Why can't we grow beards?

We can't grow beards because of arbitrary and outdated social conventions regarding what a "well groomed" military service member should look like. Regs are regs, of course, and advocating a change is not the same as advocating breaking the rules, but it is a fundamentally arbitrary rule, insofar as not everyone in all forces is in a position to need to be able to use a gas mask at a moment's notice. In other professional environments that do not have these types of rules, men still manage to look well-groomed and professional even with facial hair, and long hair on their heads even.

You want to grow a full beard? Either go into Spec Ops and grow one while deployed or get out completely. Those are your only choices.

Surprised this one hasn't been mentioned yet - "If the Army wanted you to have a beard they would have issued you one"

Ok, so....what really concerns me about the “beardgate” discussion is that we are men. Most of us have a God given genetic ability to grow a full badass beard. Now, with that said. We as men should not be concerned only with the professionalism of the beard. Hell, it’s a symbol of masculinity. It looks damn good and profession in just about any situation. Again, we are men arguing the professionalism of our own facial hair. Doesn’t that seem odd??? You will tell me that an Soldier in the Special Operations community looks cool and professional, but all of a sudden you see average GI Joe with a beard and he’s out of uniform?? Give me a break! If we as a society and an Army are trying to be more politically correct, then we shouldn’t simply make concessions for religious purposes. If that’s the case then the pastafari Soldier should be able to wear a camo colander. Let’s push beyond the argument of Masks and professionalism. Afterall....we are men

Personally, I'm getting a LOT of gray hair in my beard.....so I'm keeping it clean shave.

Your argument for beards includes quite a few insinuations and mischaracterizations. To say the Army now allows "psychotic" people to join is not just an exaggeration, but downright false. I believe you have higher standards than that. Do some real research or don't include statements like that.

A 2012 study found that facial hair provided some protection from the sun's harmful UV rays. Beards also reduce the rashes and acne that come from shaving, hold in your face's natural moisturizers and trap allergens from entering your airways. Seems like there are benefits.

You can always get discharged from the US Army and then enlist in any ther Army you wish. Uniformity is uniformity. Regulations are regulations. Just do as you are told and do it as well as you can

Operators are able to wear beards because not only is shaving nearly 100% impractical for them, but there are times when they need to blend in with indigenous peoples.

The gas mask reason is the primary reason the various branches of service prohibit beards. But the Navy allowed beards into the 1980's before they were finally prohibited. I recall that Navy men who wanted a beard had to have permission and their ID card photo had to reflect the beard, and they couldn't shave it off without command permission. We had a Navy LT who had a beard, and on the cut-off day for beards, he was a VERY unhappy LT when he came in clean-shaven. While I was on active duty in the Marine Corps, I had a moustache for many years (even while I was on the drill field) - I was careful to keep it exactly within regulations. But one day, my division commander (a MajGen) in Okinawa told a colonel on his staff that there was just something that he didn't like about a moustache on a Marine, and suddenly I was getting called in and told by my LtCol that he'd consider it a personal favor if I shaved it off. So I did - grew it back later when the MajGen realized his error and that he should be more careful what he said.

My study of military history revealed that the 18th and 19th century military services followed civilian trends with regard to appearance - while there were very specific uniform regulations, there were no grooming regulations in the Marine Corps or the other services before the late 1890's. And no gas masks, either. Hence, the Burnside look and (if you look at old military photos), longer hair. I use Custer as an example of that. In the 1890's, civilian fashion changed to short hair and less facial hair (moustaches only). The official excuse was that short hair was to combat head lice, but it was actually following civilian fashion. And that has stuck with us. All this was encapsulated in grooming regulations starting in the WWI period, when the military wanted to prevent head lice and make everybody look alike even more than they had before. And short hair and a clean-shaven face requires so much less care, which is important in a field environment.