The very concept of military uniform is about uniformity. That remains true of all branches of the United States military, and this month Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin announced via a video address on Facebook and Instagram last week that the service will review the dress and appearance standards of airmen. Regulations will begin to be more strictly enforced, Allvin added.
“We’re also directing that, episodically, we have the formations come together in uniform to do a couple of things,” Allvin said in a video message. “The first thing is to be able to look at yourself, look at your teammate, hold yourself and him or her accountable to ensure that you’re in standards.”
According to Air & Space Forces magazine, the updates are a response to concerns Allvin and Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force David A. Flosi heard expressed by rank-and-file Airmen and senior leaders last year.
The new rules, regulations, and standards are also being implemented to put the “team above the individual,” while it will enhance the “standards and accountability” of the Air Force and Space Force. The goal is to make those serving “proud to not only wear the uniform but have the discipline that is the backbone of the greatest air force in the history of the planet.”
The changes will start in the next 90 days.
Revised Dress, Personal Appearance Instruction
In February 2024, the service published its revised dress and personal appearance instructions for U.S. Air Force airmen and U.S. Space Force guardians worldwide. The revised DAFI 36-2903, Dress and Personal Appearance of Department of the Air Force Personnel incorporates policy changes from the 102nd Air Force Uniform Board, the Air Force’s Personnel Center announced last year.
The updated policy outlined several changes that included:
- Religious Accommodation Process
- No-hat, No-salute areas
- Specialized nametag wear for DAF and Joint Chiefs support staff
- Two-piece flight duty uniform
- Bags, to include gym bag, backpack, handbags
- Flight duty uniform policy
- Female wear of mess dress trousers or slacks
- Wearing of caps for baldness or hair loss due to medical conditions
- Permanent wear of EPME badge
- Security Forces shield on the OCP uniform
- Beverage consumption while walking in uniform
- Wear of cold-weather headbands
- Authorized wear of commercial maternity cold weather outerwear
- Wing commander delegation to approve religious regalia
- Organizational emblems on the back of the morale shirt
- Heritage morale patches on the flight duty uniform
It further outlined the authorized and unauthorized examples of grooming for tattoos and other body markings, the wearing of mustaches, female nail polish colors, and both male and female hair standards.
Last June, the head of Air Combat Command announced that the roughly 70,000 airmen under the command could also receive face uniform inspections and waivers, which would allow airmen and guardians to grow beards for religious or medical reasons would be reviewed.
More Than Appearance
The changes are also about addressing the culture within the service.
“[When] airmen decide for themselves whether they should comply with a tech order or safety regulations, or other instructions … the damage is to property, is to our equipment, but most importantly, we get Airmen injured or killed,” Allvin noted, while the video showed the Rockwell B-1B Lancer bomber that crashed last year at Ellsworth Air Force Base (AFB), S.D.
The incident was blamed on lax standard enforcement, at the base. While all four of the aircrew were able to eject and survive, two suffered injuries and the B-1B bomber was destroyed. An investigation conducted by the Air Force Global Strike Command determined that ineffective crew communication was partially at fault, while the crew failed to cross-check their instruments.
Allvin said it is necessary to take standards seriously and have them enforced accordingly.
“We’re not going to wait a year or two years to roll out an entire batch,” Allvin said. “As we make the decisions, we’re going to distribute them to the force to start enforcing as they come to you.”
