When Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visits South Korea this week, he will face off against one of the most dangerous enemies to military readiness: Facial hair.
Service members with shaving waivers are not allowed to attend the event with Hegseth, which will be held at Camp Humphreys, according to an email from the 51st Fighter Wing at Osan Air Base, South Korea, which was posted on the unofficial Air Force amn/nco/snco page.
An Air Force official confirmed that the email is authentic and that Hegseth will meet with troops as part of his visit to South Korea.
“As you know, it is typical for senior leaders to visit the troops when they travel to installations around the world,” the official said in a statement to Task & Purpose.
When asked if they wanted to provide a statement for this story, Pentagon officials referred Task & Purpose to the Air Force.
Hegseth is expected to travel to Asia this week to underscore the U.S. military’s focus on the Indo-Pacific region, according to the Pentagon. In addition to South Korea, his trip includes visits to Japan, Vietnam, and Malaysia
Since taking charge at the Pentagon in January, Hegseth has made it clear that he feels the U.S. military has strayed from its grooming standards by issuing too many shaving waivers over the years.
“Today at my direction, the era of unprofessional appearance is over,” Hegseth told hundreds of generals and admirals during a Sept. 30 speech at Quantico, Virginia. “No more beardos. The age of rampant and ridiculous shaving profiles is done.”
Hegseth’s comments came after he issued an Aug. 20 memo directing unit commanders to begin separating troops who still need shaving waivers after more than a year of medical treatment.
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His memo emphasized that the U.S. military’s grooming standard is to be “clean-shaven and neat in presentation for a proper military appearance.”
Subsequently, Hegseth issued a Sept. 30 memo that said the U.S. military would revert to pre-2020 standards and only issue temporary waivers for medical conditions such as pseudofolliculitis barbae or PFB, which is a painful skin condition common among Black men that is made worse by shaving.
In January, the Air Force announced that the service had reversed a 2020 policy that allowed airmen and Space Force Guardians with PFB to be issued five-year shaving waivers that did not require annual renewals.
Hegseth’s Sept. 30 memo said that the Defense Department would also go back to its pre-2010 standards on religious waivers for beards, adding, “facial hair waivers are generally not authorized.”
During his speech at Quantico, Hegseth indicated he was skeptical of religious waivers for beards that have been issued to some service members.
“We don’t have a military full of Nordic Pagans,” said Hegseth, who has frequently emphasized his own faith during his tenure as defense secretary and hosted a Christian prayer service in Pentagon facilities. “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.”
