Overview

• An Aug. 20 memo released publicly on Sept. 15 instructs unit commanders to start separation for service members who still require a shaving waiver after more than one year of treatment.
• The directive establishes a department-wide clean-shaven standard and requires waiver recipients to follow a medical treatment plan, with medical officers issuing written recommendations for commanders’ decisions.
• The memo does not specify what treatments will be offered or funded for shaving-related conditions, and it leaves questions about mustache rules and certain operational exceptions unresolved.
• Coverage differs on religious accommodations, as the memo does not address them and at least one outlet reports that existing religious waivers are unaffected.
• The policy caps a year of service-level tightening and may disproportionately affect troops with pseudofolliculitis barbae, a condition common among Black men that contributed to large waiver totals such as the Army’s 40,000 in 2024.