Shaving while Off Duty??

This is one of those nonsense priorities leaders spend their time and effort. A male must shave when they are on civilian clothes, he may not wear an earring because it may be perceived as discredit to the military but on the other hand that same man can be married to the same sex. Priorities...

After about 6 days on leave, the Admiral (aka Wife) gets mad and starts complaining about my beard. Usually I don't shave up until the night before I come off, unless I have a formal ever that requires me to be in uniform.

I have a hard time seeing why there is even a discussion on this issue. AR 670-1 is very clear, there is only one time where this is trumped, and that is with a local letter. I would check with your Post/DIV/Unit and see if there is such a letter in place. If not you’re in the good!… However just be prepared to get the business by some super high speed who is not clear on the standard.

I have been in for 8 years but most of us did not shave when off for the weekend or on leave but like you said regs did change. If I had to shave off duty I would just to stay out of an Article 15

I have never considered shaving on the weekend and while on leave simply because of my method of shaving (Magic Shave- no razor). Always way too tedious on duty days.... If I had to, I would but there has been the issue of standing out as a Soldier in certain places because of your appearance.... Anyways, thank goodness it is not required

RE : MCpherson, As a female you would have NO IDEA what it's like to be under the total control of an entire barracks full of "bad apples" why don't you ask the female capt. who had to testify agaiinst the 1 star who forced her into a 3 year relationship and when she continually reported it she was flagged with the scumbag abuser right in the same office.; complaints went NOWHERE. She complained and was flagged right in the same office with that piece of one star fecal matter!! As far as "not Army material" my family has been Army Material for over 200 years We fought in the Revolution to the Indian Wars, which we were both, to WW1, WW2, Korea, My uncle was in Bataan Death March, and I have been out since the Fall of Saigon, I served from that time to the horrible Carter years, of which our force was a national joke. and your excuse of not material is the same CRAP you BUMS use when you cant face up to the truth of your "buddies" whether they are O-Grade OR NCO. Guys like you who make that remark against us are the chickenhawks of these unnecessary wars when we come back from HELL, the damn VA filled with with guys who are replay of Major Burns from Mash.Hey Mac, if you can put down your drink for a moment , got ur attention, when is the last time you held your best FO while you were trying to stop a sucking chest wound from bleeding out? Dying overseas is one thing, but to die here in the "US" on post, is another, and most of us were handpicked for a forced march, simply because we were either orphans, or our parents didnt give a flying frig about us, after all thats what got us in the Army remember? enlist and we will give you a skill and see the world see people and kill them! Only we never thought it would be us! . Anouther thing, I wasen't raised in the city, so I knew my way around the country, You remeber "country boy can survive" Well they were scared of me after that, when that happened I went for blood after that NCO and that 1SLT. cross between Mash character Burns and Klinger they left me alone for maybe a whole week; but that did"t help the poor young woman or what 's left of her family. All i can say is you guys are running on your little blue pill and jack daniels for "courage" and your hatred for us sister soldiers are still well entrenched esp. in other services and yes most of my family was Marines, Navy, and Army. But they respected the women, even though most were Nurses, who by the way saved your friggen life cause by the time the damn doc showed up she had to do most if not all of the stabilizing for you to survive the triage, or have you ever seen that? Thats why I tell all young people Stay OUT OF SERVICE LOOK AT VA !! Bernie Sanders says it best"If you can't care for the Vets Dont start the WAR"!!!! Yes, it was a VERY BAD AREA AND A BAD TIME, WITH THE ABSOLUTE WORST FILTH. And from your response both MAC (finished with your drink?) and RE: FT Brag verify to see: the reason you dint have the "exp" is because of what you have between your legs!!!!! and of course the real reason is the money!!! so dont come up with this OO-RAH BULL!! I"M a HELLUVA LOT OLDER THAN YOU AND I KNOW MORE!!! OH, Capt. FT Bragg, as far as using caps, I would love to Bust Caps !! The real one, but you would"t know what that means. OH, and FT.Bragg, RE: become a drill surrrrrrre, if you guys were dumb enough to enlist me, you guys would be a great target for fraggin training. (how to) or not? Either way I"m guessing I really excited you guys so just take your blue pill and find your hooker down town. Relax, cause you never know when your going to run into us, see you.

We ought to just get SMA in here to clear this up since there are like 54 threads where this argument is playing out...

Since I am stationed at Fort Hood, I follow first and foremost AR 670-1 then secondly the Fort Hood III Corps Policy Letters, which are encapsulated in the Fort Hood Phantom Warrior Standards booklet, dated 1 January 2013. In this booklet, it specifically references on page 13 the policy letters of the Fort Hood CG. As SSG Joaquin Goicoechea has mentioned a few times, it states this specifically in the booklet on page 21:

b. Males Soldiers will be clean-shaven when in uniform and in civilian clothes on duty, except for those with valid shaving profiles. Soldiers will keep a copy of their profile on them when in uniform.

Nowhere in the paragraph above does it specifically state do not have to shave off duty nor does it address mandatory shaving while off duty. Looking further up at the preamble paragraph, it states "Soldiers must project a military image that leaves no doubt that they live by a common military standard and are responsible to military order and discipline." Followed by "Soldiers should ALWAYS refer to AR 670-1 and Fort Hood Command policy CSM-01." Caps are mine.

Referring to Policy # CSM-01, dated 29 June 2012, Uniform and Appearance Policy, it states on page 8, paragraph 4h3 that "Male Soldiers shall be clean-shaven when in uniform or in civilian clothes on duty except for those with a valid shaving profile. While in PUBLIC places regardless of duty status, Soldiers will maintain a professional appearance."

Now, it is very clear that if a Soldier is on duty, whether in uniform or civilian clothes, or off duty AND in uniform, that he must be clean shaven regardless of physical location. If the Soldier is off duty and in civilian clothes then the Soldier is not required to shave IF he is in his home or place of residence (NOT a public place). If the Soldier is off duty and in civilian clothes but goes out to a public place (i.e. restaurant) then he must be shaven to the point of portraying a professional appearance. What is defined as professional appearance is vague but I interpret it as being neat and well groomed. In addition, if I should happen to go on base, especially to my work place, I will shave. Just my 3.57 cents worth.

The new AR also states that Soldiers will not have an beard or goatee and that portion does not specify on or off duty. The question is at what point does scruff become a beard? In Korea you are not allowed in to military facilities unless you are clean shaven. Yes the 8th Army CG will stop you personally and jump your 4th point of contact if he catches you in the commissary!

Technically, as far as the Navy is concerned, per navpers 15665 article 2201.2, we are to maintain a clean shaven appearance at all times. Mustaches are allowed, but have to be kept neat. Now that being said, do they really enforce shaving if you are on leave, not really. But if you do go on base, it is best to maintain a clean shaven look since a chief, or officer, doesn't know you are currently on leave.