Why can't we grow beards?

Cant grow beards because it looks unprofessional - gives dudes religious headwear and allows beards.
Cant grow beards because effects mask seal - okay then dont wear a beard in deployed environment.

Come on yall theres literally no reason a dude on bragg cant grow out his whiskers hell even the canadians can now.

Yeah beard or beard, I could give a fuck less. What I do care about is the army actually fixing my track, or my equipment not being outdated.

Beards went out of favor with WW1 and the advent of gas masks. Now a days, the mask seals are much better at sealing with facial hair. Now as far as growing a beard, either go Spec Ops and grow one while deployed or get out completely. Those are your choices.

Only about 8 guys in the Army could pull off a mustache under its grooming standard without looking like Hitler. Now they want beards?

We were encouraged to grow a beard, being attached to SF in Afghanistan. The hodgies respected "the old ones", and knew if they fired rockets or mortars at us, we'd be all over them ASAP.

hmm the Sikhs and the pagans are allowed to have beards.. just gotta keep them trimmed .. and ya its a recent thing. last 5-6 years or so.. made me go hmm when I read about it

Here's my take: the army has never allowed severe criminal history or drug abuse problems among the ranks. I know, I just recently discharged on of my own for 2 hot UPL's within 1 year of entry. Second, what is a beard going to gain for you in uniform? Will you look cooler or more "bada**" among your joes? What's the practical reasoning? Will you be able to seal a pro-mask of you ever come in contact with CBRN? Will your ACH be secure enough in vehicle rollover, or in an enemy engagement? Will it ever become a snag obstacle in tight confinement? These are the real questions you should be asking yourself. Most younger/non-deployed soldiers want to worry about what makes them more stand out against the older/hardened joes. Truth is nothing will bridge that gap except training and cohesion. Don't worry about how you look, and worry more about how your body will benefit you under fire

It is to ensure a proper seal on a pro-mask, or other breathing apparatus, pure and simple. This rule doesn't apply just to the military, but the civilian side as well. Ever seen a civilian airline pilot with a full beard? No. Why? Because it interferes with the fit of an oxygen mask. One guy I worked with took a job in the oil and gas industry down in Texas. As part of the hiring process, he had to shave his full, lush beard off. Why? So they could fit him with the proper size oxygen mask. Ever seen a firefighter with a beard? No, and for the same reason. Hell, the job I have now I have to be clean-shaven because the machine I run produces an OSHA-unacceptable amount of silica in the air, hence I get to wear an N95 respirator all day while running it. One day I got to wear that AND a silica-monitoring device to test out a new ventilation system.

Can't put a gas mask over a beard.

In my observation, facial hair/long hair is simply a phenomenon of current social practices. In the 18th century, soldiers were clean-shaven because society at large viewed men with facial as barbaric (except for German grenadiers, who had moustaches). In the mid-19th century, beards and amazing lamb-chop sideburns were popular in society, and they were also popular in the military. There were no grooming regulations in the Marine Corps (don't know about the Army or Navy), and whether a Marine had a moustache or beard depended on his commanding officer. At the beginning of the 20th c., short hair and clean shaving was the norm, and the military has followed that method ever since. In the 1980's (my first brush at serving with the Navy), naval officers and sailors could have beards, but once permission had been asked to have one and the ID card picture taken, they could not shave it off without permission. When the Navy directive came that abolished beards, we had a Navy LT who had a great beard - salt-and-pepper, and on the day he had to shave his beard off, he WAS NOT HAPPY - he looked like a wet monkey without his beard. Perhaps someday the military will allow beards to make a comeback - moustaches are already allowed, and operational exceptions (submarines, battlefield operators) happen. So maybe beards will be allowed for the general rank and file at some point.