It was explained to me that the grooming standards for the U.S. Marines are for function above all else. The short hair is so the enemy can't grab it in a hand to hand fight, the close shave is for a better seal when using a gas mask.

As was brought up by a guy on a no-shave chit due to razor bumps "what about me and my gas mask?" our squad leader shrugged his shoulders and said, "guess you die, and Burtner becomes the gunner".

As long as they are willing to face that reality, let them. If they are willing to fight through their last breath (and so far all of the bearded combatants I've met personally were) so be it.

I have 0 issues with this. Let him observe his faith and serve. We do it for ther faiths.

quote:

You get a no shave chit, and you get a no shave chit and everybody gets a no shave chit!

I have a family member who is a Green Beret. He has a medical profile that allows him NOT to shave. WHY? Because he was shot in the face during an insider attack on his team in afcrapistan. His face is badly scarred, and because of those scars he can't shave. He keeps his beard trimmed to about 1/4 inch.

Personally, I find such situations the only reason for not shaving.

I have a problem with our military making exceptions for lots of things. Based on some religious "requirement" does not cut it for me.

I was battalion CBR NCO for while and company CBR NCO for nearly 2 years while assigned in Germany. I can speak to the issues of wearing gas masks. I doubt a suitable seal over a beard can reasonably/reliably be achieved.

There are all kinds of chemical agents that can kill or disable with very minor dosages. One nerve agent would kill you before you recognized the odor. Having said that, the concentration high enough to kill you, would kill you before you recognized the odor.

Yeah, this issue involves the air force, and the probability of them being attacked with chemicals is probably a lot lower than some front line combat units.

Being the CBR NCO required me to calculate and plot the down wind drift patterns for chemical and biological agents, using Frankfurt as ground zero. The downwind effects of chemicals was frightening! One scenario showed a 100% death rate for some 60 miles down wind.

And that does not address nuke effects. Fallout includes very fine dust particles which can be inhaled and deadly. And,yes, we were trained to put on gas masks in the event of nuke attack.

Zero fucks over this drama.

Most of our pipe hitters don't shave in combat.

I have no issues with allowing the beard, but I kind of wonder why he thinks he needs a beard to be Muslim to begin with. It's kind of off topic, and I'm really no expert on this, but he appears to have begun the conversion process in Turkey where most Muslims don't seem care one way or the other about facial hair, including their Islamist President Erdogan. The SSGT finished the conversion process in Hawaii, again, where most Muslims don't really care one way or the other about male facial hair. I lived pretty close to the largest (if not only) mosque on Oahu, and my next door neighbors attended for years. Beards weren't required. It kind of makes me wonder if he has some kind of "look at me I'm special" attitude. The very few Muslims I ever had issues with in the military were over-enthusiastic converts who just couldn't go through the work day without reminding everyone of their religion. That irritates me regardless of what the religion happens to be. Again, I don't care about the beard.

If the rules are waivered for one, then the rule should be changed for all...

If you wanna grow a beard, remember you can’t wear a gas mask, and you will die, or you can’t wear a fire fighting mask, you burn.

Who cares, as long as he can do his job.

I am with the opinion that if they are going to change something like this then it must be applied equally to all. To allow this just for Muslims is bullshit.

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Originally posted by jhe888:

quote:

Originally posted by ChicagoSigMan:
Does he love his country and can he do his job....that's all I care about.

Yes, and thanks for saying it.

I am glad this seems to be the prevailing sentiment in this thread.

Hmmm. I'm not on board. He wants his beard because of his new religion, but his religion requiers that he kill those who don't believe like him. So we're supporting his religion that could lead him to shoot his fellow soldiers in the back. Oh well it's only 50/50 at this point since not everyone reads their entire bible. Lovely.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:
That's not the real issue here IMO. Is there a separation of government and religion, as per the Constitution and the leftists, or isn't there? What happens when this clown can't perform his duties because its prayer time? Or how about when he requires special meals to coincide with his religion? Do they shit can him then or grant him more exceptions. Bet I can guess given the direction things are heading with our retarded culture.

Do you have the some concerns with the Orthodox Jewish bearded servicemen? They pray, have beards, and have dietary restrictions. They've been serving for years.




What about the Sikhs? They also pray, have beards, and have dietary restrictions. And they have also been serving for years.

This is the America I know.
Thank for posting this.