CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea — The beard wars have officially gone global.
According to an internal message from the 51st Fighter Wing at Osan Air Base, U.S. Air Force members with approved shaving waivers have been told they’re “NOT authorized to attend” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s upcoming troop engagement in South Korea.
The message, titled “SECWAR Troop Engagement Attendance Tasking,” directs each group to nominate airmen for the event — but explicitly excludes anyone with a shaving profile. The document, which circulated on the unofficial Air Force amn/nco/snco Facebook page, was later confirmed as authentic by an Air Force spokesperson.
‘No More Beardos’
The exclusion aligns with Secretary of War Hegseth’s increasingly aggressive campaign to restore old-school military grooming standards. Since taking office in January, Hegseth has made it clear he intends to wipe out what he calls “the era of unprofessional appearance” — starting with facial hair.
During a fiery address to senior officers on Sept. 30 at Quantico, Hegseth declared the “age of rampant and ridiculous shaving profiles” over.
“No more beardos,” he told the audience of generals and admirals. “The age of rampant and ridiculous shaving profiles is done.”
His remarks came after an August directive ordering commanders to begin separating service members who still require shaving waivers after more than a year of medical treatment. The order effectively dismantled the previous Pentagon policy that allowed long-term exemptions for pseudofolliculitis barbae (PFB), a painful condition common among Black men that is aggravated by shaving.
In his Sept. 30 memo, Hegseth announced that the Department of War would revert to pre-2020 standards, limiting all waivers to temporary medical needs and rescinding most religious exemptions.
“Facial hair waivers are generally not authorized,” the memo stated.
‘We Don’t Have a Military Full of Nordic Pagans’
Hegseth also took aim at religious waivers, mocking what he called “creative loopholes” that had allowed some troops to grow beards under spiritual or cultural claims.
“We don’t have a military full of Nordic Pagans,” he said. “Unfortunately, we’ve had leaders who refused to enforce standards, or who thought they weren’t allowed to. Both are unacceptable.”
Critics say Hegseth’s hardline stance ignores the medical realities of conditions like PFB and erases years of progress toward inclusion and retention. Others — often older veterans and traditionalists — argue that the move restores discipline and a sense of uniformity they believe the modern military has lost.
‘Clean-Shaven and Neat in Presentation’
The Pentagon’s updated grooming directive now requires troops to be “clean-shaven and neat in presentation for a proper military appearance.” Commanders, not medical officers, hold final authority on whether a waiver is justified.
Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the updated policy ensures that “commanders apply consistent criteria and appropriately consider the Department’s interests in safety and uniformity.”
Medical officers will still provide recommendations, but Hegseth’s office has made clear that the commander’s judgment now outweighs the doctor’s note.
Beard Ban as a Cultural Battlefield
What might look like a minor grooming rule has quickly become a symbolic flashpoint in Hegseth’s broader effort to “refocus” the military on combat readiness and what he calls “warrior culture.”
Supporters see the rebranding of the Defense Department back to the Department of War as a return to America’s fighting roots — an unapologetic embrace of the military’s purpose. Critics see it as political theater, a culture war disguised as reform.
But for airmen at Osan and Camp Humphreys, the message is crystal clear: when Secretary of War Pete Hegseth shows up, there will be no beards, no waivers, and no exceptions.
In today’s Pentagon, the first battle for readiness apparently begins at the bathroom mirror.
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