According to a statement from the Air Force, Senior Airman Dominic Varriale was granted the turban waiver in 2020. While the Air Force prohibits male members from growing beards, waivers are issued to airmen who,. Published Dec 21, 2022 5:12 PM EST. . Beards could be two months away in the Air Force. 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. The U.S. Air Force granted its first religious waivers to the military-wide COVID-19 vaccine mandate this week. That assessment, and ability to address and adjust, is critical to our force, and our people. Ou5g(O5b5md8_ -+'.$Dvqx)YDTwXD`m_~G ArVT+`oo It took Sopchak about 11 months to get his beard approved. U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Isaac John, 423d Security Forces Squadron flight member, holds his position during a field training exercise at Stanford Training Area, England, Aug. 17, 2022. The U.S. Air Force issued new guidelines on Friday giving members who wear religious apparel a way to serve the country without compromising their faith. 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. Sopchak, an aerospace ground equipment craftsman at Hill Air Force Base in Utah,said other airmen have been emailing him with questions about his faith. In December, the Air Force commissioned its first female Muslim chaplain . In 2018, the Air Force granted its first "religious accommodation beard waiver" to a Muslim airman, allowing him to wear a beard while in uniform. "They were well-respected. x\[o~d/Sp|A|=hdDPwfvIQuDgg?ydtx.b`1K55'V#wLDP,(Wj He received a beard waiver on July 8, 2019. David Roza Central figures in Norse mythology such as Odin and Thor are commonly depicted as wearing beards. Any recommendations made by the board would then have to be approved by Air Force senior leadership, a service spokesperson told Coffee or Die at the time. It is a sincerely held belief, but I have not been a Muslim for long, only a couple weeks. Its a little scraggly right now, Sopchak said. The waiver group also had a greater rate of disciplinary action compared to the no-waiver group (18.96% versus 11.45%). 19 July 2019. The Army last year granted its first beard authorization to a Norse pagan soldier. Last year, Capt. Does anyone have any information on how you actually get a religious exemption for shaving? The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) welcomed the policy change. Last August, he went to his units chaplain an evangelical Christian who Sopchak said was very supportive and curious about his Heathen religion who helped him put together the paperwork for his religious accommodation request. 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. A California-based airman has become the first Muslim airman to receive a beard waiver after a 2014 policy. %PDF-1.5 He also consulted with The Asatru Community, a nonprofit group that advocates for followers of Norse pagan religions. ", By For AFR waiver processing instructions see AFMAN 368001, - Participation and Training Procedures. Meanwhile, about 76.83% of the no-waiver group was White. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) introduced the Space National Guard Establishment Act on, From Abraham Lincoln to the Tuskegee Airmen to lessons from the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. 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. A highly visible sign of changing Air Force policy may soon be evident here at Kingsley Field, in Klamath Falls, Oregon. In December, The Air Force released a sweeping review which found that Black service members are disproportionately punished and promoted more slowly when compared to their White peers. The hot towels help stimulate the skin to bring out any oils and sweat that can be used for a lubrication layer between the skin and the razor. The Air Force separated 610 Airmen for declining the once-mandated COVID-19 vaccination. The Air Force plans to update its Air Force Instruction regulations governing dress and personal appearance and medical care management to reflect this change. The Air Force has updated its grooming standards to formally allow Airmen to grow neatly trimmed beards, standardizing the religious or medical exemption process. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III formally rescinded the Pentagons vaccination requirement Jan. 10, as required by the 2023, SDA Taps Raytheon for Seven More Missile-Tracking Satellites, Photos: F-22s Deploy to Tinian for First Time as Part of ACE Exercise, In Message to Force, Austin Touts Once-in-a-Generation Investments, Heres What USAFs Science Board Is Studying Now, Were Weird: New Commander Details Life Inside Task Force 99, Air Force Separated 610 Airmen For Refusing COVID-19 Vaccine, Adverse Actions to Be Erased for Some Troops Who Sought Exemptions to COVID Vaccines, USAF Launches New Study of Cancer Risk in ICBM Crews, Senators Launch New Drive for Space National Guard, Heres What the CSAF Is Reading, Watching, and Listening To This Month, New Total Force Airforce.com Site Highlights Guard and Reserve Opportunities, Air Force ROTC Unveils Sweeping New Scholarship for Older Cadets, Saltzmans Priorities for Space Force: Three New Lines of Effort, New Rules for Vaccine Refusers After DOD Lifts Its COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate. First Air Force JAG officer to wear hijab featured in short NBC documentary, 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. I can answer the questions, so it is not really a problem but how is that even legal? 28, beards are generally allowed in the military "provided they are neatly trimmed, present a professional and well-groomed appearance, and are not excessive in bulk or length," with the caveat that beards may have to be removed for medical reasons or under orders from a superior. 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 Air Force in recent years has begun granting waivers to allow airmen including airmen of the Muslim, Sikh and Norse Heathen or pagan faiths to grow beards for religious reasons. Capt. And in June, a Sikh airman received approval to wear a beard and turban. Air Force Global Strike Command is launching a new study of cancer risks among Airmen and Guardians who worked near intercontinental ballistic missiles and is developing new resources for current and former service members and their families. Abdul Rahman Gaitan in 2018 became the first Muslim airman to receive a beard waiver for religious reasons. In the words of the Hungarian scholar Goldziher, 'The history of religion . 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. Brown Jr. covered a broad range of topics with his additions to his Leadership Library in February. Personnel Division," to all sign off . The advocacy group submitted a religious accommodation request for Singh in April 2019. Airmen who need to grow out their facial hair in uniform can take heart that the top enlisted airman, Chief Master Sgt. The new version of the service's dress and appearance standards policy allows tattoos up to 1 . The research studied the effect of shaving waivers on the careers of active duty male airmen. The Air Force's updated dress and personal appearance policy clarifies the gr ooming and uniform standards for members who wear turbans, hijabs and beards for religious reasons. endobj In 2018, Staff Sgt. 3.1.2.3.1. 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. 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. Tell me youre an A1C without telling me youre an A1C. As of Jan. 21, the Air Force has administratively separated 111 active duty Airmen. Anecdotal evidence and a July 2021 study in the journal Military Medicine indicate that airmen with shaving waivers are more often passed over for promotions and other professional opportunities because of their appearance. Big news today for the many airmen out there who want to grow out their beards: not only is there little evidence showing that beards interfere with a gas mask seal, but the Air Forces ban on beards may also be contributing to racial discrimination and hurting promotion opportunities within the service. 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 . All are welcome. Previously, these airmen needed to get their waivers updated annually. 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. There currently is no clear evidence showing that is the case, the study 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. 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 .