U.S. Marine Corps recruits with Company B, 1st Recruit Training Battalion, Recruit Training Regiment, shave aboard Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, Calif., May 17, 2016. The recruits were required to shave their facial hair prior to beginning the day's training. (Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Erick J. ClarosVillalta) The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement. Image: DoD
By: FEDweek StaffDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a memo March 12 calling for each service branch to review standards for physical fitness, body composition and grooming – including beards.
Hegseth’s memo was addressed to senior leadership, commanders of combatant commands, and defense agency and Defense Department field activity directors. It specifically directed the undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to undertake the review, dating back to 2015. The review should encompass both the changes over time as well as their possible impacts.
“We must remain vigilant in maintaining the standards that enable the men and women of our military to protect the American people and our homeland as the world’s most lethal and effective fighting force,” Hegseth wrote. “Our adversaries are not growing weaker, and our tasks are not growing less challenging. This review will illuminate how the Department has maintained the level of standards required over the recent past and the trajectory of any change in those standards.”
Grooming standards and fitness guidelines have been relaxed in recent years, ranging from more choices for hair styles, the wearing of mustaches, tattoos, and body composition. Some changes have been implemented to address recruitment shortfalls.
Hegseth’s memo said to look across the military services and investigate current standards, how those standards may have changed and what that “trajectory” looks like. “Our troops will look sharp — not sloppy; and the DOD will seek quality — not quotas,” said Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell.
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