Summary and Key Points: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has issued a high-priority memo dated March 11, 2026, officially ending broad religious exceptions for facial hair in the U.S. military.
-Citing a need to restore “discipline and order,” the policy requires all personnel with current waivers to undergo a mandatory 90-day re-evaluation.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth hosts a bilateral exchange with Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., Feb. 7, 2025. (DoD photo by U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Madelyn Keech)
-Applicants must now provide a sworn statement of religious faith, with false claims subject to UCMJ action.
-This reversal of the Zumwalt-era flexibility and Global War on Terror Special Forces “blending” tactics emphasizes a strict uniformity designed to enhance lethality and readiness through a standardized “warrior appearance.”
90 Days to Shave: The Pentagon’s Crackdown on Religious Facial Hair Waivers
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has made clear that he is not a fan of military members having facial hair.
Last September, during his address to military leaders in Quantico, the “Secretary of War” talked about the importance of grooming standards.
“It all starts with physical fitness and appearance,” Hegseth told the leaders.
“No more beards, long hair, superficial, individual expression. We’re going to cut our hair, shave our beards, and adhere to standards,” he added. “The era of unacceptable appearance is over, no more beardos.”
“We don’t have a military full of Nordic Pagans,” Hegseth added during the Quantico speech. “But unfortunately, we have had leaders who either refused to call B.S. and enforce standards, or leaders who felt that they were not allowed to enforce standards. Both are unacceptable.”
Now, that view has been put into practice, with the news that the Pentagon is officially cracking down on religious exceptions to facial hair restrictions.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth participates in a live virtual interview with “Fox and Friends” from the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., Jan. 31, 2025. (DoD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Alexander Kubitza)
The Beard Memo
According to Task and Purpose, a memo has been issued that will restrict religious waivers for facial hair.
“Troops seeking religious waivers for beards will now have to prove to senior military service officials that they have sincerely held beliefs that require they grow their facial hair,” Task & Purpose wrote, citing the memo. “The new military-wide policy imposes new requirements for both submitting and approving requests for such waivers, and adds new steps for a troop’s direct commanders and supervisors to weigh in on the requests.”
Also, the Pentagon will now require “a sworn statement of religious faith,” with a warning that anyone who makes such a statement falsely will be subject to “disciplinary action” under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
The Memo
The memo itself, dated March 11, was published on a military subreddit last week, and the Pentagon confirmed to Task & Purpose that it is authentic.
“All currently approved religious waivers for beards must be reevaluated under the new guidelines within 90 days,” was Task & Purpose’s characterization of the memo.
“The new policy appears to increase the scope of reasons that local leaders can cite to support or oppose a waiver, while moving the bar for a waiver’s approval into the upper reaches of military leadership.”
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is piped aboard at the U.S. Pacific Fleet boathouse in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, March 24, 2025. USINDOPACOM is committed to enhancing stability in the Indo-Pacific region by promoting security cooperation, encouraging peaceful development, responding to contingencies, deterring aggression and, when necessary, prevailing in conflict. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class John Bellino)
Also, requests for approval of such waivers must go through additional layers of approval than previously.
“First-line supervisors” and other commanders will also have greater leeway to determine whether “contradictory or inconsistent statements and conduct, and any evidence suggesting that the request may be based on personal preference or convenience.”
Members of several religious traditions, including Muslims and Sikhs, have maintained beards for religious purposes. Task & Purpose also quoted Marissa Rossetti, a senior staff attorney for the Sikh Coalition, about the new policy.
“I think ultimately this is a lot stricter, and I do think we won’t know exactly how it plays out until it is implemented on the ground,” Rossetti said.
“The Sikh belief is that facial hair really is an article of faith, and for a lot of Sikhs, they would rather die than shave their facial hair,” the attorney added. “It’s something that, for them, is of utmost importance to their beliefs.”
A Brief History of Military Beards
Facial hair in the military is a topic with a long and contentious history, affected by everything from changing fashions to the need to make gas masks fit.
While nearly every general on both sides of the Civil War sported a beard, by the early 20th century, facial hair fell out of favor, especially during World War I, when soldiers had to wear gas masks.
Beards remained mostly banned until the 1970s, when Chief of Naval Operations Elmo Zumwalt pushed to relax the rules.
“It appears that my predecessor’s guidance in may on the subject of haircuts, beards and sideburns is insufficiently understood and, for this reason, I want to restate what I believed to be explicit: in the case of haircuts, sideburns, and contemporary clothing styles, my view is that we must learn to adapt to changing fashions,” a 1970 memo from Zumwalt, known as a ‘Z-gram,” said.
“I will not countenance the rights or privileges of any officers or enlisted men being abrogated in any way because they choose to grow sideburns or neatly trimmed beards or moustaches or because preferences in neat clothing styles are at variance with the taste of their seniors nor will i countenance any personnel being in any way penalized during the time they are growing beards, moustaches, or sideburns.”
However, by the time of the Reagan era, fashions shifted again, with Adm. James D. Watkins reversing the “Z-gram” policy in 1984.
By the time of the Global War on Terror, beards had become a popular accessory among Special Forces, many of whom sought to “blend in” during postings in the Middle East.
But in the second Trump presidency, things have gone in the other direction once again. And it appears the “Secretary of War” is driving that change.
Why Hegseth Hates Beards
Last December, The Atlantic wrote about “the origin of Hegseth’s anti-beard obsession.” When Hegseth visited Asia late last year, a directive reportedly instructed personnel to “keep him from seeing a service member with a beard.”
“For Hegseth, facial hair has become a symbol of everything he believes has gone wrong in the U.S. military—a distraction from its ‘warrior ethos,’ and, somehow, a threat to military readiness,” the Atlantic story said.
Why does he feel so strongly?
“Perhaps Hegseth’s worldview is stunted by the same Vietnam-era fear as those Army generals: that discipline is fragile, that appearance is synonymous with order, and that a military that loosens its grip on grooming will soon lose its grip on everything else. It follows that the military must appear to look a certain way to be effective, ready, and lethal,” Alex Wagner wrote.
“This fixation on appearance doesn’t just shape Hegseth’s rhetoric; it now informs his policy.”
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist, and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, national security, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver.
