The title of this story says it all. The army is deciding whether or not men should be allowed to grow beards while in uniform. Currently, AR (Army Regulation) 670-1 (which covers how the uniform should be worn) states, “Males will keep their face clean-shaven when in uniform, or in civilian clothes on duty. Mustaches are permitted. If worn, males will keep mustaches neatly trimmed, tapered, and tidy. Mustaches will not present a chopped off or bushy appearance, and no portion of the mustache will cover the upper lip line, extend sideways beyond a vertical line drawn upward from the corners of the mouth, or extend above a parallel line at the lowest portion of the nose.”

For the most part, men choose not to have a mustache, given the extra effort it would take to be squared away (or correct) as compared to how easy it would be to just not have facial hair in general. The reason this is becoming such a big issue now, is that the request to allow facial hair has been widely requested within the recent years by many people, mainly those within a wide variety of religious groups, and because there are so many, it would be easier to allow all men to grow facial hair, regardless of their religion.

LTC Caldwell, our school’s JROTC instructor, said “The issue doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with religion, but the first problem that comes to my mind is that the protective masks we use to protect us in NBC (nuclear, biological, chemical) environments are designed to seal to your face, and if you have facial hair, they won’t do that. As a leader, I have to make sure my people can do their jobs safely and effectively, and facial hair would keep me from doing that.” SFC Kernodle had a different take on the matter. “I disagree completely,” he said. “The idea of wearing a uniform is to make everyone look uniform, and not only that, but being clean shaven presents a much more professional appearance, and having facial hair eliminates the purpose of the uniform in the first place.”

As someone who is enlisting in the army, I personally disagree with the issue. At first, I was on the fence about it, but given the pros and cons, there are several reasons why facial hair shouldn’t be allowed in uniform, and the two above are likely the biggest. There isn’t a definitive answer on the matter yet, but the higher ranking officers, as well as the Command Sergeant Major of the army, are considering this and deciding which route would be the best route to take.