US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has ignited controversy with a strict new grooming directive, issued on September 30, that mandates a return to “pre-2010 standards" for facial hair in the US military. The policy effectively bans beards for most service members, allowing exceptions primarily for elite special forces. Hegseth, in an address to top military leaders, framed the move as essential for restoring “lethality" and discipline, vowing to eliminate “superficial individual expression" and condemning “rampant and ridiculous shaving profiles".

The Pentagon memo directs all military branches to comply within 60 days, declaring that facial hair waivers are “generally not authorized". This directive immediately threatens to dismantle years of hard-fought accommodations for devout ser

See Full Page