Sailor Allowed to Grow Beard
An article on Yahoo.com by way of Military.com reports that a sailor was granted permission to wear a beard in support of his Muslim faith.
Sailor Gets OK to Grow 4-Inch Beard, Pushes Navy to Grant Career-Length Waiver
Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Leo Katsareas can, for the first time in his Navy career, wear a beard consistent with his religious beliefs while in uniform — at least for now.
The Navy’s personnel chief granted Katsareas, a Muslim sailor, a special grooming accommodation to grow his facial hair up to 4 inches long. Katsareas, who converted to Islam at age 16, believes his faith requires him to wear a fist-length beard.
Getting the waiver wasn’t easy, though, and it applies only to Katsareas’ current assignment as an auxiliary security force member with the aircraft carrier George Washington. Once the petty officer moves on to a new duty station, he said, the special accommodation can be overturned.
“The ongoing threat of being required to immediately shave places pressure on my religious beliefs,” Katsareas told Military.com. “Across the board, an accommodation geared toward a career rather than a single duty would better recognize the importance of religion to many sailors.”
I’ve often wondered if a US Navy sailor was a Muslim female and could be granted the right to wear a face covering hibab? The regulations may be clear up front and if those regulations get in the way of religious beliefs, they should not enlist. Who knows?
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What happened to the phony Navy Seal post?? I was trying to comment and when I hit the post button I got a blank screen then I see the story is gone??
Is this the Dave Hardin post? He posted a “New Developments” post… stay tuned
Don’t like the facial hair accommodations? The exit door is that-a-way, right through the retainer’s and commander’s offices.
I really don’t have an issue with this. Good on the young man. On that note, I’d love to be able to grow some scruff.
Always thought the military was primary, religion secondary, and if there is a conflict: GET OUT. Silly me.
Can a female muslim have a beard in the Navy now?
The real question is how long he went without a beard.
Why the issue now? Obviously did not bother him that much as he made PO3.
Looks sloppy.
They did away with beards 1-1-85…I think. They said it would interfere with the seal on an OBA. I don’t civilian firefighters with beards, so I’d say that is the standard.
I’d let him grow well maintained (tight, not 4 inches) beard while on shore duty only provided, he can display he practices his faith religiously. I other words is doing his prayer, his fasting, refraining from alcohol, ect. I don’t want some slacker skating by going “Yeah, I’m Muslim…let me grow my beard”
As for females, Hijabs are cultural. I work with a Bosnian Muslim, and you wouldn’t she’s Muslim unless you know what part of the former Yugoslavia she comes from. She was little girl during the siege of Sarajevo…luck she doesn’t remember too much or bad it was…She is grateful for the US efforts to relive the siege and end the war.
Turks didn’t wear them when I was there in ’85 & ’87, but I don’t know now.
Do you really want to get into religious purity tests? I can appreciate where you’re coming from, but that’s a dangerous slope.
It was before that. I got out in 84 and was beardless for the last year and a half because the regs had changed.
That’s not a beard. That’s a poor excuse for not shaving
because he is too fucking lazy and wants to be special.
At least trim the snot encrusted edges or visit a barber.
Was that insensitive? I don’t want to disparage a serving
sailor but he looks “unkempt” religion notwithstanding.
God help me…unkempt:
https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=unkempt&atb=v1-1&iax=images&ia=images
Yeah.
Dude up top looks like shit. Sloppy NCO.
He will try to start styling it 3…2..1…
Meh, much ado about nothing. We’d go out on ops and “donate” $10 to the boat rec fund so that we didn’t have to shave until the end of op.
IIRC, we didn’t even have to trim them up so long as we could keep a decent seal on our EAB.
I’m wearing a beard in the picture where the Skipper is pinning on my dolphins. 🤷🏼♂️ I wore one most of my Navy career. You just have to reef on the EAB straps a little harder.
Even without a beard, I could never get a good seal on a gas mask or FD SCBA’s due to a hollow area on each side of my upper face so the positive pressure MSA’s/Scotts we used and then the 4.5 Scott paks which were only positive pressure compared to the older mentioned above that were demand/positive pressure turned on and off with a lever. I got caught wearing a cheater by the Chief at a job when I was on Ladder 2 and that was the last of that. The Cheater device was made by an FDNY FF who sold them and I don’t know if members still use them due to the new construction material and home furnishing toxic materials. Back in the day, we had a cascade system in HQ to refill the bottles.
Way, way, way back yonder, the only religious question that came up was what to put on your dog tags. And that was simply to make sure the right last rites were maybe handy.
Not sure if I would want to chance a “religious beard” to interfere with potentially life saving equipment or to add to the fuel on my face in case of fire.
One has to ask, what will the Navy do when a Muslim female sailor claims her religion requires her to wear a Burka? Or, a Satanist who claims he is entitled to wear the Satanic star and an inverted cross tattoo on his face? The Navy opened a Pandora’s box with this decision.
“an auxiliary security force member”
What the heck is an “auxileary security force”? Is it the Navy version of Neighborhood Watch?
He checks the knobs on the locked doors you pretend don’t exist.
In the old days, the blacks got a shaving waiver for some skin condition.
I called it a shaving rash that was usually treated with aftershave.
But, next will be Amish, Cornish, Finnish, Vikings, the Four Horsemen of the Apocolypse. You get the drift. If you had a bearded dad or mom or heritage you get to save on blades.
I remember.
1/4 inch limit.
Then all of a sudden, everyone had a shaving profile. The “Bumps” was usually the reason.
And then they started lining that shit up into chin straps, light goatees, burns, etc.
I get the profile for a few but it became a fucking joke. The Infantry cracked down on it.
Wait, I thought the Navy was the only branch where you could have a beard already? (I know my uncle had one for 20 years.) See, not my uncle though:
Would be interesting to know where M. Weinstein/Military Religious Freedom Foundation stand on this issue.