air force religious beard waiver

By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. 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 airmans unit commander would then decide whether to endorse the request. 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. t7be,2/gQ u7|O;(?lKHfm'*g' I{C But if they deny a religious accommodation request, it will go up to the Air Force headquarters manpower, personnel and services directorate, Air Force reserve or the Air National Guard for a final review and decision. In 2018, Staff Sgt. The idea would let participating airmen sport well-kept beards no longer than one-quarter inch, Military.com first reported Monday. Eugene Oliver/U.S. . 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 . Isnt the whole point of Religious Freedom that people CANT question your religious beliefs?? The Army granted a similar waiver last year, and beard exemptions have been granted for a growing number of Sikhs and Muslims . The Air Force has cited razor bumps in the past when making changes to its grooming policy. ), the Washington Post, and others. Copyright 2023. The Air Force is committed to continuing to remove barriers that prevent airmen from applying for, and being accepted into, career broadening opportunities, Bass said in a statement sent to Task & Purpose. Others mused that more people would enlist if beards were allowed. He hopes to become a Gothi essentially an ordained priest and perhaps become an official Air Force chaplain. 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. Subscribe to Task & Purpose Today. The religious beard exemption in the US army was created for the benefit of Sikhs. The updated Air Force Instruction, released Feb. 7, also formally allows Sikh airmen to wear turbans and Muslim women to wear hijabs. Of them, 40 Airmen voluntarily left the service and 14 officers retired, according to Undersecretary of the Air Force Gina Ortiz Jones at a House Armed Services Committee hearing Feb. 28. 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. Hopper,. It is is up to the wing commander (or the unit's equivalent of such a commander) to make the final decision. 2 0 obj Its a little scraggly right now, Sopchak said. 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.. [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. Abdul Rahman Gaitain, an airman with the 821st. Theres a lot of comparables where Hey if females and women in the military just got their hair changed, how about beards? said Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force JoAnne Bass in April. They also make offerings anything from food to drinks to physical objects to their gods during a ceremony called a blot, he said. Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. Summary: Secret agent/spy Arthur is part of a private investigation, initiated by Saito, to infiltrate a secret collusion of the world's biggest energy corporations but treacher I will also add, the whole reason I want a beard is to help me with my faith during Ramadan. (Garrett Sopchak) For nearly a year, the Air Force weighed a staff sergeant's request to grow a beard as part of his religious beliefs before. Chief Bass comment demonstrates her commitment to changing the culture, and there seems to be some progress already. 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. Thousands of American Muslims and members of other minority faiths serve in our nations military and should be able to practice their faith while serving, CAIRs spokesperson Ibrahim Hooper said in a statement. The Air Force plans to update its Air Force Instruction regulations governing dress and personal appearance and medical care management to reflect this change. Powered by GoDaddy This website uses cookies. Religious beards in the military were allowed in 2017. At first, it appeared Sopchak was the first Heathen to get a beard waiver. The Nevada Army Guard said that Sgt. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) welcomed the policy change. Sopchak said that something about the Heathen religion felt more real to him. 1 0 obj 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. Previously, the only exceptions for active-duty personnel were medical waivers. The Air Force has updated its grooming standards to formally allow Airmen to grow neatly trimmed beards, standardizing the religious or medical exemption process. are divided over that study showing beard waivers hurt careers. He also hopes to grow the Heathen community in the area around Hill. Air & Space Forces Magazine is the official publication of the Air & Space Forces Association, 1501 Langston Boulevard, Arlington, Va., 22209-1198. The review directed Air Force commanders to conduct a root cause analysis of racial disparities within their commands, develop an action plan for reporting them, then release a progress report within six months. The updated regulations mandate that faith-based religious apparel requests can only be denied for a compelling government interest and the denial must be the least restrictive way the Air Force has of achieving that government interest. 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. Anecdotal evidence and a July 2021 study in the journal Military Medicine indicate that airmen with shaving waivers are more often passed over for promotions and other professional opportunities because of their appearance. Singh wanted to serve in the U.S. military to defend the country that had taken his family in, according to the Sikh Coalition. Tell me youre an A1C without telling me youre an A1C. 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. One civilian study from 2018 showed that 98% of study participants with an eighth-inch of beard passed the fit test with respirators that are similar to the M-50 gas masks used in the military in terms of material and fit. *!+zu[XAoC_:X/0{ v8iAU}JqQ.u`6fE_GJTBh$Wx)Vpw#7~rDeI0r\!H(NW|/bcPRHBe0tEyXYD q{ 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. Its kind of a big thing, culturally.. "There is no religious requirement for beards in Heathenry," the post read. 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. Capture a web page as it appears now for use as a trusted citation in the future. 8[/6&ip1~E5\h|#_W7AO2#+S_*wQ2I1jg!zx 6FTUqepk9v i*z]D@s;3c~52YJSR04P_dZgLA-Xh YWX,&"qp6bY ?HD]SL%d9n4%;uwR"d"4X Previously, these airmen needed to get their waivers updated annually. 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. 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. 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. %PDF-1.5 William Bailey, received a waiver to grow a beard in March. 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. If they didnt have one, in some of the stories, they were actually ridiculed. While the Air Force prohibits male members from growing beards, waivers are issued to airmen who,. Airman 1st Class Harpreetinder Singh Bajwa in June 2019 became the first active-duty Sikh airman allowed to wear a turban, beard and long hair, which Sikhs tie in a bun and then cover with the turban. Guidelines for requesting a religious accommodation for a Heathen beard in the U.S. Air Force 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. Airmen assigned to units wearing a beret of any color may wear an appropriately-colored head covering as directed by the unit commander, one sample memo explains. 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. Abdul Rahman Gaitan in 2018 became the first Muslim. The DAF will remove adverse information from records of those currently serving service members who sought. Currently serving Airmen and Guardians who sought exemptions from the Pentagon's COVID-19 vaccine mandate will see those actions reversed and records erased, a new memo from Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall states. The regulation formalizes a waiver process for future airmen seeking to wear turbans, hijab or beards, By First Air Force JAG officer to wear hijab featured in short NBC documentary, Women in the military: Moving beyond firsts, Veterans Affairs drops mask requirement for all agency medical offices, Officials OK some hand and neck tattoos for airmen, Guardians, Perennial pilot shortage puts Air Force in precarious position, Healthy eating on a budget for busy military spouses, Tax scams How to report them Money Minute, Capitol Hill weighs action on two controversial topics: medical marijuana and abortion, Lockheed wins hypersonics contract | Defense Dollars, Go inside a secret nuclear fallout bunker sealed for decades, Another Air Force fleet grounded over fears plane tails may fall off, Pentagon orders engine vibration fix for entire F-35 fleet worldwide, Minot firings due to failed nuclear safety inspection, Air Force advisers study use of satellites for tracking moving targets. is at the same time the history o f the interpretation of the Scriptures.'18 The Sunna embodied an ossified tradition. 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. Would beards be nice? Abdul Rahman Gaitan, 821st Contingency Response Squadron aerial porter, was among the first to be granted a religious accommodation for a shaving waiver based . ;NNB6 j~X3E]4]euu((m#/S>c9K71,E304a;97la@Ejrf-o eP9_$)'"?#EO!orCi=5P@C5TmJY;^qzU/nWXvvRH~]/C >K)a2MuOzZ.VsDNOr%rZR[TINcCPBi!U;$TXA9%9;?&>k37{X]sa`p3Wc1^CKtjBrx\5uI3 Though. 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 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. 0. 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. 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. In December, Military.com reported that the Air Force Honor Guard changed its policy in April to allow airmen with shaving waivers to apply and join the guard. Some pagans might choose to grow a beard in order to express their religious identity or beliefs. ~pkgEsHh,1%l|hJ Commonly referred to as razor bumps, PFB is a skin condition that makes shaving painful and can lead to permanent scarring if the skin is not allowed to heal, which makes it a common reason for receiving a shaving waiver. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. The same was true for airmen trying to hit the rank of staff sergeant (E-5). The U.S. Air Force granted its first religious waivers to the military-wide COVID-19 vaccine mandate this week. Directly before me was one of the mirrors I have mentioned, in which I saw reflected the tall shape of my friend, Mr. Jennings, leaning over my shoulder, and reading the page at which I was busy, and with a face so dark and wild that I . Rathour graduated Security Forces technical training on Sept. 26, 2019. 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.. "They were well-respected. 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. 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. 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. The new religious accommodation rules also cover unshorn beards and unshorn hair such as those worn by members of the Sikh faith under-turbans or patkas, and other indoor or outdoor head coverings. It was more relatable.. Sopchak said in a Tuesday interview that in the old sagas, a beard was a sign someone was a respected member of the community who could be trusted to help others. For some pagans, it is seen as a way of honoring the gods and goddesses. This is the first time the command has done so. U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Isaac John, 423d Security Forces Squadron flight member, holds his position during a field training exercise at Stanford Training Area, England, Aug. 17, 2022. Abdul Rahman Gaitan became the first Muslim airman to receive a religious accommodation beard waiver. The research studied the effect of shaving waivers on the careers of active duty male airmen. 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. Get your daily fix of Air Force news delivered right to your inbox every day. Get the latest in military news, entertainment and gear in your inbox daily. The Brig. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. By Brown Jr. covered a broad range of topics with his additions to his Leadership Library in February. >_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 Air Force on Friday updated its regulations to formally allow airmen to ask for a waiver to wear religious apparel such as turbans or hijabs, or beards worn for religious reasons. such as an exemption uniform policy; the from a purchase of suitable, alternative personal protective . It is unclear how many Norse pagans, Heathen, or Asatru followers are in the military, but they have become increasingly visible in recent years. Sopchak, an aerospace ground equipment craftsman at Hill Air Force Base in Utah,said other airmen have been emailing him with questions about his faith. 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. 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. The religious accommodation process isn't designed for individuals to play the God/conscience card to get around things they don't like. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. Rather than delay his enlistment, Comer decided to shave his beard and apply for the accommodation at a later date. I cant tell you how many hundreds of times, probably thousands, that weve gotten [that] question. <> 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. It was approved in September, which means Singh will soon head to basic training. Correction: This story was updated at 6:53 p.m. to reflect correct information about religious waivers for beards. The Sikh Coalition said the Air Force regulation closely resembles the Army's. 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. And at least two airmen who follow the Norse Heathen, or pagan, faiths have been granted permission to wear a beard. This causes inflammation and a foreign body reaction, and over time, can result in scarring. Its unclear how many people currently use shaving waivers. Action on Requests for Religious Accommodation that Require the Waiver of Department of the Air Force Regulations or Policies or Directives . Caitlyn Smoyer). 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. 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. The facial hair cannot exceed one-quarter of an inch, must be grown out naturally and cannot be shaped or styled. 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 move came as a result of the Army authorizing beards for religious soldiers in January 2017 as part of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a move specifically enacted for Sikh soldiers. No Sikh American should have to choose between their religious beliefs and their career ambitions, said Giselle Klapper, Sikh Coalition Staff Attorney. No Sikh American should have to choose between their religious beliefs and their career ambitions, Klapper said in a statement Wednesday. 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. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations. Under certain conditions, commanding officers can order the removal of turbans or hijabs to keep service members safe, the regulations state for example, while someone is walking within 25 feet of an operating aircraft. Wright, who is Black, said he resolved his own shaving irritation by learning how to shave in a way that would not irritate his skin, so he assumed other airmen would be able to resolve their irritation the same way. In December, the Air Force commissioned its first female Muslim chaplain . There could be more studies of this topic to come. According to the Nevada Army Guard's and Air Guard's personnel offices, the state has eight Guardsmen - four Soldiers and four Airmen - who declare Pagan as their religious preference. In 2018, the Air Force granted its first "religious accommodation beard waiver" to a Muslim airman, allowing him to wear a beard while in uniform. 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. David covers the Air Force, Space Force and anything Star Wars-related. USAF photo by Alexander Goad. Want to write for Task & Purpose? The majority of the waiver group was Black (64.18%), despite that group making up only 12.85% of the cohort. Later, every religious trend sought and found the hadiths that justified its principles. The last sentence indicates that Air Force senior leadership wants to be in sync with other services on major changes in facial hair policy. Air Force). x\[o~d/Sp|A|=hdDPwfvIQuDgg?ydtx.b`1K55'V#wLDP,(Wj Community for current and past members of the US Air Force. The Air Force also granted its first religious accommodation beard waiver, to a Muslim airman, in 2018. Heres how. 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. I can answer the questions, so it is not really a problem but how is that even legal? In the words of the Hungarian scholar Goldziher, 'The history of religion . Friday's regulation formalizes such waivers into a multi-step review process. Some of it was because I just ignored it, some of it was because I wanted these young men to do what I did: just suck it up and figure it out and youll be fine.. A California-based airman has become the first Muslim airman to receive a beard waiver after a 2014 policy. [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. However, given the most recent research; shaving waivers could play a role in racial disparity in terms of promotions. endobj Last August, he went to his units chaplain an evangelical Christian who Sopchak said was very supportive and curious about his Heathen religion who helped him put together the paperwork for his religious accommodation request.