Overview
- An email from the 51st Fighter Wing at Osan Air Base said “members with shaving waivers are NOT authorized to attend” a Hegseth troop engagement at Camp Humphreys.
- An Air Force official confirmed the email’s authenticity and said Hegseth will meet with troops during his South Korea visit.
- Pentagon officials directed media inquiries to the Air Force rather than issuing a separate statement on the exclusion.
- Hegseth’s Sept. 30 memo rolled back waiver policies, allowing only temporary, annually renewed medical waivers and reverting to tighter rules on religious accommodations.
- The crackdown follows his “No more beardos” speech at Quantico and has drawn concerns about effects on service members with pseudofolliculitis barbae and those with faith-based beard practices.