Overview

• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a return to pre-2010 grooming standards on Sept. 30, with Pentagon memos outlining a clean-shaven norm and an end to broad facial-hair waivers.
• Religious accommodations now require documentation of sincere belief and are largely confined to non-deployable roles with low chemical or firefighting risk.
• Medical shaving waivers, including for pseudofolliculitis barbae, shift to short-term treatment plans with annual reviews and possible separation after one year if still needed.
• Hegseth said beards remain permissible for Special Forces, stating, "If you want a beard, you can join Special Forces; if not, then shave."
• The North American Punjabi Association and other advocates condemned the rollback, appealed to the Trump administration and Congress to stop it, and cited a 2022 federal ruling that let Sikh recruits keep beards and turbans in basic training while warning of disproportionate impacts on Sikhs, Muslims, Jews and Black troops.