New Grooming Policy Will Undermine Recruiting, Retention, and Readiness
By Captain John P. Cordle, U.S. Navy (Retired), and Colonel Emily Wong, U.S. Air Force (Retired).
A new Department of Defense policy will require commanding officers to separate personnel with shaving waivers from the services. Sailors will be separated within 12 months if they cannot medically resolve the reason for the waiver—which is normally granted to personnel with pseudofolliculitis barbae, or PFB.
This change to the military’s grooming policy will have significant negative consequences for the Navy—some of them immediate, others down the line. One of this article’s authors studied PFB in detail—first while in command, later as Chief of Staff for Naval Surface Force Atlantic, and finally as a participant in the Secretary of the Navy’s 2023 study on how facial hair affects gas mask functionality. The other author was the dermatology consultant to the Air Force Surgeon General for five years.
Senior officers and enlisted leaders seldom understand the medical realities of PFB. It is a chronic condition that largely (but not only) affects Black men, and the National Institutes of Health recommends not shaving as the most effective treatment. All other treatments address only symptoms—not the root cause, which is genetic. Most other treatments are only partially effective, and all can be painful. Such treatments may mitigate symptoms—temporarily—for those with mild PFB. However, for those with moderate to severe PFB, daily shaving causes painful breakouts leading to accumulation of facial scarring.
The Policy Worked for Decades
There is no consolidated database of sailors with shaving waivers. But historical data indicates about 10 percent of the Navy, or about 30,000 personnel, has a waiver. In practice, this works out to 20–30 sailors on board a destroyer, 80–100 on an amphibious assault ship, and 300–450 on an aircraft carrier. Imagine these vessels suffering that many manning gaps a year from now.
The previous policy was in place for four decades. It allowed sailors to serve with a short beard (less than a quarter of an inch in length), which has been shown to have minimal effect on operational safety. The most recent carrier strike group to return from combat operations had more than 500 sailors with shaving waivers, including several senior leaders. While the Navy’s 2023 study has not been published, similar studies showed almost no operational effects from sailors keeping short beards—including effects on forced-air systems such as the Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus or Emergency Air Breather. Further, more than two-thirds of Navy personnel are assigned to shore duty, where the mask issue is moot.
It is estimated that 45–94 percent of all Black men will experience PFB at some point during their lifetime. Hispanic, Asian, and Middle Eastern men also are often affected, as are some women. A 2021 study found an association between shaving waivers and delayed promotions. Since most of the waiver group (65 percent) was Black, the new policy could have a discriminatory effect. In our conversations with Black sailors, including some in senior leadership positions, many shared that they feel the new policy is racially insensitive at best—or may be designed to target them. Leaders must be aware of their concerns.
Impact and Implications
This policy’s principal effects on the Navy will not be fully visible for 1–2 years, but it will immediately distract from warfighting readiness and create a feeling of disenfranchisement among Black sailors. In the longer term, it will reduce retention and recruitment, resulting in hundreds if not thousands of additional gapped billets at sea and ashore.
As leaders who have studied this issue in depth, we have found no correlation between facial hair and professionalism or lethality. As a leader at sea, Captain Cordle has witnessed numerous sailors with beards get a satisfactory seal on firefighting masks.
The Navy should compile a list of all sailors and officers currently on a PFB or religious waiver for a beard. Then:
Have dermatologists train all commanders on the causes and effects of PFB.
Ensure all affected personnel are informed individually of the new policy and receive career counseling.
Inform individuals affected by PFB about treatment options.
Support funding and travel for laser hair removal for anyone who wants it. However, laser hair removal can cause permanent reduction in hair growth that not all sailors want.
Prepare for increased operational stress for anyone affected, directly or indirectly, by this policy.
As the DoD memo states, empower leaders on the waterfront to make decisions as it affects their sailors.
Unfortunately, none of these actions will prevent thousands of sailors’ separation a year from now if the policy remains. Therefore, the Navy must begin to plan for a significant increase in personnel gaps at sea (currently estimated at 20,000) and ashore, and for secondary impacts such as greater fatigue, lost training, and an increase in mishaps.
Reduced Readiness and Lethality
We recommend the Chief of Naval Operations and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy host a listening session with senior leaders and junior sailors who suffer from PFB to increase their understanding of the primary and secondary implications of this policy. Captain Cordle did this last year. One sailor he heard from was a damage controlman who had fought two shipboard fires and taught at Navy Firefighting School—all with a quarter-inch beard. This accomplished sailor now faces an uncertain career and may lose his chance at retirement. So might many others like him.
As with all decisions of this nature, it will take time for negative effects on advancement, retention, and recruitment to show. But this policy will reduce the Navy’s readiness and lethality.