There are new standards for service members set forth by the Pentagon — grooming standards.
Earlier this week, the Pentagon released a memo by War Secretary Pete Hegseth which set measures to ensure service members are “clean-shaven,” according to Fox News.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth said troops who need a medical exemption can keep their facial hair for one year. They must follow a plan to treat whatever condition they have. After that year, they must remove facial hair or face separation.
“The Department must remain vigilant in maintaining the grooming standards which underpin the warrior ethos,” Hegseth wrote in a memo.
Leadership will have to conduct a review of how grooming standards have changed over the last 10 years.
“The grooming standard set by the U.S. military is to be clean-shaven and neat in presentation for a proper military appearance,” Hegseth said, per the statement by chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell.
“Commanders must apply consistent criteria and appropriately consider the department’s interests in safety and uniformity when authorizing individual exceptions,” Parnell said.
The memo did not mention if mustaches were allowed.
Troops diagnosed with pseudofolliculitis barbae, or PFB, a condition where the hair curls back toward the skin after shaving and causes irritation is one exception to the rule.
Hegseth’s memo also did not mention religious accommodations.
In 2017, the Army started ahjowing beards for Sikh soldiers, who are required to have unfacial hair for religious reasons.
The Army also announced an update to its grooming standards, which include authorized hairstyles and ponytail lengths for female soldiers. Females are only allowed to wear clear nail polish.
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