air force religious beard waiver

The Nevada Army Guard said that Sgt. "There is no religious requirement for beards in Heathenry," the post read. A1C Rathour is the first Sikh Airman to receive religious accommodation, and may grow his beard and wear his turban while in uniform. Does anyone have any information on how you actually get a religious exemption for shaving? addresses the Air Force grooming standard for beards: "[b]eards are not authorizedunless for medical reasons, when authorized by a commander on the advice of a medical official." An Airmen who requests an accommodation waiver to grow a beard for religious reasons must follow Airmen who need to grow out their facial hair in uniform can take heart that the top enlisted airman, Chief Master Sgt. In 2017, the U.S. Army officially updated its dress and appearance standards to accommodate hijabs, turbans and beards. For nearly a year, the Air Force weighed a staff sergeant's request to grow a beard as part of his religious beliefs before granting him a waiver, a decision that balanced personal liberty against military readiness, a Pentagon spokesman said. safety) or when precluded by a compelling (i.e., especially important) governmental and/or Air Force interest. It was only after becoming the top enlisted airman that Wright met fellow airmen for whom being clean-shaven was impossible without immense pain and skin damage. The female hair changes were not a want, it was very much a need based on health first when I talk with our men in uniform: Is this a need or is this a want?. The Air Force has updated its grooming standards to formally allow Airmen to grow neatly trimmed beards, standardizing the religious or medical exemption process. I can assure you that we are focused on our Airmen; they are the most competitive advantage we haveand we must get the people piece right.. The Air Force Times reports on Air Force SSgt Garrett Sopchak, who just became the first US Air Force Airman to be allowed to wear a beard because he adheres to Norse Heathen religious beliefs. A U.S. soldier who is serving in Afghanistan has received a uniform religious exception to sport a beard based upon his Norse pagan beliefs. Wright, who is Black, said he resolved his own shaving irritation by learning how to shave in a way that would not irritate his skin, so he assumed other airmen would be able to resolve their irritation the same way. According to the Department of Defense Instruction 1300. Sure, but how about competitive pay and benefits? The Air Forces updated dress and personal appearance policy clarifies the grooming and uniform standards for members who wear turbans, hijabs and beards for religious reasons. Religious beards in the military were allowed in 2017. The religious accommodation process is designed to accommodate individuals who can cite specific teachings, traditions, or texts that Air Force policies contradict. So far, the Air Force has banned beards for all except those who have five-year medical waivers for pseudofolliculitis barbae, or chronic razor bumps, or religious waivers for those for whom. Garrett Sopchak mythology, a collection of interesting stories but little more. Religious exemptions to the rule allow for beards up to 2 inches long. 4 0 obj In an email to Task & Purpose, Bass said the Air Force is continually reevaluating its policies. Thousands of American Muslims and members of other minority faiths serve in our nations military and should be able to practice their faith while serving, CAIRs spokesperson Ibrahim Hooper said in a statement. It is a sincerely held belief, but I have not been a Muslim for long, only a couple weeks. Airmens facial hair also cannot interfere with the wear of personal protective equipment such as gas masks, the Air Force said, and airmen must be able to continue to perform their duties. Airman 1st Class Harpreetinder Singh Bajwa in June 2019 became the first active-duty Sikh airman allowed to wear a turban, beard and long hair, which Sikhs tie in a bun and then cover with the turban. The waivers remain in effect even when the airman is deployed or has a permanent change-of-station move, the Air Force said in the release. Legacy sites goang.com and afreserve.com will now direct users to the central airforce.com site. We recommend further study of gas mask and respirator fit testing with facial hair in the military population to clarify this.. In 2018, Staff Sgt. The standards for growing a beard for medical reasons remain unchanged, the Air Force said. In December, The Air Force released a sweeping review which found that Black service members are disproportionately punished and promoted more slowly when compared to their White peers. The NATO allies who allow their service members to grow beards also do not have studies showing the impact of facial hair on gas masks, Ritchie said. The new findings build off a preliminary study published in December which said that shaving waivers had negatively affected the careers of many airmen, especially those of color. The updated Air Force Instruction, released Feb. 7, also formally allows Sikh airmen to wear turbans and Muslim women to wear hijabs. US Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Jackson Manske. Accommodations, after all, arent about special treatment they are about ensuring that religiously observant Sikhs and others dont have to choose between staying true to our faith and serving our country, he said. For military members, exemptions must also be documented in readiness systems (Navy/Marine Corps/Coast Guard Medical Readiness Reporting System, Army Medical Protection System, or Air Force Aeromedical Services Information Management System). It also outlines the process to request these exemptions, sets timelines for management to respond, and ensures that the approvals will follow someone throughout his or her career in the Air Force. In 2020, the department extended shaving waivers for those diagnosed with razor bumps from one year to five years. Paragraph 1.5.2 changed to read: Submitting Requests for Religious, Gender , or Medical Waivers. The services often claim that facial hair interferes with the seal of a gas mask, but an Air Force doctor has found no direct scientific evidence to support that claim. The new study found that airmen with shaving waivers faced significantly longer wait times for promotions and were often barred from sought-after jobs such as Honor Guard, recruiting, military training instructors, or the Thunderbirds demonstration team. Hopper's exemption is the latest example of the military's effort most notably the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force to acknowledge the diverse religious practices represented in its ranks. <>>> He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. This new study shows that changing beard regulations may actually be a need, rather than a want, because the current policy essentially discriminates against Black airmen. Airmen in the guard with waivers can wear beards in Air Force ceremonies and duties, but not as part of a joint service honor guard with another branch, Military.com reported. Press J to jump to the feed. This is an update to AFI 36-2903, "Dress and personal appearance of Air Force Personnel," and it will allow the headdress to be worn provided it is "neat and conservative" and that the airmen present a professional . Gurchetan Singh, the first Sikh American to secure a religious accommodation to serve in the Air National Guard, said Wednesday that hes grateful for the Air Forces policy change. Click here. The authors called for wider research in the area in order to refute or substantiate their findings. The Air Force is first in many things, but in this case the branch came in second to the Army, which in 2017 became the first military branch to grant religious exemptions for beards, turbans. This is a volunteers proposal.. During tours of less than 30 days, A ir Force Reserve (AFR) and Air National Guard (ANG) chaplains not on extended active duty may request a beard waiver for religious observance when consistent with their faith. Changing policy, actually is the easy part, Wright said. The updated regulations mandate that faith-based religious apparel requests can only be denied for a compelling government interest and the denial must be the least restrictive way the Air Force has of achieving that government interest. However, most airmen who have waivers are Black, because they are more likely to be affected by pseudofolliculitis barbae (PFB) than White airmen. A member of the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) has received the first-ever religious-related waiver, allowing him to wear a turban and keep a beard. Turbans and under-turbans have similar color and material requirements as the hijab. He hopes to become a Gothi essentially an ordained priest and perhaps become an official Air Force chaplain. Editors note: This story has been updated with new comments from Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force JoAnne Bass. Don't lie about your belief. Given the racial distribution of waivers, this may have an unintended discriminatory effect by limiting the opportunities that these members are offered, the study authors wrote. Beard hair longer than two inches must be rolled and/or tied to achieve the required length. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. The Air Force is committed to continuing to remove barriers that prevent airmen from applying for, and being accepted into, career broadening opportunities, Bass said in a statement sent to Task & Purpose. "They were well-respected. Below are current coronavirus disease 2019 statistics for Department of Air Force personnel: *These numbers include all of the cases that were reported since our last update on Jan. 18. Currently serving Airmen and Guardians who sought exemptions from the Pentagon's COVID-19 vaccine mandate will see those actions reversed and records erased, a new memo from Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall states. He is now about two weeks into growing his beard, and is waiting for it to come in a little more before he can start shaping it. Caitlyn Smoyer). The idea would let participating airmen sport well-kept beards no longer than one-quarter inch, Military.com first reported Monday. Later, every religious trend sought and found the hadiths that justified its principles. [T]he promotion system is not necessarily inherently racially biased, but instead biased against the presence of facial hair which will likely always affect the promotions of Blacks/African-Americans disproportionately because of the relatively higher need for shaving waivers in this population, wrote the authors of a recent Air Force study. The United States military continues to bend its strict grooming rules to appease Muslims, most recently allowing an Air Force sergeant to sport a beard for religious reasons. The Air Force Surgeon General has approved five-year waivers allowing male airmen with a medical condition causing painful ingrown hairs to grow beards, the service said Tuesday. The Air Force in recent years has begun granting waivers to allow airmen including airmen of the Muslim, Sikh and Norse Heathen or pagan faiths to grow beards for religious reasons. The push to create a new Space National Guard got a major boost last week as a bipartisan team of Senators offered new legislationeven as the Pentagon works to craft details on a competing plan. The last sentence indicates that Air Force senior leadership wants to be in sync with other services on major changes in facial hair policy. No Sikh American should have to choose between their religious beliefs and their career ambitions, said Giselle Klapper, Sikh Coalition Staff Attorney. It is unclear how many Norse pagans, Heathen, or Asatru followers are in the military, but they have become increasingly visible in recent years. FILE PHOTO: U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. According to the memo, which was first posted on the unofficial Facebook page Air Force amn/nco/snco July 12, Sopchak can wear a neat, conservative beard that presents a professional, well-groomed military appearance and stays no more than two inches from the bottom of his chin. Get the latest military news, entertainment, and gear in your inbox daily. Still, she called the policy clarification a great step forward.. Rather than delay his enlistment, Comer decided to shave his beard and apply for the accommodation at a later date. Under certain conditions, commanding officers can order the removal of turbans or hijabs to keep service members safe, the regulations state for example, while someone is walking within 25 feet of an operating aircraft. The religious accommodation process isn't designed for individuals to play the God/conscience card to get around things they don't like. Here are some active soldiers who have been allowed to keep their facial hair. David Roza Get the latest in military news, entertainment and gear in your inbox daily. I cant tell you how many hundreds of times, probably thousands, that weve gotten [that] question. The study authors found that the long wait for promotions applied to airmen of all races who had waivers. This means that even though the study measured only about 4% of all male airmen, the findings would likely be similar if extended to the entire branch. A federal judge Thursday temporarily blocked the Air Force from penalizing a group of service members who are seeking a religious exemption to otherwise mandatory Covid-19 vaccination, in. The religious beard exemption in the US army was created for the benefit of Sikhs. In December, Military.com reported that the Air Force Honor Guard changed its policy in April to allow airmen with shaving waivers to apply and join the guard. <>/ExtGState<>/XObject<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/Annots[ 13 0 R 16 0 R] /MediaBox[ 0 0 612 792] /Contents 4 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S/StructParents 0>> Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Air Force). Copyright 2023. In such cases, an airman's command could order an immediate removal of the turban, hijab or facial hair (although it's not clear how much time an airman would have to shave). When asked about specific efforts for removing the stigma regarding waivers, an Air Force spokesperson told Task & Purpose that the Air Force changed AFI 36-2903, its regulation governing dress and appearance standards., earlier this spring to allow airmen with a shaving profile to trim and shape their facial hair, and to allow airmen with profiles to apply for more positions in the service. Airmen can use styling products on their beards, but petroleum-based products are not allowed while wearing a protective mask. We dont have to hire RAND or Booz Allen Hamilton to do it, but the Air Force needs to want it to happen, he said at the time. According to a statement from the Air Force, Senior Airman Dominic Varriale was granted the turban waiver in 2020. But a little more than two years ago, Sopchak was seized by an overwhelming feeling that he needed to look further into these legends and the religion surrounding them. The updated policy requires religious apparel to be neat and conservative and not impede an individuals ability to perform assigned military duties or wear protective equipment. Correction: This story was updated at 6:53 p.m. to reflect correct information about religious waivers for beards. The Air Force has updated its grooming standards to formally allow Airmen to grow neatly trimmed beards, standardizing the religious or medical exemption process. Muslim, Sikh and pagan members of the Air Force have individually requested and received waivers for religious apparel and beards in recent years, but this is the first time the guidelines and the accompanying approval process are being standardized. It is is up to the wing commander (or the unit's equivalent of such a commander) to make the final decision. Published Jul 14, 2021 8:57 AM EDT. One civilian study from 2018 showed that 98% of study participants with an eighth-inch of beard passed the fit test with respirators that are similar to the M-50 gas masks used in the military in terms of material and fit. Capture a web page as it appears now for use as a trusted citation in the future. Some of it was because I just ignored it, some of it was because I wanted these young men to do what I did: just suck it up and figure it out and youll be fine.. Does anyone have any information on how you actually get a religious exemption for shaving? A chaplain must then interview the requesting airman and submit a recommendation to the wing chaplain (or the unit's equivalent of a wing chaplain). Staff Sgt. If you saw a man that had a beard, you could almost guarantee that they were a good person, that you could go to them for help," Sopchak said. There are plenty of smaller regulations detailing how religious beards and apparel should look in order to appear neat and conservative, the Air Force writes. If youre willing to learn, we are willing to teach.. Central figures in Norse mythology such as Odin and Thor are commonly depicted as wearing beards. ;NNB6 j~X3E]4]euu((m#/S>c9K71,E304a;97la@Ejrf-o eP9_$)'"?#EO!orCi=5P@C5TmJY;^qzU/nWXvvRH~]/C >K)a2MuOzZ.VsDNOr%rZR[TINcCPBi!U;$TXA9%9;?&>k37{X]sa`p3Wc1^CKtjBrx\5uI3 1 0 obj The same neat and conservative approach applies to beards, which must not exceed two inches when measured from the bottom of the chin, the regulations states. The US Air Force has updated its dress code policy to outline a clear approval process for Sikhs and Muslims who want to serve while wearing their articles of faith. While the Air Force prohibits male members from growing beards, waivers are issued to airmen who,. Those interested in pursuing a shaving waiver at Al Dhafra can attend shaving waiver clinic walk-in hours on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., or schedule an appointment at the 380th EMDG clinic during walk-in hours from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. The Supreme Court today upheld Indian Air Force's denial of permission to two Muslim personnel to grow beard, holding that the two orders were in compliance with Regulation 425(b) which . Contact the author here. <> Singh was born in India and followed his father, an asylee, to the U.S. in 2012. Abdul Rahman Gaitan became the first Muslim airman to receive a religious accommodation beard waiver. The majority of the waiver group was Black (64.18%), despite that group making up only 12.85% of the cohort. Save Page Now. It interfaces with DAFPD 52-1, Chaplain Corps; Air Force Instruction (AFI) . Ou5g(O5b5md8_ -+'.$Dvqx)YDTwXD`m_~G ArVT+`oo The Air Force Times reports that applications for waivers can now be made by airmen who wish to wear religious apparel or are requesting exemptions from rules prohibiting beards and long hair. Though. United States Air Force members who refused to take the COVID vaccine for religious reasons will soon get a reprieve from the punitive actions the military took against them.. endobj ooming and uniform standards for members who wear turbans, hijabs and beards for religious reasons. While the study did not list an exact difference in promotion times between airmen with and without waivers, it did say with mathematical certainty that shaving waivers as a whole were associated with a significantly longer time to promotion compared to the no-waiver group.. The facial hair cannot exceed one-quarter of an inch, must be grown out naturally and cannot be shaped or styled. Isnt the whole point of religious freedom that people CANT do that? It also specifically looked at the time it took airmen with shaving waivers to get promoted relative to airmen without waivers, and whether that association led to racial bias. Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He received a beard waiver on July 8, 2019. For AFR waiver processing instructions see AFMAN 36-8001, Participation and Training Procedures. Air & Space Forces Magazine is the official publication of the Air & Space Forces Association, 1501 Langston Boulevard, Arlington, Va., 22209-1198. of the Air Force JoAnne Bass, wants to reduce the branchs cultural bias against shaving waivers granted for medical or religious reasons. The waiver group also had a greater rate of disciplinary action compared to the no-waiver group (18.96% versus 11.45%). The wing chaplain or equivalent will then assign a chaplain to interview the requesting airman about what is motivating him or her to ask for it. Last week the United States Air Force announced that it had updated its regulations, and will allow airmen to seek a waiver to wear turbans, hijabs or beards for religious reasons. Sopchak, an aerospace ground equipment craftsman at Hill Air Force Base in Utah,said other airmen have been emailing him with questions about his faith. Meet this Norse Heathen airman approved to grow a beard in the Air Force, Women in the military: Moving beyond firsts, Veterans Affairs drops mask requirement for all agency medical offices, Officials OK some hand and neck tattoos for airmen, Guardians, Perennial pilot shortage puts Air Force in precarious position, Healthy eating on a budget for busy military spouses, Tax scams How to report them Money Minute, Capitol Hill weighs action on two controversial topics: medical marijuana and abortion, Lockheed wins hypersonics contract | Defense Dollars, Go inside a secret nuclear fallout bunker sealed for decades, Another Air Force fleet grounded over fears plane tails may fall off, Pentagon orders engine vibration fix for entire F-35 fleet worldwide, Minot firings due to failed nuclear safety inspection, Air Force advisers study use of satellites for tracking moving targets. We speculate that these members, irrespective of race/ethnicity, may perceive this bias against shaving waivers and choose to leave the service earlier.. Meanwhile, about 76.83% of the no-waiver group was White. Others mused that more people would enlist if beards were allowed. Shaving sharpens the edges of facial hair and makes the condition worse, the college said, and shaving less frequently or allowing the beard to grow helps. The new version of the service's dress and appearance standards policy allows tattoos up to 1 . All are welcome. . What happens when patients disagree with an exemption decision? Beards are generally frowned upon because of the U.S. militarys longstanding tradition of uniformity and attention to detail as well as concerns that certain gear, like gas masks, wouldnt tightly seal with hair in the way. There's no more reliable source for news about your Air Force. The study would require only 100 to 150 service members, he said. Staff Sgt. Master Sgt. The Quran, too, was used in a similar manner. dx xE28;eN0ORG*sMhw_2iL!o@/dUKS0sD~-dd!7r.7ucOjP0GH#_&F%)wr-' While the Air Force prohibits male members from growing beards, waivers are issued to airmen who, for medical and religious reasons, are not able to shave in line with regulations.

Volusia County Sheriff Helicopter Activity, Articles A