AILSA CHANG, HOST:
When Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently met publicly with top generals, he called for new regulations for appearance and physical fitness to be in place before the end of the year. That move has some people worried about the impact on Black service members, women and people of faith. Steve Walsh, with WHRO in Norfolk, has the story.
STEVE WALSH, BYLINE: In September, when Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth called top generals and admirals to Virginia, many thought he would discuss the use of troops inside the U.S. or hold the first public briefing on the operation underway in the Caribbean. Instead, they heard...
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PETE HEGSETH: No more beardos (ph). The era of rampant and ridiculous shaving profiles is done. Simply put, if you do not meet the male-level physical standards for combat positions, cannot pass a PT test or don't want to shave and look professional, it's time for a new position or a new profession.
WALSH: Sailors and soldiers with pseudofolliculitis barbae took to social media. The condition leaves sores and bumps from ingrown hairs after they shave.
(SOUNDBITE OF MONTAGE)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: As you guys can see, it's pretty bad. It's not very appealing.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: So you want me to walk around with this all over my whole face? Like, make that make sense.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: It's people that look nothing like me - if you know what I mean - suggesting how to shave. You guys just don't understand. I'm sorry.
WALSH: The skin condition primarily impacts Black men. The final regulations have not been released, but there is a concern that they could be kicked out if they have a beard. Black men are not the only group worried about a ban. Arthur Zeidman is a former military lawyer and an Army reserve officer. He works with the Aleph Institute, which offers help to Jewish members of the military. He says beards became more common in 2020.
ARTHUR ZEIDMAN: This was during the first Trump administration, not only to chaplains but others who, for religious reasons, are not allowed to shave or have limitations on shaving, and they were allowed to wear beards in uniform.
WALSH: It was the culmination of a long legal battle to force the military to uphold the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which originally passed in the 1990s. Muslim men could also wear beards. There was an influx of observant Jews who felt they were able to join the military for the first time, Zeidman says.
ZEIDMAN: Many of the regulations before, and they're mostly in terms of uniform regulations, had interfered with practice of a number of groups, for example, the wearing of a cross by Christians.
WALSH: And the pushback isn't just about facial hair. Before he retired in 2023, Michael McGurk led civilian teams which spent a decade developing a new army combat fitness test. He worked at Army Training and Doctrine Command when it was at Fort Eustis in Virginia. He pushes back on Hegseth's comments that standards were lowered to promote women and minorities.
MICHAEL MCGURK: When the females went through Ranger School, the enforcement of standards, I think, actually got tougher or stricter because they wanted to make sure that everybody that went was being held to the same exact standard.
WALSH: Making those elite women pass a PT test at at least 70% of the male standard, the way Hegseth is demanding, won't be an issue, he says. Women who succeed in the grueling combat arms already perform above that standard.
MCGURK: Frankly, among the females that I know that are in the infantry or have gone through different elite training and stuff, they're like, hey, we're good with that. Bring it on.
WALSH: Meanwhile, Hegseth's speech on fitness standards and grooming remains required viewing throughout the services.
For NPR News, I'm Steve Walsh.
(SOUNDBITE OF KENDRICK LAMAR SONG, "SING ABOUT ME, I'M DYING OF THIRST") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.