{"id":40704,"date":"2020-11-18T21:04:10","date_gmt":"2020-11-18T21:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/11\/18\/cnp-the-navys-not-ready-to-pull-that-trigger-and-change-its-beard-policy\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:44:04","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:44:04","slug":"cnp-the-navys-not-ready-to-pull-that-trigger-and-change-its-beard-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2020\/11\/18\/cnp-the-navys-not-ready-to-pull-that-trigger-and-change-its-beard-policy\/","title":{"rendered":"CNP: The Navy\u2019s not ready to \u2018pull that trigger\u2019 and change its beard policy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Navy isn\u2019t ready to update its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/10\/04\/grizzly-adams-begone-navy-ends-permanent-no-shave-chits\/\" target=_blank>beard policy<\/a> \u2014 at least not yet, according to Chief of Naval Personnel Vice Adm. John Nowell Jr.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Navy hasn\u2019t always prohibited beards in uniform. In fact, it wasn\u2019t until 1985 when then-Chief of Naval Operations Adm. James Watkins <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/11\/29\/navys-top-personnel-officer-beards-maybe\/\" target=_blank>issued an order barring sailors from growing facial hair<\/a>, with exceptions for those who had legitimate health concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the Navy has said it is reexamining that policy in response to sailor feedback on the topic, the service is not poised to unveil any update regarding beards at this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019ll continue to evaluate it as we look at what we\u2019re doing ashore,\u201d Nowell said during a Facebook live \u201ctown hall\u201d event Tuesday. \u201cWe\u2019re not quite ready to pull that trigger yet, but we hear your feedback, and it\u2019s something we\u2019re taking into consideration.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although some foreign militaries permit beards, Nowell said the burden isn\u2019t on him to keep those service members safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSome countries do allow it, others do not,\u201d Nowell said. \u201cBut again, my job quite frankly isn\u2019t keeping someone in the German Navy safe \u2014 it\u2019s keeping you safe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/10\/14\/inside-big-navys-war-on-beards\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"173\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Beard-MAIN.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Inside Big Navy\u2019s war on beards<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Personnel with the permanent no-shave chits have six months to receive a medical reevaluation, which likely will trigger a new treatment regimen, according to the updated Bureau of Naval Personnel instruction.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fleet Master Chief Wes Koshoffer cited Naval Safety Center studies, which indicate that facial hair stymies the ability to create an air-tight seal with face masks. Even so, as Navy Times <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/10\/14\/inside-big-navys-war-on-beards\/\" target=_blank>previously reported<\/a>, Safety Center records indicate there has only been one case, more than 25 years ago, in which a beard contributed to a mishap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Koshoffer explained that the service does view facial hair differently depending on whether a sailor is serving at sea or ashore. As a result, policies do vary due to different safety concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAt sea, it\u2019s not a pretense. It really is about safety,\u201d Koshoffer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn port, we are granting some religious accommodations for people that have a bona fide religious practice of unshorn facial hair or other religious accommodations,\u201d Koshoffer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday said last month the Navy is reconsidering its beard policy as part of Navy Task Force One, which was stood up in June to address diversity and inclusion issues within the service. The task force was created during the midst of the the national racial discussion following the death in May of George Floyd, a Black man prosecutors say was killed while in the custody of white Minneapolis police officers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Navy has made several modifications in recent years regarding the service\u2019s beard policy. For example, the Navy announced last October, under Gilday\u2019s leadership, that it would halt issuing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/10\/04\/grizzly-adams-begone-navy-ends-permanent-no-shave-chits\/\" target=_blank>permanent waivers for sailors<\/a> affected by razor bumps, more formally known as pseudofolliculitis barbae, or PFB. The condition is caused by shaving and is common among men who have curly facial hair, especially Black men.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2020\/03\/23\/navy-regs-update-religious-headgear-in-uniform-provides-rules-for-beard-chits\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"161\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/authorized-turban-wear.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Navy regs update religious headgear in uniform, provides rules for beard chits<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Sikh sailors are now allowed to wear turbans, unless they interfere with protective gear.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe made a decision pretty early in my tenure as CNO to do away essentially with no-shave chits,\u201d Gilday said last month during an event with Defense One. \u201cSome would argue that I moved too fast with that decision and that some were disadvantaged by it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The order required sailors with permanent no-shave chits to seek a medical reevaluation within six months. As a result, sailors must now seek a 60-day temporary no-shave waiver allowing them to grow their beards out to \u00bc inch while they receive treatment including new shaving techniques, use of medical cream, or laser hair reduction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although it\u2019s not likely that the Navy will embrace beards anytime soon, Nowell didn\u2019t rule out the possibility that the policy may change in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe know you want it. We\u2019re listening to you,\u201d Nowell said Tuesday. \u201cWe\u2019re being honest and transparent with why right now the answer is no. It does not mean as we look, especially ashore, that it\u2019s not something that we won\u2019t consider here in the future. But we\u2019re not there quite yet.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chief of Naval Personnel Vice Adm. John Nowell Jr. didn\u2019t rule out the possibility that the policy may change in the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":48682,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":65,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["your-military","news","left-column","home"],"primary_category":"your-military"}}},"categories":[101,23,88,12,26,65],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3305],"class_list":["post-40704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-left-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-navy"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"L37H6JNLVFFQXD3Z5YY45VL2OM","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-navy\/2020\/11\/18\/cnp-the-navys-not-ready-to-pull-that-trigger-and-change-its-beard-policy\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>CNP: The Navy\u2019s not ready to \u2018pull that trigger\u2019 and change its beard policy - Navy Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Chief of Naval Personnel Vice Adm. 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