In December, the Air Force commissioned its first female Muslim chaplain . Airman raises his head as flight surgeon chief of medical staff inspects his neck and face during a shaving waiver course at Beale Air Force Base, Calif., March 15, 2018. This causes inflammation and a foreign body reaction, and over time, can result in scarring. Its a little scraggly right now, Sopchak said. Sopchak said hes recently had some airmen, who were interested in exploring his religion, email him with questions, and hes helping other Air Force Heathens get their beards approved. Subscribe to Task & Purpose Today. For example, hijabs must be closely fitted to the contours of the airman's head and neck, tucked under the uniform top, and cannot cover the airman's eyebrows, eyes, cheeks, nose, mouth or chin. Still, Ritchie called for a study to come up with a conclusive answer. . Requests should normally be recommended for approval unless approval would have an adverse impact on military readiness, unit cohesion, standards or discipline, the regulation said. Abdul Rahman Gaitan in 2018 became the first Muslim airman to receive a beard waiver for religious reasons. DAF COVID-19 Statistics - January 2022. % Last week the United States Air Force announced that it had updated its regulations, and will allow airmen to seek a waiver to wear turbans, hijabs or beards for religious reasons. The group is one of the Air Forces volunteer teams that considers ways to make policies more equitable for all airmen. He is now about two weeks into growing his beard, and is waiting for it to come in a little more before he can start shaping it. (In heathen lore . Staff Sgt. (Garrett Sopchak) For nearly a year, the Air Force weighed a staff sergeant's request to grow a beard as part of his religious beliefs before. Under the new process, a commander has up to 30 days to approve an Airmans request for a waiver, and that the accommodation will generally follow the Airman through his or her career. Published Feb 12, 2020 2:11 PM EST. Since then, 21 Honor Guard airmen now have a pass to grow neatly-trimmed beards, according to Military.com. In a Tuesday update of the Department of the Air Force's COVID-19 response, the service announced it had approved nine religious accommodations, including eight through service members' major and field commands and one through a Department of the Air Force appeal. Isnt the whole point of religious freedom that people CANT do that? The Sikh Coalition, the largest Sikh civil rights organization in the United States which has helped more than 20 Sikh Americans serve in the military, applauded the changes. What happens when patients disagree with an exemption decision? This is the first time the command has done so. Copyright 2023. Also, do you have to be able to prove that you are that religion or can you just claim that you are a Muslim and thats that. Gen. Charles A. McGee Leadership Award, named after the legendary Tuskegee Airman, will give either $18,000 per year, The Space Forces new leader has definedthree lines of effort he wants the young service to pursue, focusing on combat-ready forces, personnel management, and partnerships with other Pentagon organizations and allies. According to the Nevada Army Guard's and Air Guard's personnel offices, the state has eight Guardsmen - four Soldiers and four Airmen - who declare Pagan as their religious preference. US Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Jackson Manske. We dont believe that theres a superior race, Sopchak said. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations. David covers the Air Force, Space Force and anything Star Wars-related. A federal appeals court on Friday granted a preliminary injunction allowing two Sikh men to immediately begin basic training with the U.S. Marine Corps without shaving their beards . The Air Force Surgeon General has approved five-year waivers allowing male airmen with a medical condition causing painful ingrown hairs to grow beards, the service said Tuesday. Accommodations, after all, arent about special treatment they are about ensuring that religiously observant Sikhs and others dont have to choose between staying true to our faith and serving our country.. Though. 1st Class Benjamin . DAFI 52-201 is the governing regulation for religious accommodation. >_fn7dw)>S#a\7]zdWwgsZMA2!2/af>]]I+ .$sMOr])0`F\>-vxX|K h%&ZG2xI%#}pxg@;%rE*q"TY(kfIeWgh&*$|- F'$_L2;&"bw.%i^XxzS\'Z+gQI,=b6)J|Se{Sl)xog`7^}T# N7 x+|B7 Master Sgt. This condition can appear in a person of any ethnicity but is predominantly seen in Blacks/African Americans, study authors wrote. Shaving Waiver stigma Air Force Medicine medical beard Al Dhafra . Maysaa Ouza, the first Air Force Judge Advocate General Corps officer to wear the hijab, was also featured in a short NBC documentary last year. Those interested in pursuing a shaving waiver at Al Dhafra can attend shaving waiver clinic walk-in hours on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., or schedule an appointment at the 380th EMDG clinic during walk-in hours from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Thats according to a new research paper published last week in the journal Military Medicine, which found that Air Force regulations against facial hair disproportionately affect Black or African American airmen and can lead to slower rates of promotion and limited job opportunities within the service. While the study did not list an exact difference in promotion times between airmen with and without waivers, it did say with mathematical certainty that shaving waivers as a whole were associated with a significantly longer time to promotion compared to the no-waiver group.. While the Air Force prohibits male members from growing beards, waivers are issued to airmen who,. However, most airmen who have waivers are Black, because they are more likely to be affected by pseudofolliculitis barbae (PFB) than White airmen. David covers the Air Force, Space Force and anything Star Wars-related. The updated Air Force Instruction, released Feb. 7, also formally allows Sikh airmen to wear turbans and Muslim women to wear hijabs. Many airmens dearest wish may soon come true if the Air Force greenlights a pilot program allowing some men to grow beards. Given the racial distribution of waivers, this may have an unintended discriminatory effect by limiting the opportunities that these members are offered, the study authors wrote. 3 0 obj Does anyone have any information on how you actually get a religious exemption for shaving? Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made. Central figures in Norse mythology such as Odin and Thor are commonly depicted as wearing beards. thx. Published Jul 14, 2021 8:57 AM EDT. The Air Force is first in many things, but in this case the branch came in second to the Army, which in 2017 became the first military branch to grant religious exemptions for beards, turbans. Seven months later, this reporter could not immediately find any such progress reports. Rathour graduated Security Forces technical training on Sept. 26, 2019. Paragraph 1.5.2.3 added: Members requesting a medical waiver to wear a beard must submit a letter The U.S. Air Force issued new guidelines on Friday giving members who wear religious apparel a way to serve the country without compromising their faith. Airmen in the guard with waivers can wear beards in Air Force ceremonies and duties, but not as part of a joint service honor guard with another branch, Military.com reported. As of Jan. 21, the Air Force has administratively separated 111 active duty Airmen. This means that even though the study measured only about 4% of all male airmen, the findings would likely be similar if extended to the entire branch. The Air Force is first in many things, but in this case the branch came in second to the Army, which in 2017 became the first military branch to grant religious exemptions for beards, turbans and hijabs. I will also add, the whole reason I want a beard is to help me with my faith during Ramadan. There could be more studies of this topic to come. of the Air Force Kaleth Wright, said in April on a panel discussion on male grooming standards in the Air Force. ooming and uniform standards for members who wear turbans, hijabs and beards for religious reasons. endobj Theres a lot of things that we learn from the past and our ancestry, and its just carrying on the line, really.. [T]he promotion system is not necessarily inherently racially biased, but instead biased against the presence of facial hair which will likely always affect the promotions of Blacks/African-Americans disproportionately because of the relatively higher need for shaving waivers in this population, wrote the authors of the study, a team of eight led by Air Force Lt. Col. Simon Ritchie. For some pagans, it is seen as a way of honoring the gods and goddesses. 7Ndj% endobj The same was true for airmen trying to hit the rank of staff sergeant (E-5). Sure, but how about competitive pay and benefits? The hijab, or head scarf, can be made of a subdued material in a color that resembles the airmans assigned uniform, such as black, brown, green, tan or navy blue, the regulation said. The military branch . The authors called for wider research in the area in order to refute or substantiate their findings. The Air Force on Friday became the second branch of the U.S. military to approve the wearing of beards, turbans, hijabs, under-turbans/patkas, unshorn hair and other indoor/outdoor head coverings for religious reasons. There are conflicting published reports from the civilian sector with regard to the impact of facial hair on P2/N95 [face masks] fit testing, and none that we are aware of evaluating facial hair impact on military gas mask fit. the authors wrote. The Air Force currently prohibits service members from growing beards unless they are granted a religious or medical waiver, a policy that has come under scrutiny lately after military doctors studied its discriminatory effect on Black airmen. Any links to regs would be appricated. They also make offerings anything from food to drinks to physical objects to their gods during a ceremony called a blot, he said. Market-leading rankings and editorial commentary - see the top law firms & lawyers for Not-for-profit (nonprofit and tax exempt organizations) in United States He also consulted with The Asatru Community, a nonprofit group that advocates for followers of Norse pagan religions. Be aware though, that the belief must be sincere, which means you will likely be interviewed by the chaplain about your beliefs, and they will advise your CC on whether or not your beliefs are sincere, or you're just trying to get a beard. The wing chaplain or equivalent will then assign a chaplain to interview the requesting airman about what is motivating him or her to ask for it. And. Contact the author here. A federal judge Thursday temporarily blocked the Air Force from penalizing a group of service members who are seeking a religious exemption to otherwise mandatory Covid-19 vaccination, in. Despite being in line with regulations, airmen with waivers reported feeling stigmatized for wearing facial hair. | All told, Brown added two books, two podcasts, and a documentary, The Air Force now has a single website to manage all its recruiting needs, covering Active Duty, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve recruiting. The Air Force is committed to continuing to remove barriers that prevent airmen from applying for, and being accepted into, career broadening opportunities, Bass said in a statement sent to Task & Purpose. The Air Force, citing privacy concerns, declined to identify how many airmen have obtained waivers based on religious exemptions but said the publicity surrounding approvals in recent years has . W2~@R>tA);|6[ +XnDnQi\k`LF. A chaplain must then interview the requesting airman and submit a recommendation to the wing chaplain (or the unit's equivalent of a wing chaplain). Hijabs, turbans and under-turbans (also known as patkas) should be free of designs and made of a subdued material in a color that closely resembles ones uniform. One civilian study from 2018 showed that 98% of study participants with an eighth-inch of beard passed the fit test with respirators that are similar to the M-50 gas masks used in the military in terms of material and fit. The study also called for re-examining the Air Forces most-cited reason for having a beard regulation, which is the concern that a beard would interfere with a gas masks seal around an airmans face. Do you have information you want to share with HuffPost? <>>> Beards can also be seen as symbols of power, strength, and virility. The military branch said it will remove "adverse information" from the records of those who sought an exemption on "religious, administrative, or medical grounds and who received adverse actions solely due to their . Some of it was because I just ignored it, some of it was because I wanted these young men to do what I did: just suck it up and figure it out and youll be fine.. This condition, which the American Osteopathic College of Dermatology says affects up to 60 percent of Black men, occurs when curved facial hairs grow back into the skin. It marks the sixth and counting religious waiver permitting a beard in service for the Air Force, according to the online military news conglomerate that broke the story. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Sopchak, an aerospace ground equipment craftsman at Hill Air Force Base in Utah,said other airmen have been emailing him with questions about his faith. Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. In 2018, the Air Force granted its first "religious accommodation beard waiver" to a Muslim airman, allowing him to wear a beard while in uniform. Garrett Sopchak, a 28-year-old aerospace . I am grateful to hear of this policy change, because it codifies in writing what I already know: The U.S. Air Force values the service and contribution of religious minorities like me, Singh said in a statement provided by the group. There currently is no clear evidence showing that is the case, the study said. One Facebook commenter questioned why the Air Force needs a separate pilot program when it could study those who already have shaving waivers. The memo said he can grow a longer beard if he rolls or ties it, but Sopchak said hell likely keep it within two inches to stay safe on the job and keep it simple. The study authors found that the long wait for promotions applied to airmen of all races who had waivers. Comer wore a beard with a religious accommodation waiver, but beards in the Air Force may become far more common after a uniform board considers facial hair in November. Beards should have been approved years ago, Facebook commenter Heather Britten wrote. It also specifically looked at the time it took airmen with shaving waivers to get promoted relative to airmen without waivers, and whether that association led to racial bias. Abdul Rahman Gaitain, an airman with the 821st. For AFR waiver processing instructions see AFMAN 368001, - Participation and Training Procedures. The facial hair cannot exceed one-quarter of an inch, must be grown out naturally and cannot be shaped or styled. The Air Force in recent years has begun granting waivers to allow airmen including airmen of the Muslim, Sikh and Norse Heathen or pagan faiths to grow beards for religious reasons. For nearly a year, the Air Force weighed a staff sergeant's request to grow a beard as part of his religious beliefs before granting him a waiver, a decision that balanced personal liberty against military readiness, a Pentagon spokesman said. Capture a web page as it appears now for use as a trusted citation in the future. USAF photo by Alexander Goad. Chapter IV - Four Eyes Were Reading the Passage I was running the head of my pencil-case along the line as I read it, and something caused me to raise my eyes. United States Air Force members who refused to take the COVID vaccine for religious reasons will soon get a reprieve from the punitive actions the military took against them. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Changing policy, actually is the easy part, Wright said. Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made. is at the same time the history o f the interpretation of the Scriptures.'18 The Sunna embodied an ossified tradition. HuffPost's top politics stories, straight to your inbox. *!+zu[XAoC_:X/0{ v8iAU}JqQ.u`6fE_GJTBh$Wx)Vpw#7~rDeI0r\!H(NW|/bcPRHBe0tEyXYD q{ Black men disproportionately suffer from the ingrown hairs that cause painful razor bumps, either precluding them from shaving more regularly or forcing them to suffer and, in some cases, endure scarring.
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