Beard: Encyclopedia II - Beard - Modern prohibition of beards

Beard - Modern prohibition of beards

Beard - Sport

Today, for practical reasons (with some exceptions), it is illegal for boxers to have beards.

Beard - The Armed Forces

Many armed forces still prohibit beards for reasons of hygiene, discipline, or tactical demands (such as the proper fitting and seal of a gas mask); they may also be permitted for cultural, religious, or traditional reasons. In the British Army, a moustache is permitted for those over the rank of Sergeant (non-commissioned officers) and Major (Commissioned Officers)

The Canadian Forces permits moustaches, provided they are neatly trimmed and do not pass beyond the corners of the mouth; an exception to this is the handlebar moustache, which is permitted. Generally speaking, beards are not permitted to CF personnel with the following exceptions:

• members wearing the naval uniform (tradition)
• members of an infantry pioneer platoon (tradition)
• Sikhs (religious requirement)
• Orthodox Jews (religious requirement)
• members with a medical condition which precludes shaving

These exceptions notwithstanding, in no case is a beard permitted without a moustache, and only full beards may be worn (not goatees, van dykes, etc).

Personnel with beards may still be required to modify or shave off the beard, as environmental or tactical circumstances dictate (e.g. to facilitate the wearing of a gas mask).

According to the regulations of the Israel Defense Forces, it is prohibited to grow a moustache or beard, except under one of the following circumstances:

• The soldier is a practicing Orthodox Jew and requests to grow a beard for religious reasons.
• The soldier requires a beard for medical reasons; this claim must be accompanied by medical documentation specifying the period of time during which his beard is medically necessary.
• The soldier attains express permission to grow his beard from a high-ranking officer.
• The soldier already has a beard upon his enlistment and requests to continue growing it.
• The soldier is on permanent service (beyond the national service requirement).

If a soldier has obtained permission to grow a beard, the beard must either be:

• A full beard - one that extends from the sideburns to the chin on both sides of the face.
• A goatee - starting from the middle of the face on both sides and extending to the chin, including a moustache.

The Spanish Legion allows beards to be grown.

In the United Kingdom, the Royal Navy allows "full sets" (beards and moustaches together) but not beards or moustaches alone. The other British armed services allow moustaches only. Exceptions are beards grown for religious reasons (usually by Sikhs), though in the event of conflict in which the use of chemical or biological weapons is likely, they may be required to shave a strip around the seal of a respirator. Beards are also permitted for medical reasons, such as temporary skin irritations, or by infantry pioneer warrant officers, colour sergeants and sergeants, who traditionally wear beards. Any style of facial hair is allowed in British police forces as long as it is neatly trimmed.

The U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps justify banning beards on the basis of both hygiene and of the necessity for a good seal with gas masks. The U.S. Navy did allow beards for a time in the 1970s and 1980s, but subsequently banned them again. The vast majority of police forces across the United States still ban beards. However, moustaches are generally allowed in both the military and police forces. U.S. Army Special Forces have been allowed to wear beards in Afghanistan in order to fit in with the indigenous population better.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Modern prohibition of beards", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki