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Shaving waivers can hold back an airman's career, and since most airmen with waivers are Black, the regulations are effectively discriminatory. And in February, the Air Force officially updated its regulations to formally allow airmen to request religious beard waivers. That study, which involved 798 airmen responding to emailed surveys, called for more research and data on the subject. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Chief Bass comment demonstrates her commitment to changing the culture, and there seems to be some progress already. In an email to Task & Purpose, Bass said the Air Force is continually reevaluating its policies. 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. This condition, which the American Osteopathic College of Dermatology says affects up to 60 percent of Black men, occurs when curved facial hairs grow back into the skin. Because its a faith that hasnt been practiced in about 1,000 years, he said, theres no set way to practice it. Friday's regulation formalizes such waivers into a multi-step review process. Guidelines for requesting a religious accommodation for a Heathen beard in the U.S. Air Force For AFR waiver processing instructions see AFMAN 36-8001, Participation and Training Procedures. 19 July 2019. It must be free of designs or markings, except an airman wearing the Airman Battle Uniform or Operational Camouflage Pattern uniform can wear a matching camouflage hijab. The services often claim that facial hair interferes with the seal of a gas mask, but an Air Force doctor has found no direct scientific evidence to support that claim. ", By The update to AFI 36-2903, Dress and personal appearance of Air Force personnel, allows airmen to request a waiver to wear religious apparel, as long as they are neat and conservative and present a professional and well-groomed appearance. Others mused that more people would enlist if beards were allowed. Those interested in pursuing a shaving waiver at Al Dhafra can attend shaving waiver clinic walk-in hours on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., or schedule an appointment at the 380th EMDG clinic during walk-in hours from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. 1 comment. And if that airman is assigned to a unit that wears a beret of a particular color, the unit commander can order him to wear a turban of the same color. 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. Under the new guidelines . 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 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. Subscribe to Task & Purpose Today. Beards cant exceed two inches if they do, they must be rolled and/or tied to achieve the required length, the regulations state. But advocates argue that more sweeping changes are needed, in part because shaving waivers are often misunderstood and hurt Airmen's careers. Since then, 21 Honor Guard airmen now have a pass to grow neatly-trimmed beards, according to Military.com. ooming and uniform standards for members who wear turbans, hijabs and beards for religious reasons. I want to go all out with practing the religion (including reading the Quran like it is recommened during Ramadan. 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. The advocacy group submitted a religious accommodation request for Singh in April 2019. The updated regulation said beards must be no longer than two inches when measured from the bottom of the chin, and must be rolled and/or tied when longer than two inches. Correction: This story was updated at 6:53 p.m. to reflect correct information about religious waivers for beards. The Air Force has updated its grooming standards to formally allow Airmen to grow neatly trimmed beards, standardizing the religious or medical exemption process. Air Force Special Operations Command has made history by granting a religious accommodation waiver to a Sikh service member. When requests are precluded by military necessity, commanders and supervisors should seek reasonable alternatives.. 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. The Air Force separated 610 Airmen for declining the once-mandated COVID-19 vaccination. We dont have to hire RAND or Booz Allen Hamilton to do it, but the Air Force needs to want it to happen, he said at the time. Does anyone have any information on how you actually get a religious exemption for shaving? Sikhs have served honorably and capably in the U.S. Armed Forces and other militaries around the world, and while we are eager for a blanket proclamation that all observant Sikh Americans can serve in every branch of the military without seeking accommodations, this policy clarification is a great step forward towards ensuring equality of opportunity and religious freedom in the Air Force.. With regards to promotions, the wait grows longer the more time airmen have shaving waivers. Beard Religious Waivers in Air Force Norse Pagan, Sikh, Muslim and other Airmen have officially been granted religious waivers to wear beards. I have an approved religious accommodation and have gotten pretty knowledgeable on the process. Maysaa Ouza became the first Air Force Judge Advocate General Corps officer to wear hijab. The Air Force also granted its first religious accommodation beard waiver, to a Muslim airman, in 2018. 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. 7Ndj% Those calls accelerated earlier this year, when the Air Force changed its regulations to allow for women to wear braids, ponytails and bangs in order to prevent irreversible hair loss and migraines stemming from the old hair regulations. The Air Force Times reports on Air Force SSgt Garrett Sopchak, who just became the first US Air Force Airman to be allowed to wear a beard because he adheres to Norse Heathen religious beliefs. Now, updated Air Force regulations make clearer and smoother the path for personnel to request and obtain a similar religious waiver. Eugene Oliver/U.S. Legacy sites goang.com and afreserve.com will now direct users to the central airforce.com site. "There is no religious requirement for beards in Heathenry," the post read. Maysaa Ouza, the first Air Force Judge Advocate General Corps officer to wear the hijab, was also featured in a short NBC documentary last year. While supporters of current Air Force policy may have anecdotal evidence of one to five people who they see fail the fit test, he said, that cant be extrapolated to hundreds of thousands of airmen.. It took Sopchak about 11 months to get his beard approved. Below are current coronavirus disease 2019 statistics for Department of Air Force personnel: *These numbers include all of the cases that were reported since our last update on Jan. 18. <>>> We are working to take away the stigma attached to airmen who have a medical need or a religious accommodation for facial hair, Bass wrote in a comment on her Facebook page on Tuesday. As part of the process, an airman must describe the religious basis for and include a comment on the sincerity of the request. I had opportunities to hire all kinds of folks and I was adamant about not hiring somebody with a shaving waiver, just because I fell into that category of this is Air Force policy, its not professional, he said. The group is one of the Air Forces volunteer teams that considers ways to make policies more equitable for all airmen. 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. Religious head coverings are also required to be free of designs or markings unless the individuals uniform has a camouflage pattern. The Nevada Army Guard said that Sgt. t7be,2/gQ u7|O;(?lKHfm'*g' I{C Do you have information you want to share with HuffPost. A highly visible sign of changing Air Force policy may soon be evident here at Kingsley Field, in Klamath Falls, Oregon. 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. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. Islam & The First Religious Beard in The US Military (Air Force) The first person granted a beard waiver in the U.S. Airforce due to his faith was a Muslim soldier. We dont believe that theres a superior race, Sopchak said. >_fn7dw)>S#a\7]zdWwgsZMA2!2/af>]]I+ .$sMOr])0`F\>-vxX|K h%&ZG2xI%#}pxg@;%rE*q"TY(kfIeWgh&*$|- F'$_L2;&"bw.%i^XxzS\'Z+gQI,=b6)J|Se{Sl)xog`7^}T# N7 x+|B7 The military branch said it will remove "adverse information" from the records of those who sought an exemption on "religious, administrative, or medical grounds and who received adverse actions solely due to their . The Brig. Thanks for attaching this, it seems like a simple enough process to get the accommodation. Still, she called the policy clarification a great step forward.. Singh wanted to serve in the U.S. military to defend the country that had taken his family in, according to the Sikh Coalition. *!+zu[XAoC_:X/0{ v8iAU}JqQ.u`6fE_GJTBh$Wx)Vpw#7~rDeI0r\!H(NW|/bcPRHBe0tEyXYD q{ This new study shows that changing beard regulations may actually be a need, rather than a want, because the current policy essentially discriminates against Black airmen. USAF photo by Alexander Goad. The standards for growing a beard for medical reasons remain unchanged, the Air Force said. | In March 2021, after Comer arrived at Maxwell Air Force Base, he started talking to his first sergeant about applying for a religious accommodation to obtain a beard waiver. Her work has appeared in Air Force Magazine, Inside Defense, Inside Health Policy, the Frederick News-Post (Md. According to the Department of Defense Instruction 1300. For military members, exemptions must also be documented in readiness systems (Navy/Marine Corps/Coast Guard Medical Readiness Reporting System, Army Medical Protection System, or Air Force Aeromedical Services Information Management System). Get the latest in military news, entertainment and gear in your inbox daily. It is a sincerely held belief, but I have not been a Muslim for long, only a couple weeks. Paragraph 1.5.2.3 should be renumbered as 1.5.2.4. Shaving Waiver stigma Air Force Medicine medical beard Al Dhafra . Airmen who need to grow out their facial hair in uniform can take heart that the top enlisted airman, Chief Master Sgt. Airman raises his head as flight surgeon chief of medical staff inspects his neck and face during a shaving waiver course at Beale Air Force Base, Calif., March 15, 2018. Requests should normally be recommended for approval unless approval would have an adverse impact on military readiness, unit cohesion, standards, or discipline, the Air Force wrote. . When requests are precluded by military necessity, commanders and supervisors should seek reasonable alternatives.. There are many religious reasons why people might choose to grow a beard. No Sikh American should have to choose between their religious beliefs and their career ambitions, said Giselle Klapper, Sikh Coalition Staff Attorney. 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. According to an Air Force press . Beards can also be seen as symbols of power, strength, and virility. 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. HbMc#!6d~\@sQfe_Mp X_T1ew,`CC _O3b eTBo~&aM(AL?z[vEIYf~;LI>*H~BL 3v3!2/)mC*f3d]UL!'7*^LtPNl2"8}Vo=N@&.&|Ye. Service spokesperson Ann Stefanek said the proposal is under discussion by the Black/African American Employment Strategy Team, but hasnt been approved. DAFI52-201 23 JUNE 2021 5 Written request for accommodation received by % Its a little scraggly right now, Sopchak said. requests requiring a waiver for uniform wear and grooming have largely fallen into one of three faith practices: the wear of a hijab; the wear of a beard; and the wear of a turban or under-turban/patka, with uncut beard and uncut hair. All told, Brown added two books, two podcasts, and a documentary, The Air Force now has a single website to manage all its recruiting needs, covering Active Duty, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve recruiting. The NATO allies who allow their service members to grow beards also do not have studies showing the impact of facial hair on gas masks, Ritchie said. Based on the successful examples of Soldiers currently serving with these accommodations, I have determined Its kind of a big thing, culturally.. There's no more reliable source for news about your Air Force. | Under the new process, a commander has up to 30 days to approve an Airmans request for a waiver, and that the accommodation will generally follow the Airman through his or her career. The religious accommodation process isn't designed for individuals to play the God/conscience card to get around things they don't like. 3.1.2.3.1. Any links to regs would be appricated. That matches the length allowed for people who are medically exempt from the requirement to be clean-shaven. The female hair changes were not a want, it was very much a need based on health first when I talk with our men in uniform: Is this a need or is this a want?. 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. Religious exemptions to the rule allow for beards up to 2 inches long. In a Tuesday update of the Department of the Air Force's COVID-19 response, the service announced it had approved nine religious accommodations, including eight through service members' major and field commands and one through a Department of the Air Force appeal. Capture a web page as it appears now for use as a trusted citation in the future. The last sentence indicates that Air Force senior leadership wants to be in sync with other services on major changes in facial hair policy. For some pagans, it is seen as a way of honoring the gods and goddesses. The updated policy requires religious apparel to be neat and conservative and not impede an individuals ability to perform assigned military duties or wear protective equipment. I was the typical senior leader chief that didnt think airmen with a shaving waiver belonged in the front office, one of the branchs most beloved former senior leaders, retired Chief Master Sgt. Airmen in the guard with waivers can wear beards in Air Force ceremonies and duties, but not as part of a joint service honor guard with another branch, Military.com reported. In addition to believing in the old Norse gods, he said, Heathens believe that they are descended from them. The AFI allows the Air Force to deny a request for a waiver only if it furthers a compelling government interest., Groups such as the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Sikh Coalition, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations announced their support for the decision, with CAIR saying Feb. 12 it is a step toward religious accommodation and inclusion for military personnel of all faiths., No Sikh American should have to choose between their religious beliefs and their career ambitions, Giselle Klapper, a Sikh Coalition staff attorney, said in a release. Many airmen on social media called for abandoning the beard prohibition altogether. [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 the study, a team of eight led by Air Force Lt. Col. Simon Ritchie. Master Sgt. We speculate that these members, irrespective of race/ethnicity, may perceive this bias against shaving waivers and choose to leave the service earlier.. 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.. <> 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 Times reports on Air Force SSgt Garrett Sopchak, who just became the first US Air Force Airman to be allowed to wear a beard because he adheres to Norse Heathen religious beliefs. Rather than delay his enlistment, Comer decided to shave his beard and apply for the accommodation at a later date. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. [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. This article has been updated to reflect the fact that another Norse Heathen airman, Staff Sgt. 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. Dec. 26, 2022. And. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service. The religious beard exemption in the US army was created for the benefit of Sikhs. Turbans and under-turbans have similar color and material requirements as the hijab. is at the same time the history o f the interpretation of the Scriptures.'18 The Sunna embodied an ossified tradition. Does anyone have any information on how you actually get a religious exemption for shaving? Theyre more like family members than they are divine beings, Sopchak said. Sopchak said he was originally raised Baptist, but has not been a Christian for a long time. Sens. And in June, a Sikh airman received approval to wear a beard and turban. All are welcome. The study could provide ammunition for airmen who really want to grow out their beards, a large number of whom advocate for changing the facial hair regulations on social media platforms like Reddit and Facebook. Sopchak, a 28-year-old aerospace ground equipment craftsman at Hill Air Force Base in Utah, on July 8 received approval to get approval to wear a beard in accordance with his Heathen faith. Kuzminski said it makes the Air Force and Space Force the first branches to look at a facial hair pilot program not tied to a religious or medical waiver, which would help normalize facial hair . Gen. Charles A. McGee Leadership Award, named after the legendary Tuskegee Airman, will give either $18,000 per year, The Space Forces new leader has definedthree lines of effort he wants the young service to pursue, focusing on combat-ready forces, personnel management, and partnerships with other Pentagon organizations and allies. <>/ExtGState<>/XObject<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/Annots[ 13 0 R 16 0 R] /MediaBox[ 0 0 612 792] /Contents 4 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S/StructParents 0>> That was followed up by more leaked slides in October which promised that an updated facial hair standard would be considered at a November meeting of the Air Force Uniform Board, Coffee or Die Magazine reported. Market-leading rankings and editorial commentary - see the top law firms & lawyers for Not-for-profit (nonprofit and tax exempt organizations) in United States The Sikh Coalition, an advocacy group that has pushed for changes to the Air Forces dress and appearance policy, commended the move. And last December, a group of sailors on the aircraft carrier John C. Stennis held the Navys first Heathen lay service. Published Jul 14, 2021 8:57 AM EDT. Get your daily fix of Air Force news delivered right to your inbox every day. 2 0 obj The new AFI formally allows requests for waivers, and for neat and conservative beards that present a professional appearance. Those encounters, along with studies like the one published last year, convinced Wright to change his position. Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. Also, do you have to be able to prove that you are that religion or can you just claim that you are a Muslim and thats that. 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. 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. The waiver group also had a greater rate of disciplinary action compared to the no-waiver group (18.96% versus 11.45%). He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. FILE PHOTO: U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. 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). Though. A religious accommodation request must include information including the airmans job, what the airman is asking for and the religious reason for the request, and a comment on the sincerity of the request. A sample memo also said that an airman wearing a turban could be ordered to remove it if he goes within 25 feet of an operating aircraft. . It was approved in September, which means Singh will soon head to basic training. The Air Force has cited razor bumps in the past when making changes to its grooming policy. A1C Rathour is the first Sikh Airman to receive religious accommodation, and may grow his beard and wear his turban while in uniform. It is is up to the wing commander (or the unit's equivalent of such a commander) to make the final decision. 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. Theres a lot of things that we learn from the past and our ancestry, and its just carrying on the line, really.. The demographics of the respondents closely match those of the Air Force in general, the study authors wrote. other similar condition s that prohibits regular facial shaving may requ est a waiver to wear a beard . Hopper's exemption is the latest example of the military's effort most notably the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force to acknowledge the diverse religious practices represented in its ranks. DAF COVID-19 Statistics - January 2022. The 2021 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. For AFR waiver processing instructions see AFMAN 368001, - Participation and Training Procedures. There could be more studies of this topic to come. 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. "Sikhs are allowed to wear beards and turbans because it actually is a religious requirement of their faith that they do so. It gradually worked its way up through the bureaucracy before ultimately being approved July 8 by Air Force personnel chief Lt. Gen. Brian Kelly. I can assure you that we are focused on our Airmen; they are the most competitive advantage we haveand we must get the people piece right.. Chaplains typically can tell if you're trying to BS them and it can affect the perceived credibility of real requests in the future. For example, it took airmen with eight or more years with a waiver about a year longer on average to get promoted to the rank of technical sergeant (E-6) compared to airmen who had a waiver for just a year or two. Staff Sgt. The same was true for airmen trying to hit the rank of staff sergeant (E-5). Beard News in Air Force Copyright 2022 Beard Waiver - All Rights Reserved. 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. One Facebook commenter questioned why the Air Force needs a separate pilot program when it could study those who already have shaving waivers. Last year, Capt. 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. It also outlines the process to request these exemptions, sets timelines for management to respond, and ensures that the approvals will follow someone throughout his or her career in the Air Force. I cant tell you how many hundreds of times, probably thousands, that weve gotten [that] question. 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.