USAF Updates Uniform Standards: Beards, Turbans, Hijabs - Now Authorized

[MountainRaven]

So much for the reasoning of "A clean shaven appearance also allows for a proper seal when wearing a protective mask".

I believe there have been efforts made to make gas masks and other protective masks that allow persons with facial hair to wear them and gain the same (or better) protection compared with legacy masks.

[SteyrAUG]

IDGAF what people wear as long as they do their job well.

We had a dude who was 'muslim' and once we deployed he claimed he couldn't be put in a position to shoot a fellow muslim. He was the least muslim muslim Ive seen in my life. Never once prayed or did anything else to indicate faith was something he cared about. Just a coward.

The whole beard thing is because of gas masks, and gas masks for most units are wastes of space/time/maintenance/accountability.

As for assimilation type stuff do people read history? I can't think of a better group of people than motivated Sikh's to go battle muzzies than anyone else on the planet.

Astute observations.

Imagine in WWII if American soldiers decided they couldn't kill other white soldiers or soldiers who might be of the christian faith? And sure the Nisei division kicked ass, but I wonder what might have happened differently (if anything) if they were deployed in the pacific.

Sure we need to make some concessions from time to time, Elvis didn't exactly get a GI haircut. I don't worry about Sikh's cause they haven't given us reason to question their loyalties, as a result I believe they "earned a cultural pass" on some things. I don't feel the same about muslims, I still remember Nidal Hassan and I worry he did years of damage to US troops in his care before he decided to shoot up his base.

When I'm being objective, I understand not everyone of Group X acts like everyone else in Group X and not everyone in Group Y acts like everyone else in Group Y. So somewhere I know there has to be LOTS and LOTS of muslims who do their duty and sadly suffer the consequences of the action of other muslims. But given the nature of Islam, and it's requirement of total submission to Islam before anything else, I worry that even otherwise really good people are going to be at best "conflicted" or at worst working against us from within. I'm not saying we need to put them in camps, but with high risk groups I think trust must be earned.

[Averageman]

Yes but do the gender confused get to wear any uniform based on how butch they feel that day?

[soulezoo]

My hell I am so glad to not be a shirt any longer.
And, as a contrast, when I was getting out a fellow shirt was being courts martialed for insubordination because his (lesbian) CO ordered him to remove his bible from his office because it was "offensive".

[Buncheong]

My hell I am so glad to not be a shirt any longer.
And, as a contrast, when I was getting out a fellow shirt was being courts martialed for insubordination because his (lesbian) CO ordered him to remove his bible from his office because it was "offensive".

THIS ^

Religious freedom is extended to all, except Bible-believing Christians.