Turbans and under-turbans have similar color and material requirements as the hijab. Meanwhile, about 76.83% of the no-waiver group was White. 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. We are working to take away the stigma attached to airmen who have a medical need or a religious accommodation for facial hair. % 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. Contact the author here. DAF COVID-19 Statistics - January 2022. 4 0 obj This condition can appear in a person of any ethnicity but is predominantly seen in Blacks/African Americans, study authors wrote. The study also called for re-examining the Air Forces most-cited reason for having a beard regulation, which is the concern that a beard would interfere with a gas masks seal around an airmans face. The Air Force has updated its grooming standards to formally allow Airmen to grow neatly trimmed beards, standardizing the religious or medical exemption process. 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. Do you have information you want to share with HuffPost? The regulation formalizes a waiver process for future airmen seeking to wear turbans, hijab or beards, By 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.. Abdul Rahman Gaitan, 821st Contingency Response Squadron aerial porter, was among the first to be granted a religious accommodation for a shaving waiver based . 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. The AFI allows the Air Force to deny a request for a waiver only if it furthers a compelling government interest., Groups such as the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Sikh Coalition, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations announced their support for the decision, with CAIR saying Feb. 12 it is a step toward religious accommodation and inclusion for military personnel of all faiths., No Sikh American should have to choose between their religious beliefs and their career ambitions, Giselle Klapper, a Sikh Coalition staff attorney, said in a release. 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 new AFI formally allows requests for waivers, and for neat and conservative beards that present a professional appearance. Beards cant exceed two inches if they do, they must be rolled and/or tied to achieve the required length, the regulations state. The Hammer of Thor is available to be placed on government headstones and markers in the United States. Chapter IV - Four Eyes Were Reading the Passage I was running the head of my pencil-case along the line as I read it, and something caused me to raise my eyes. Hopper,. Community for current and past members of the US Air Force. Since then, 21 Honor Guard airmen now have a pass to grow neatly-trimmed beards, according to Military.com. [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 the study, a team of eight led by Air Force Lt. Col. Simon Ritchie. 0. The Sikh Coalition, an advocacy group which works on behalf of Sikhs and other religious minorities in the military, praised the new regulation. It is a sincerely held belief, but I have not been a Muslim for long, only a couple weeks. Another example of neat and conservative is color. In the event of a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or explosive threat, commanding officers could also ask someone wearing a hijab to remove it to ensure a proper gas mask fit. Master Sgt. Action on Requests for Religious Accommodation that Require the Waiver of Department of the Air Force Regulations or Policies or Directives . 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 Air Force has granted several airmen permission to wear beards, turbans and the hijab for religious reasons in recent years. Staff Sgt. In 2017, the U.S. Army officially updated its dress and appearance standards to accommodate hijabs, turbans and beards. purifying respirators and controlled air purifying respirators or beard-bands: 3. work just as well as N95s, but may cost more, and thus may be found to impose . Do you have information you want to share with HuffPost. 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 beards are central to their observance, like Sikhs, Jews, Muslims and Norse Heathens. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations. For a long time, the old Norse mythology of Odin, Thor and Ragnark was just that for Staff Sgt. If the idea moves forward, participating airmen and guardians would become the subject of a research project whose data could convince high-level Pentagon officials to allow more flexibility on facial hair. The hammer of Thor, also known as Mjlnir, in 2013 was added to the list of religious symbols authorized to be engraved on gravestones at military cemeteries such as Arlington National Cemetery. Imagine the man-hours saved when men dont have to go to the doctor to get approved for a shaving waiver, and then periodically renewed., Daniel Walker, another Facebook user, added: They keep relaxing grooming standards instead of giving us things that would actually increase our quality of life.. *!+zu[XAoC_:X/0{ v8iAU}JqQ.u`6fE_GJTBh$Wx)Vpw#7~rDeI0r\!H(NW|/bcPRHBe0tEyXYD q{ endobj 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. Press J to jump to the feed. What happens when patients disagree with an exemption decision? Service spokesperson Ann Stefanek said the proposal is under discussion by the Black/African American Employment Strategy Team, but hasnt been approved. ak cGeoI0_enzM8_#.Skvv1Nx72!oaBV >q@yN;NG.s;9>/B32:*I=u/x|=3;.m1.DWc(P(mZ XZ 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. In the words of the Hungarian scholar Goldziher, 'The history of religion . All told, Brown added two books, two podcasts, and a documentary, The Air Force now has a single website to manage all its recruiting needs, covering Active Duty, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve recruiting. The Reserve or Guard, before finally denying a request, will first consult with the Air Force personnel directorate and obtain a legal review from the Air Force. Central figures in Norse mythology such as Odin and Thor are commonly depicted as wearing beards. I want to go all out with practing the religion (including reading the Quran like it is recommened during Ramadan. Get your daily fix of Air Force news delivered right to your inbox every day. 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. The 2021 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. US Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Jackson Manske. I know Islam is iffy on if Beard are actually required but it is apart of the religion that I want to practice. An airmans rank will be displayed on the turban or under-turban when worn in circumstances where military headgear is customarily worn, and removed in circumstances where military headgear is not typically worn, such as indoors or in no-hat or no-salute areas. We are working to take away the stigma attached to airmen who have a medical need or a religious accommodation for facial hair, Bass wrote in a comment on her Facebook page on Tuesday. Capt. The military branch . 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. The update to AFI 36-2903, Dress and personal appearance of Air Force personnel, allows airmen to request a waiver to wear religious apparel, as long as they are neat and conservative and present a professional and well-groomed appearance. Beard News in Air Force Copyright 2022 Beard Waiver - All Rights Reserved. The review directed Air Force commanders to conduct a root cause analysis of racial disparities within their commands, develop an action plan for reporting them, then release a progress report within six months. Air Force). 173rd Fighter Wing Airmen may begin taking advantage of new uniform regulations allowing religious exemptions such as beards, hijabs, and turbans while in uniform. Also in 2019, Airman 1st Class Harpreetinder Singh Bajwa became the first Sikh airman to receive an accommodation for a turban, beard and unshorn hair, and two Norse Heathen airmen were also allowed to grow beards. Any links to regs would be appricated. 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. Based on the Air Force regulation, a disapproval should be based on real (not theoretical) compelling government interest (i.e. During tours of less than 30 days, Air 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. David Roza In 2020, the department extended shaving waivers for those diagnosed with razor bumps from one year to five years. A federal appeals court on Friday granted a preliminary injunction allowing two Sikh men to immediately begin basic training with the U.S. Marine Corps without shaving their beards . 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 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 .