beliefs, and they will advise your CC on whether or not your beliefs are sincere, or you're just trying to get a beard. The research studied the effect of shaving waivers on the careers of active duty male airmen. Accommodation of Religious Practices in the Air Force. *!+zu[XAoC_:X/0{ v8iAU}JqQ.u`6fE_GJTBh$Wx)Vpw#7~rDeI0r\!H(NW|/bcPRHBe0tEyXYD q{ So far, the Air Force has banned beards for all except those who have five-year medical waivers for pseudofolliculitis barbae, or chronic razor bumps, or religious waivers for those for whom beards are central to their observance, like Sikhs, Jews, Muslims and Norse Heathens. Personnel Division," to all sign off . The hijab, or head scarf, can be made of a subdued material in a color that resembles the airmans assigned uniform, such as black, brown, green, tan or navy blue, the regulation said. Singh was born in India and followed his father, an asylee, to the U.S. in 2012. The Air Force also granted its first religious accommodation beard waiver, to a Muslim airman, in 2018. The Sikh Coalition, an advocacy group which works on behalf of Sikhs and other religious minorities in the military, praised the new regulation. We dont believe that theres a superior race, Sopchak said. Shaving sharpens the edges of facial hair and makes the condition worse, the college said, and shaving less frequently or allowing the beard to grow helps. Big news today for the many airmen out there who want to grow out their beards: not only is there little evidence showing that beards interfere with a gas mask seal, but the Air Forces ban on beards may also be contributing to racial discrimination and hurting promotion opportunities within the service. The study would require only 100 to 150 service members, he said. The Air Force encourages religious freedoms of service members as one of four pillars of resiliency to help build and sustain a strong and healthy workplace and community. In August, images posted on Air Force amn/nco/snco teased a pilot program for inclusive male grooming standards which would allow service members to grow neatly-kept facial hair up to a quarter-inch in length, according to Air & Space Forces Magazine. The regulation follows years of individual airmen and other service members receiving waivers for religious beards and apparel. Muslim, Sikh and pagan members of the Air Force have individually requested and received waivers for religious apparel and beards in recent years, but this is the first time the guidelines and the accompanying approval process are being standardized. Rather than delay his enlistment, Comer decided to shave his beard and apply for the accommodation at a later date. The U.S. Air Force issued new guidelines on Friday giving members who wear religious apparel a way to serve the country without compromising their faith. Asking questions is fine, but how is that even legal? The Air Force on Friday became the second branch of the U.S. military to approve the wearing of beards, turbans, hijabs, under-turbans/patkas, unshorn hair and other indoor/outdoor head coverings for religious reasons.