Weeks after the United States Marine Corps announced it won’t amend its beard ban – but will still allow medical and religious exemptions – the U.S. Air Force announced new uniform, grooming, and appearance standards that went into effect on February 1.
Medical shaving waivers for airmen and Space Force guardians will be reset and reevaluated the Department of the Air Force explained in a memo.
“Extended duration shaving profiles are generally reserved for severe cases of PFB (Periodic Health Assessment), while mild-to-moderate cases may benefit from more frequent management, follow-ups and temporary shaving profiles,” the memo stated. It was likely in response to the marked increase in shaving waivers that were granted in recent years, and according to Military.com, the number of active-duty airmen with medical shaving waivers grew from 10,965 to 18,991.
For those without a medical waiver or religious accommodation, the service continues to call for male airmen and guardians to be clean-shaven at the start of the duty day.
In addition, the memo clarified that men’s hair must be “tapered [in] appearance on both sides and the back of the head, both with and without headgear so that when viewed from any angle the member’s hair conforms to the shape of the head, curving inward to the natural termination point without eccentric directional flow, twists, or spiking. A block-cut is permitted with tapered appearance.”
Duty Identifier Patches No Longer Allowed
So that airmen and guardians maintain a more uniform appearance, Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin announced in a video message to servicemembers that the department would get rid of Duty Identifier Patches – also known as Career Field Identifier patches – that have been commonly worn on fatigues.
At issue was that more than 130 patches in total had been authorized, and Allvin suggested it was too many.
“Under the principle that we have of ‘easy to understand, easy to comply with, easy to enforce,’ this fails that test,” Allvin explained. “But there’s a bigger issue at play here: as we identify ourselves as one type of Airman or another, with one specialty or one skillset or another, we really diminish ourselves. While that is a contribution we make, our real value is our integral part of a winning, warfighting team. And that’s what we want to emphasize: that we value the team over the individual.”
Some tags, including “Arctic,” “Base Honor Guard,” “Courier,” Evaluator,” “Instructor,” “Master Instructor,” and “Recruiter,” among others, are still allowed to be worn.
Spit and Polish, Yes – Nail Polish, No
While servicemembers will still maintain the traditional “spit and polish” that the U.S. military has long maintained, it will no longer allow for the range of options when it comes to nail polish for female airmen and guardians. The services have reduced the permitted colors of nail polish from 60 to just three.
Currently, only “Clear,” “French” or “American Manicure” are the excepted colors for nail polish.
“Fingernails must not exceed 1/4-inch in length beyond the tip of the finger and must be clean and well groomed,” the memo noted. ‘Fingernails must not interfere with the performance of assigned duties or hinder proper fit of prescribed safety equipment or uniform items. Male Airmen are not authorized to wear nail polish. If worn by females, nail polish will be clear or French or American Manicure. Do not apply designs to nails.”
Air Force officials have said these changes were not made in response to recent executive orders issued by President Donald Trump, which directed the Department of Defense to abolish any diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) offices or programs. President Trump also revoked an executive order from former President Joe Biden, penned in 2021 that allowed transgender people to serve in the military.
