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The Air Force plans to update its Air Force Instruction regulations governing dress and personal appearance and medical care management to reflect this change. Abdul Rahman Gaitan in 2018 became the first Muslim airman to receive a beard waiver for religious reasons. Since then, 21 Honor Guard airmen now have a pass to grow neatly-trimmed beards, according to Military.com. Sopchak, a 28-year-old aerospace ground equipment craftsman at Hill Air Force Base in Utah, on July 8 received approval to get approval to wear a beard in accordance with his Heathen faith. 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. ;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 Get the latest military news, entertainment, and gear in your inbox daily. *!+zu[XAoC_:X/0{ v8iAU}JqQ.u`6fE_GJTBh$Wx)Vpw#7~rDeI0r\!H(NW|/bcPRHBe0tEyXYD q{ According to the Nevada Army Guard's and Air Guard's personnel offices, the state has eight Guardsmen - four Soldiers and four Airmen - who declare Pagan as their religious preference. That assessment, and ability to address and adjust, is critical to our force, and our people. 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. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. The Air Force's updated dress and personal appearance policy clarifies the gr ooming and uniform standards for members who wear turbans, hijabs and beards for religious reasons. Correction: This story was updated at 6:53 p.m. to reflect correct information about religious waivers for beards. Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. Meet this Norse Heathen airman approved to grow a beard in the Air Force The Air Force has cited razor bumps in the past when making changes to its grooming policy. Thats according to a new research paper published last week in the journal Military Medicine, which found that Air Force regulations against facial hair disproportionately affect Black or African American airmen and can lead to slower rates of promotion and limited job opportunities within the service. [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. 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. No Sikh American should have to choose between their religious beliefs and their career ambitions, Klapper said in a statement Wednesday. The updated Air Force Instruction, released Feb. 7, also formally allows Sikh airmen to wear turbans and Muslim women to wear hijabs. The Air Force currently prohibits service members from growing beards unless they are granted a religious or medical waiver, a policy that has come under scrutiny lately after military doctors studied its discriminatory effect on Black airmen. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service. Legacy sites goang.com and afreserve.com will now direct users to the central airforce.com site. In addition to believing in the old Norse gods, he said, Heathens believe that they are descended from them. 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. Beard News in Air Force Copyright 2022 Beard Waiver - All Rights Reserved. Less of having to work with skeleton crews, he said. See Beard News in Air Force for more information. Those encounters, along with studies like the one published last year, convinced Wright to change his position. He joined Task & Purpose in 2019, after covering local news in Maine and FDA policy in Washington D.C. David loves hearing the stories of individual airmen and their families and sharing the human side of Americas most tech-heavy military branch. The Air Force has granted several airmen permission to wear beards, turbans and the hijab for religious reasons in recent years. The Coalition said both changes were influenced by a years-long advocacy and litigation campaign by the Coalition and its pro bono co-counsel at McDermott Will & Emery. The religious beard exemption in the US army was created for the benefit of Sikhs. USAF photo by Alexander Goad. The DAF will remove adverse information from records of those currently serving service members who sought. 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). The Air Force, citing privacy concerns, declined to identify how many airmen have obtained waivers based on religious exemptions but said the publicity surrounding approvals in recent years has . William Bailey, a beard waiver. Later, every religious trend sought and found the hadiths that justified its principles. . The studys findings are particularly significant because they come at a time when the Air Force is reckoning with racial disparities in the service overall. Sikh American airman in U.S. Air Force allowed to serve with turban and In the stories, you could see even the gods themselves have flaws, Sopchak said. The last sentence indicates that Air Force senior leadership wants to be in sync with other services on major changes in facial hair policy. US Air Force grants religious waiver for Muslim airman to keep beard Many airmens dearest wish may soon come true if the Air Force greenlights a pilot program allowing some men to grow beards. Contact the author here. I have an approved religious accommodation and have gotten pretty knowledgeable on the process. In December, the Air Force commissioned its first female Muslim chaplain . The demographics of the respondents closely match those of the Air Force in general, the study authors wrote. PFB is a skin condition that makes shaving painful and can lead to permanent scarring if the skin is not allowed to heal, which makes it a common reason for receiving a shaving waiver. According to the regulation, turbans, hijabs, under-turbans or other headwear must be plain, dark blue, black, and free of designs or markings except when matching with the airman's camouflage uniform. The hot towels help stimulate the skin to bring out any oils and sweat that can be used for a lubrication layer between the skin and the razor. Eugene Oliver/U.S. Many Asatruars and other heathens think it's wrong for heathens to use this exemption because heathens don't have the kind of religion in which our gods require all their followers to follow commandments in order to achieve a proper afterlife. U.S. Air Force Approves Beards, Turbans and Hijabs for Religious Subscribe to Task & Purpose Today. Soldiers assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade use hot towels to warm their faces during a shaving clinic May 22 at the brigade's organizational classroom. I am grateful to hear of this policy change, because it codifies in writing what I already know: The U.S. Air Force values the service and contribution of religious minorities like me, Singh said in a statement provided by the group. 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. Guidelines for requesting a religious accommodation for a Heathen beard in the U.S. Air Force Get the latest in military news, entertainment and gear in your inbox daily. Do you have information you want to share with HuffPost? Service spokesperson Ann Stefanek said the proposal is under discussion by the Black/African American Employment Strategy Team, but hasnt been approved. Sounds like you might want to talk to your local chaplain team. The Sikh Coalition said the Air Force regulation closely resembles the Army's. 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. Chaplains typically can tell if you're trying to BS them and it can affect the perceived credibility of real requests in the future. thx. Get the latest in military news, entertainment and gear in your inbox daily. The U. S. Air Force has published new guidance for religious accommodations that allow airmen to wear beards, turbans and hijabs. For example, it took airmen with eight or more years with a waiver about a year longer on average to get promoted to the rank of technical sergeant (E-6) compared to airmen who had a waiver for just a year or two. <>/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>> At the end of the day, while we are continually out in front with initiatives that provide more opportunities for our airmen to serve to their full potential, we are cognizant that we are part of a broader military force.. Seven months later, this reporter could not immediately find any such progress reports. Want to write for Task & Purpose? | 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. And if that airman is assigned to a unit that wears a beret of a particular color, the unit commander can order him to wear a turban of the same color. Religious Freedom andBeards : AirForce - reddit.com Air Force OKs beards, turbans, and hijabs worn for religious reasons Airmen can use styling products on their beards, but petroleum-based products are not allowed while wearing a protective mask. Any links to regs would be appricated. A highly visible sign of changing Air Force policy may soon be evident here at Kingsley Field, in Klamath Falls, Oregon. Sikhs have served honorably and capably in the U.S. Armed Forces and other militaries around the world, and while we are eager for a blanket proclamation that all observant Sikh Americans can serve in every branch of the military without seeking accommodations, this policy clarification is a great step forward towards ensuring equality of opportunity and religious freedom in the Air Force.. For some pagans, it is seen as a way of honoring the gods and goddesses. Hijabs, turbans and under-turbans (also known as patkas) should be free of designs and made of a subdued material in a color that closely resembles ones uniform. Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made. Air Force Special Operations Command has made history by granting a religious accommodation waiver to a Sikh service member. And. In an email to Task & Purpose, Bass said the Air Force is continually reevaluating its policies. While supporters of current Air Force policy may have anecdotal evidence of one to five people who they see fail the fit test, he said, that cant be extrapolated to hundreds of thousands of airmen.. Would beards be nice? It interfaces with DAFPD 52-1, Chaplain Corps; Air Force Instruction (AFI) . But so far, the call for beards seems to fall on deaf ears. 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. Turbans and under-turbans have similar color and material requirements as the hijab. safety) or when precluded by a compelling (i.e., especially important) governmental and/or Air Force interest. 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. For AFR waiver processing instructions see AFMAN 368001, - Participation and Training Procedures. But if they deny a religious accommodation request, it will go up to the Air Force headquarters manpower, personnel and services directorate, Air Force reserve or the Air National Guard for a final review and decision. He joined Task & Purpose in 2019, after covering local news in Maine and FDA policy in Washington D.C. David loves hearing the stories of individual airmen and their families and sharing the human side of Americas most tech-heavy military branch. Action on Requests for Religious Accommodation that Require the Waiver of Department of the Air Force Regulations or Policies or Directives . Her work has appeared in Air Force Magazine, Inside Defense, Inside Health Policy, the Frederick News-Post (Md. Giselle Klapper, a Sikh Coalition staff attorney, said her group has long been seeking a blanket proclamation that all Sikh Americans who wear turbans and beards as part of their faith can serve in every branch of the military without seeking individual accommodations. Others mused that more people would enlist if beards were allowed. Shaving Waiver stigma Air Force Medicine medical beard Al Dhafra . The real challenge is how do you change the culture, not just in the Air Force but in the services period.. % 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.