If substantiated, then the benefits of the grooming standards, as defined in Air Force Instruction 36-2903, should be re-evaluated in the context of these findings, they wrote. 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. As we work to build a more inclusive force, we are constantly assessing and evaluating all of the processes and programs that affect our Airmen, she said. 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. Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. The idea would let participating airmen sport well-kept beards no longer than one-quarter inch, Military.com first reported Monday. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) welcomed the policy change. 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.. In a Tuesday update of the Department of the Air Force's COVID-19 response, the service announced it had approved nine religious accommodations, including eight through service members' major and field commands and one through a Department of the Air Force appeal. Airman raises his head as flight surgeon chief of medical staff inspects his neck and face during a shaving waiver course at Beale Air Force Base, Calif., March 15, 2018. *!+zu[XAoC_:X/0{ v8iAU}JqQ.u`6fE_GJTBh$Wx)Vpw#7~rDeI0r\!H(NW|/bcPRHBe0tEyXYD q{ Ou5g(O5b5md8_ -+'.$Dvqx)YDTwXD`m_~G ArVT+`oo But advocates argue that more sweeping changes are needed, in part because shaving waivers are often misunderstood and hurt Airmen's careers. 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. 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. ak cGeoI0_enzM8_#.Skvv1Nx72!oaBV >q@yN;NG.s;9>/B32:*I=u/x|=3;.m1.DWc(P(mZ XZ That assessment, and ability to address and adjust, is critical to our force, and our people. 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. This causes inflammation and a foreign body reaction, and over time, can result in scarring. 3.1.2.3.1. Rather than delay his enlistment, Comer decided to shave his beard and apply for the accommodation at a later date. The new AFI formally allows requests for waivers, and for neat and conservative beards that present a professional appearance. endobj Start with the chaplain, and work with them to route the request through your chain. Previously, these airmen needed to get their waivers updated annually. Still, she called the policy clarification a great step forward.. Click here. 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. One Facebook commenter questioned why the Air Force needs a separate pilot program when it could study those who already have shaving waivers. 2 0 obj With regards to promotions, the wait grows longer the more time airmen have shaving waivers. At first, it appeared Sopchak was the first Heathen to get a beard waiver. I know Islam is iffy on if Beard are actually required but it is apart of the religion that I want to practice. %PDF-1.5 Do you have information you want to share with HuffPost. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. Turbans and under-turbans have similar color and material requirements as the hijab. Don't lie about your belief. A1C Rathour is the first Sikh Airman to receive religious accommodation, and may grow his beard and wear his turban while in uniform. Personnel Division," to all sign off . Press J to jump to the feed. According to an Air Force press . Paragraph 1.5.2 changed to read: Submitting Requests for Religious, Gender , or Medical Waivers. The Air Force has updated its grooming standards to formally allow Airmen to grow neatly trimmed beards, standardizing the religious or medical exemption process. Air Force Officially OKs Beards, Turbans, Hijabs for Religious Reasons . | Guidelines for requesting a religious accommodation for a Heathen beard in the U.S. Air Force The interviewing chaplain will then send the wing chaplain a memo on whether the airman has a sincerely-held belief, whether the accommodation is related to that belief, and how the Air Force policy places a burden on that belief. Beard Religious Waivers in Air Force Norse Pagan, Sikh, Muslim and other Airmen have officially been granted religious waivers to wear beards. Part of HuffPost Politics. Also, do you have to be able to prove that you are that religion or can you just claim that you are a Muslim and thats that. By approaching recruiting centrally as a Total Force, Air Force Recruiting, The Air Force last week announced an expansive new ROTC scholarship available to older Cadets committed to commissioning, with the goal of recruiting and retaining more future Airmen in the program. The Air Force separated 610 Airmen for declining the once-mandated COVID-19 vaccination. 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 Air Force encourages religious freedoms of service members as one of four pillars of resiliency to help build and sustain a strong and healthy workplace and community. Hopper,. The waiver group also had a greater rate of disciplinary action compared to the no-waiver group (18.96% versus 11.45%). 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[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. 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.. It is a sincerely held belief, but I have not been a Muslim for long, only a couple weeks. The U.S. Air Force granted its first religious waivers to the military-wide COVID-19 vaccine mandate this week. Rather than delay his enlistment, Comer decided to shave his beard and apply for the accommodation at a later date. The majority of the waiver group was Black (64.18%), despite that group making up only 12.85% of the cohort. Based on the successful examples of Soldiers currently serving with these accommodations, I have determined Summary: Secret agent/spy Arthur is part of a private investigation, initiated by Saito, to infiltrate a secret collusion of the world's biggest energy corporations but treacher W2~@R>tA);|6[ +XnDnQi\k`LF. Meanwhile, about 76.83% of the no-waiver group was White. 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. 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. 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. 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. The comment, which was also shared on the popular Facebook page Air Force amn/nco/snco, was made in response to a selfie she posted of herself alongside Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall and Airman 1st Class Kyle Voss-McReynolds, who was the leadership teams driver during a recent event and who also wears a beard in uniform. Sorry airmen, you're not getting beards without a medical or religious waiver anytime soon, as Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles 'CQ' Brown and Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force . t7be,2/gQ u7|O;(?lKHfm'*g' I{C Staff Sgt. It marks the sixth and counting religious waiver permitting a beard in service for the Air Force, according to the online military news conglomerate that broke the story. While the Air Force prohibits male members from growing beards, waivers are issued to airmen who,. Service spokesperson Ann Stefanek said the proposal is under discussion by the Black/African American Employment Strategy Team, but hasnt been approved. The Sikh Coalition, the largest Sikh civil rights organization in the United States which has helped more than 20 Sikh Americans serve in the military, applauded the changes. I can answer the questions, so it is not really a problem but how is that even legal? In addition to promoting one's own well-being and four pillars, respecting others whose viewpoints differ from them is expected from the total force. It interfaces with DAFPD 52-1, Chaplain Corps; Air Force Instruction (AFI) . 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. 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. Rachel Cohen joined Air Force Times as senior reporter in March 2021. Beard News in Air Force Copyright 2022 Beard Waiver - All Rights Reserved. 1 0 obj Black men disproportionately suffer from the ingrown hairs that cause painful razor bumps, either precluding them from shaving more regularly or forcing them to suffer and, in some cases, endure scarring. US Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Jackson Manske. 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. There is no potential timeline for approval, because it isnt even at that stage, she said. Accommodation of Religious Practices in the Air Force. 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.. There's no more reliable source for news about your Air Force. Airmen assigned to units wearing a beret of any color may wear an appropriately-colored head covering as directed by the unit commander, one sample memo explains. 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. Chance Saltzman outlined the three lines in a series of commanders notes published Jan., Thousands of Airmen and Guardians who remain unvaccinated against COVID-19 no longer have to get the shotsand those whofaced disciplinary action for failing to get vaccinated will have their records wiped clean. 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. | Eugene Oliver/U.S. "There is no religious requirement for beards in Heathenry," the post read. This condition can appear in a person of any ethnicity but is predominantly seen in Blacks/African Americans, study authors wrote. That matches the length allowed for people who are medically exempt from the requirement to be clean-shaven. Sopchak said in a Tuesday interview that in the old sagas, a beard was a sign someone was a respected member of the community who could be trusted to help others. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Last year, Capt. Abdul Rahman Gaitan became the first Muslim airman to receive a religious accommodation beard waiver. The new version of the service's dress and appearance standards policy allows tattoos up to 1 . Its an unsubstantiated claim, dermatologist Lt. Col. Simon Ritchie told Task & Purpose in May. 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. Though some white supremacist groups in recent years have co-opted Norse symbols such as runes, Sopchak rejected that and said his faith is not racist in any way. Action on Requests for Religious Accommodation that Require the Waiver of Department of the Air Force Regulations or Policies or Directives . 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. 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. The military branch said it will remove "adverse information" from the records of those who sought an exemption on "religious, administrative, or medical grounds and who received adverse actions solely due to their . Save Page Now. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. 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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. x\[o~d/Sp|A|=hdDPwfvIQuDgg?ydtx.b`1K55'V#wLDP,(Wj 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. Garrett Sopchak, a 28-year-old aerospace . <> David covers the Air Force, Space Force and anything Star Wars-related. 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. Abdul Rahman Gaitan in 2018 became the first Muslim airman to receive a beard waiver for religious reasons. Get the latest in military news, entertainment and gear in your inbox daily. ", By 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. 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. Beards could be two months away in the Air Force. In March 2021, after Comer arrived at Maxwell Air Force Base, he started talking to his first sergeant about applying for a religious accommodation to obtain a beard waiver. The religious accommodation process is designed to accommodate individuals who can cite specific teachings, traditions, or texts that Air Force policies contradict. Get the latest in military news, entertainment and gear in your inbox daily. Military Approving Beards for Pagan Worshipers. 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 and hijabs. Later, every religious trend sought and found the hadiths that justified its principles. Those calls accelerated earlier this year, when the Air Force changed its regulations to allow for women to wear braids, ponytails and bangs in order to prevent irreversible hair loss and migraines stemming from the old hair regulations. Still, it seems the Honor Guard has not completely embraced shaving waivers. Airmen can use styling products on their beards, but petroleum-based products are not allowed while wearing a protective mask. As described in sample memos included in the regulation, safety concerns might include wearing a gas mask or going within 25 feet of an operating aircraft. Theres a lot of things that we learn from the past and our ancestry, and its just carrying on the line, really.. Its kind of a big thing, culturally.. And in February, the Air Force officially updated its regulations to formally allow airmen to request religious beard waivers. The Air Force style authorities have spoken: neck and hand tattoos are in, beards are still out. The same was true for airmen trying to hit the rank of staff sergeant (E-5). Commonly referred to as razor bumps, 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. It was approved in September, which means Singh will soon head to basic training. William Bailey, a beard waiver. When requests are precluded by military necessity, commanders and supervisors should seek reasonable alternatives.. <> The research studied the effect of shaving waivers on the careers of active duty male airmen. 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. Under the new process, a commander has up to 30 days to approve an Airmans request for a waiver, and that the accommodation will generally follow the Airman through his or her career. Sounds like you might want to talk to your local chaplain team. He also consulted with The Asatru Community, a nonprofit group that advocates for followers of Norse pagan religions. If they didnt have one, in some of the stories, they were actually ridiculed. stream The Quran, too, was used in a similar manner. Air Force Special Operations Command has made history by granting a religious accommodation waiver to a Sikh service member. Some pagans might choose to grow a beard in order to express their religious identity or beliefs. 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. Her work has appeared in Air Force Magazine, Inside Defense, Inside Health Policy, the Frederick News-Post (Md. 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. 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. 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. 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. In 2020, the department extended shaving waivers for those diagnosed with razor bumps from one year to five years. The authors called for wider research in the area in order to refute or substantiate their findings. endobj We speculate that these members, irrespective of race/ethnicity, may perceive this bias against shaving waivers and choose to leave the service earlier.. The military branch . 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. And. 1st Class Benjamin . 4 0 obj In a June 18 memo, Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Dorothy Hogg authorized the longer shaving waivers for airmen with pseudofolliculitis barbae, or razor bumps, effective immediately. Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. | For AFR waiver processing instructions see AFMAN 368001, - Participation and Training Procedures. Be aware though, that the belief must be sincere, which means you will likely be interviewed by the chaplain about your beliefs, and they will advise your CC on whether or not your beliefs are sincere, or you're just trying to get a beard. Its a little scraggly right now, Sopchak said. Isnt the whole point of religious freedom that people CANT do that? The updated regulation said beards must be no longer than two inches when measured from the bottom of the chin, and must be rolled and/or tied when longer than two inches. 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. Changing policy, actually is the easy part, Wright said. Beards should have been approved years ago, Facebook commenter Heather Britten wrote. The regulation formalizes a waiver process for future airmen seeking to wear turbans, hijab or beards, By ooming and uniform standards for members who wear turbans, hijabs and beards for religious reasons. Staff Sgt. Directly before me was one of the mirrors I have mentioned, in which I saw reflected the tall shape of my friend, Mr. Jennings, leaning over my shoulder, and reading the page at which I was busy, and with a face so dark and wild that I . is at the same time the history o f the interpretation of the Scriptures.'18 The Sunna embodied an ossified tradition. Copyright 2023. Abdul Rahman Gaitain, an airman with the 821st. thx. (Staff Sgt. Hopper,. See Beard News in Air Force for more information. Does anyone have any information on how you actually get a religious exemption for shaving? Something about what he found resonated, and Sopchak became a Norse Heathen. Abdul Rahman Gaitan, an aerial porter with the 821st Contingency Response Support Squadron at Travis Air Force Base, was granted a religious waiver permitting him to keep a beard due to his Muslim faith, according to an Air Force article published Friday. dx xE28;eN0ORG*sMhw_2iL!o@/dUKS0sD~-dd!7r.7ucOjP0GH#_&F%)wr-'