Do you believe we should be allowed to grow beards in a deployed environment?

It depends ont eh theater. NO NBC go ahead

But a beard could get ina soldier way and prevent a proper mask seal so in that one regard I think the reg has a point.
Though that is only considering the really bushy beards.

Yes. But, it has nothing to do with being a better or worse soldier.

If it's relevant to the mission, then yes.

When the Pentagon relaxed the rules for religious exemptions for beards, I thought about doing it. But for 20 years, I've been clean-shaven. And to be honest, I've spent enough time explaining that, yes, a yarmulke is authorized, across the last two decades, that I wouldn't want to be in the position to have to explain or produce a waiver every time someone asks about the beard.
I could live without ingrown hairs, and the inevitability that at one point or another, a troopie is going to dry shave in the field.
From a CBRN perspective, even outside of the mask seal question, I truly wonder, statistically, what our combat effectiveness would be in a chemical environment. I'm sure we've all spent upwards of a couple of hours in MOPP 4 at NTC...when we did it in the 1990s, I started wondering what the reality would be if an enemy actually produced a true downwind threat for us. Would bearded troops even matter? I've always assumed that the reason we'd be yelling "gas, gas, gas" was because soldiers would be collapsing all around us, clutching their throats. Our else turning into ebola zombies. At least bearded ebola zombies that were soldiers wouldn't be aggravating, smelly, vaping hipsters.

Who cares...Other than CSM's who have nothing better to do than screw with the troops on the FOBs. I suppose as long as you wear a PT belt with it, it'd be ok.

I think it should be allowed. It service many different purpose in combat.

This is about culture, not combat effectiveness ... what is missing (even in this poll) is how the U.S. military (like SF, Spec Ops) can use facial hair as a way to have a common culture connection (Afghanistan for example).

I'm disappointed on not being able to grow them in garrison either. As long as they are well trimmed, how are they unprofessional? And if you really think about it, they are more in line with warrior tradition than being clean shaven.

Are we no longer worried about any kind of GAS attack? Are the troops no longer issued gas masks? If we are, the mask has to seal against smooth skin.

Reason we cannot is because of the gas mask. If we grow beards we would be unable to have a proper seal on the gas mask.