The Army is preparing to roll out a new policy that could lead to soldiers diagnosed with a chronic skin condition that causes painful razor bumps and scarring to be kicked out of the service -- an issue that disproportionately affects Black men.
The new guidance, expected to take effect in the coming weeks, would bar permanent shaving waivers and require medical personnel to craft formal treatment plans for affected troops, according to multiple service officials and internal documents reviewed by Military.com.
Soldiers in need of prolonged waivers may be directed to get laser treatments. Those who need shaving exemptions for more than 12 months over a two-year period could be kicked out of the Army. Units across the force will also be mandated to rebrief personnel on grooming standards within 90 days of the policy's rollout.
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Most shaving waivers are for soldiers diagnosed with pseudofolliculitis barbae, or PFB, a condition in which hairs curl back into the skin after shaving and cause irritation. The Pentagon may cover the laser treatment, but that can cost thousands of dollars per soldier, depending on the number of sessions required. It's unclear how many soldiers would require the procedure.
The American Osteopathic College of Dermatology estimates that up to 60% of Black men are affected by the condition. Laser treatments can cause scarring and changes in skin pigmentation.
"Of course, this is racially motivated," one senior noncommissioned officer familiar with the plans told Military.com on the condition of anonymity to avoid retaliation. "There's no tactical reason; you can look professional with facial hair."
In March, the Marine Corps rolled out a similar program allowing troops to be separated if the genetic skin condition persists, also raising concerns of racial discrimination.
The Army has been in a prolonged recruiting slump since the high-water mark of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, something it started to turn around last year.
While Black Americans make up about 14% of the U.S. population, they have accounted for roughly one-quarter of the Army's new recruits in recent years, with that number steadily rising.
However, the services have made deliberate efforts to reduce recruiting efforts linked to minority groups amid Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's purge of diversity initiatives during the Trump administration.
In 2018, more than 44,000 new recruits identified as white, according to Army data. By 2023, that number had fallen to just over 25,000 -- a staggering 43% drop in five years. The steepest annual decline came most recently, with a 6% dip from 2022 to 2023 alone. No other demographic group has seen such a precipitous fall.
Much of the recent recruiting slump was attributable to men being less qualified, or willing, to don the uniform while women have been joining the ranks at a steady rate.
Medical complications tied to mandatory shaving emerged as a flashpoint during the military's bumpy road toward racial integration. In the early 1970s, then-Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Elmo Zumwalt launched an aggressive campaign to root out racism and sexism across the ranks.
As part of that broader push, Zumwalt issued a now-famous directive permitting sailors to grow beards and mustaches, a move that clashed with the Navy's traditionally rigid grooming codes but aimed to ease chronic skin issues that disproportionately affected Black service members.
The primary argument against allowing beards in the ranks has long centered on concerns that they could compromise the seal of a gas mask. But a 2021 study from Military Medicine, a peer-reviewed medical journal, found there's no conclusive evidence that a well-groomed, modest beard interferes with mask function.
The publication also noted that only a small fraction of service members operate in environments where chemical attacks are a realistic threat.
In Alaska, units are granted wide latitude when it comes to grooming standards, with commanders often waiving shaving requirements during the frigid winter months. Troops are frequently instructed to skip their morning shave or forgo it entirely while operating in the field -- not out of convenience but as a safety precaution. The extreme cold can make shaving a medical hazard, with exposed skin at risk of frostbite and other cold-weather injuries.
The Army move to clamp down on shaving waivers follows Hegseth, who has protested shaving waivers, ordering a sweeping review of grooming standards across the services. He has claimed that standards have fallen in recent years and damaged the military.
"We kicked out good soldiers for having naked women tattooed on their arms," Hegseth said in a March statement criticizing what he characterized as bad policy decisions by past administrations. "And today we are relaxing the standards on shaving, dreadlocks, man buns, and straight-up obesity. Piece by piece, the standard had to go -- because of equity."
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