Posted on Oct 31, 2014
Should combat arms be required to shave while deployed to the Middle East?
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I thoroughly believe, that having a beard in a place where a shaven face is almost frowned upon, would help with making the initial contact with the elders and senior leaders in the community. I understand that shaving is required to make a proper seal on the gas mask but the day to day communication with these community leaders is far more likely to occur than a chemical attack, in which case, you probably arent carrying your mask anyway.
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Deployment
Grooming Standards
Deployment Grooming Standards
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 11
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I think this is an interesting question. Downrange their culture is that men have facial hair, I see this as a possible force multiplier in helping to gain trust in the local community. It's the exact reason Spec Ops do it.
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SGT Justin Jarrell
It also confuses who the target is. You see guys with beards in uniform and even the enemy knows it special operators. If we all had beards on the ground it would take some of the heat off of our special operators.
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Should anyone have to shave at all period? There are plenty of professional armed forces that allow beards, and it hurts them not at all... I know, the stereotypical reply is "well what about gas masks?". To which I must reply, "what about them?". If we are to make decisions because something might happen maybe one day somewhere, we might as well add an aluminum foil liner to our headgear in case aliens are trying to take remote control of our brains, just in case..
If deploying to an area where there is a CREDIBLE CBRN threat, then the Commander can mandate shaving. Simple. Other than that, the facial hair prohibition is arbitrary...
If deploying to an area where there is a CREDIBLE CBRN threat, then the Commander can mandate shaving. Simple. Other than that, the facial hair prohibition is arbitrary...
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SSG Jason Neumann
I think this and all of the armor we carry on our person is for the "what-if" factor. I do believe that there should be some leniency in grooming standards while deployed, especially in remote locations. There are times when we can't take showers or wash a weeks worth of clothes, but god forbid you don't shave. I do agree with that there are plenty of PROFESSIONAL armed forces allowing of beards and if there is an active threat of CBRN then the Commander can regulate shaving. Again, the "what-if" can be done to many situations and lead into circles. I'm not asking for a ZZ Top beard, but at least have some type of relaxed grooming standards. Heck we aren't even allowed to have any growth while on leave, how is that relaxing? LOL
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SSG Jason Neumann
Our beards are key to engaging the host nation it's almost like kryponite to them, plus they dig it... (all sarcasm).
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I'm not sure I understand the gist of the question. I see what you are saying, but the reality that I have lived is not congruent with your logic. As a non-Infantry guy I have conducted far more local leader engagements than the infantry guys I know. I would go so far to say as I have seen more local leader engagements conducted by non-combat arms than I have seen conducted by combat arms.
A clean shaven face is not frowned upon, it is a sign of age and wisdom in a man. A man that has lived long enough to have a healthy beard with grey can be counted on to have wisdom.
To go further with this, The leaders we make contact with understand our way is not their way. Even the guys in the remote valleys of western Afghanistan. I look really young for my age, but outside of some friendly joking, I had no issues securing warrants when we moved to warrant based targeting in 09.
A clean shaven face is not frowned upon, it is a sign of age and wisdom in a man. A man that has lived long enough to have a healthy beard with grey can be counted on to have wisdom.
To go further with this, The leaders we make contact with understand our way is not their way. Even the guys in the remote valleys of western Afghanistan. I look really young for my age, but outside of some friendly joking, I had no issues securing warrants when we moved to warrant based targeting in 09.
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