Chaplains In addition to chaplain insignia, Department of Defense instructions on the "Accommodation of religious practices within the military services" state that "chaplains may wear any religious apparel or accouterments with the uniform while conducting worship services and during the performance of rites and rituals associated with their religious faith." In addition to allowing religious apparel drawn from civilian faith group sources, some religious apparel has been issued by the military, sometimes with military service, Chaplain Corps, or chaplain religious symbols included in the design. While in the past, religious items to support chaplains and chapel programs were made available by individual service organizations such as the
Army Service Forces, today a chaplain is attached full-time to the
Defense Logistics Agency, with a mission statement that reads: In addition to military-issue religious vestments to be worn by chaplains during worship services or religious rites, United States Army Chief of Chaplains Charles Brown had a lapel pin created during the 1960s showing the Army Chaplain Corps seal (then with symbols of Christian and Jewish chaplains) for chaplains to wear with civilian clothing, in the same way some civilians wore lapel pins with their college seals. However, it turned out that government funding was not authorized for the production of a civilian clothing accessory, so production was halted and wear was discontinued. Some military regulations, such as Army Regulation 670-1, expand the phrase to "neat, conservative, and discreet," and the latest revised version of the Department of Defense Instruction (1300.17) which lays the foundation for all religious accommodation policies in the United States military now defines "neat and conservative" as (in part) "discreet, tidy, and not dissonant or showy in style, size, design, brightness, or color." Procedures for considering requests for waivers to allow religious apparel have been established by each service, such as the "Religious Apparel Waivers" table published in Air Force Instruction 36-2903, "Dress and Personal Appearance of Air Force Personnel." The various branches of the military have added different color requirements for religious head coverings, sometimes so that they blend more with uniform colors. For example, the Air Force requires that approved religious head coverings must be either "dark blue or black", and the Army requirement is that "it must be subdued in color (black, brown, green, dark or navy blue, or a combination of these colors)." Policies regarding religious apparel have been updated to prohibit explicitly any "writing, symbols, or pictures" on "headgear" approved for religious reasons,
Beards: background information All branches of the United States military currently prohibit beards, although some mustaches are allowed, based on policies that were initiated during the period of World War I. If mustaches are worn, they cannot be "handlebar" mustaches; they must be "neatly trimmed, tapered, and tidy," not presenting "a chopped off or bushy appearance"; and "no portion of the mustache will cover the upper lip line or extend sideways beyond a vertical line drawn upward from the corners of the mouth." According to Professor Penny Jolly, who has studied "social trends in appearance," beards "were eliminated in the US military in WWI due to the need to wear gas masks. Razors were issued in GI kits, so men could shave themselves on the battlefield." Other theories include the fact that the massive build-up of the military for WWI brought with it many men from rural areas, and this "sudden concentration of recruits in crowded army induction centers brought with it disease, including head lice. Remedial action was taken by immediately shaving the faces and cutting the hair of all inductees upon their arrival." But beginning with World War I and clearly by World War II, beards were universally prohibited, with the military citing concerns that included the need for "uniformity, hygiene, discipline, or tactical demands—such as the proper fitting and seal of a gas mask." The temporary change began on November 10, 1970, when then-Chief of Naval Operations (CNO)
Elmo Zumwalt explicitly authorized beards for active duty naval personnel, in his "Z-gram" number 57, "Elimination of Demeaning or Abrasive Regulation," although his position was that they were already implicitly allowed based on policy changes made by his predecessor,
Thomas H. Moorer. Other faith groups, including Judaism and Islam, include certain groups that believe shaving is permitted and other groups that believe it is not.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is an example of a faith group that takes the opposite approach, strongly encouraging some or all of its members to shave. In some cases shaving is mandated for some members, including those engaging in their
missionary service, or studying or working at the church-sponsored
Brigham Young University. United States military instructions note that "hair and grooming practices required or observed by religious groups are not included within the meaning of religious apparel," and therefore do not fall under the overall religious accommodation guidance that authority to approve requests are normally given to individual commands, as specified by each service (although denials of requests are subject to review at the "Service Headquarters level"). Instead, requests for grooming waivers based on religion have been decided at the highest levels of each branch of the military, with the United States Army approving new waivers in 2009 for the first time in more than twenty years. However, the Army stresses that such waivers are "temporary" and "assignment specific," and that it can rescind the waivers at any time "in the interest of military necessity." Beards have been authorized for non-religious reasons in today's military, including medical reasons related to skin conditions, with Army directives noting that "soldiers will keep the growth trimmed to the level specified by appropriate medical authority," and Air Force Instructions limiting the length of a beard approved for medical reasons to 1/4 inch." Other examples include waivers for some members of the military's
Special Forces, based on the rationale that "in hot spots such as Afghanistan, many members of those elite units grow beards to make themselves less conspicuous to locals." The policy for beards lasted for almost a decade and according to some reports was also (at least in part) "a show of deep respect for Afghanistan's male-dominated, bearded tribal culture." However, as of noon September 7, 2010 (based on an order issued the previous day) beards for Special Forces troops in Afghanistan were "deauthorized" due to "a vastly changed operational environment." Because DOD Instructions on religious accommodation note that "precedents" for non-religious reasons should be taken into account when considering religious accommodation requests, and some experts note that the application of
petroleum jelly to the beard can provide the mask's required seal. In one case, before being allowed to deploy to the
Gulf War, Jewish Chaplain Jacob Goldstein (an army reservist who has been granted a waiver to wear a beard) had to prove that he could don his mask safely and securely within the same 8-second time period given to others—and Goldstein (who says "the mask issue is bogus") showed that he could. While special "beard-friendly" masks that cover the entire head of the wearer are manufactured there, a reported shortage has driven that nation's
Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi to rule that
ultra-orthodox Jews can shave or trim their beards in order to ensure that their masks fit, and urged them to carry scissors with them so that they can shave quickly in the event of a chemical or biological gas attack. Other military representatives have said that religious accommodation requests to waive the prohibition for beards could be considered on a case-by-case basis, but only from those already in the military. However, critics have noted that such a policy would require an applicant to be a hypocrite: requesting a shaving waiver based on the fact that he cannot shave, but first shaving in order to enlist and qualify to submit a request.
Kippot/skullcaps wears a
kippa/skullcap made from Catholic Chaplain George Pucciarelli's camouflage uniform after his was bloodied wiping a wounded Marine's face to blend with his USAF uniform ) Asif Balbale, offering figs to attendees at an
iftar/break-the-fast program at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, wearing a taqiyah/skullcap. One example of visible religious apparel cited in the instructions as authorized, provided it passes the "neat and conservative" test, is the
kippah (skullcap) worn by some Jewish personnel, referred to in some military directives by the
Yiddish word, "yarmulke." When the court affirmed that existing military regulations did give the military the right to prohibit the kippa if it so chose—and deferred to Congress to decide whether to change the situation—Congress attempted to introduce the "neat and conservative" approval rule in a proposed "Religious Apparel Amendment." That proposed amendment failed to pass for two years, ultimately passing after a story about two navy chaplains present during the
1983 Beirut barracks bombing was read into the
Congressional Record. The story focused on Catholic Chaplain George Pucciarelli, who tore off a piece of his Marine Corps uniform to replace Jewish Chaplain
Arnold Resnicoff's kippah, bloodied after being used to wipe the faces of wounded Marines. This amendment passed, and was eventually incorporated into the newer DOD religious accommodation directive, which now exists in revised form as DOD Instruction 1300.17. including another occasion involving President Reagan, during a White House visit of the "American Friends of Lubavitch." After telling them the Beirut story, Reagan asked them about the meaning of the kippah. Rabbi
Abraham Shemtov responded, "Mr. President, the kippah to us is a sign of reverence," and one of his colleagues, Rabbi Feller, continued, 'We place the kippah on the very highest point of our being—on our head, the vessel of our intellect—to tell ourselves and the world that there is something which is above man's intellect—the infinite Wisdom of God."
Beards and turbans: Sikhs , wearing the
turban and beard for which he was granted permission based on accommodation of religious practices, 2010. Sikh
turban and grooming requirements have a unique history in terms of religious accommodation because they were allowed, then disallowed, and finally allowed once again, at least for some specific individual cases, as of 2010. Since 1948, Sikh men had served in the military with uniform policy waivers that allowed them to follow their faith group requirements for beards and long hair, with the hair covered by turbans, until the army eliminated such religious accommodation policies in 1984, All this was in parallel with regulations within the
United States Navy, as from the time of Chief of Naval Operations
Admiral Elmo Zumwalt's service, through the issuance of his "Z-grams" numbers 57 and 70, in early November 1970 and late January 1971 respectively, permitting well-groomed facial hair on all United States Navy personnel until the timeframe of
Ronald Reagan's presidency. United States Army Regulation 600-20 grants permission to personnel who received waivers to grooming standards for beards or long hair prior to January 1, 1986 to continue on active duty for as long as they are "otherwise qualified for retention." However, these individuals "will not be assigned
permanent change of station or temporary duty outside of CONUS [the Continental United States] due to health and safety considerations." He quoted the First Sergeant as saying that "The Army is made up of different shades of green, and if you have any objection to him being here, you need to tell me now," at which point all the other soldiers applauded him. Despite the fact that his education would have qualified him for service as an officer, his status as a non-United States citizen barred him from officer status, so he enlisted under "the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest recruiting program, which enlists legal non-citizens with critical language skills, such as Lamba's knowledge of Punjabi and Hindi." Army spokesperson Major General Gina Farrisse stated that each religious accommodation request regarding grooming will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, rather than considering the right "a blanket accommodation for any other individual" Speaking of the permission given to Kalsi, Major General Farrisse noted that Kalsi's "beard, shorn hair, and turban will be neat and well maintained at all times." allowing him to keep a beard he feels is required due to religious reasons. Many Muslim authorities agree that, "Though there might be some differences in opinion, it's an accepted fact that a beard is part of the Islamic dress code."
Jews with beards Beginning in 2009,
Orthodox rabbi Menachem Stern has requested similar permission to wear a beard to allow him to serve as a Jewish chaplain, ultimately filing suit December 8, 2010, in Federal Court in Washington, D.C. (
Stern v. Secretary of the Army, 1:2010cv02077) alleging discrimination on the part of the Army for refusing to allow him to serve as a chaplain without shaving his beard. Stern's suit includes documentation that shows he informed the army that he could not shave, but was nevertheless granted a commission as an Army Reserve 1st lieutenant. Lewin notes that the military was directed to permit Geller to keep his beard, and did not appeal that decision. who has served since 1977 on deployments to areas including
Bosnia,
South Korea,
Afghanistan and
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He also served on the staff of the United States Army Chief of Chaplains, Tenenbaum said that he was thankful that, like his uncle, he successfully passed the "beard threshold." . Many observant Jews follow opinions by religious authorities who do not see beards as an absolute religious requirement, and at least one Orthodox rabbi, Shmuel Felzenberg, from the community known as
Chabad—a group for whom beards are normally considered required—made the decision to shave (a very difficult decision for him, he admits) in order to serve as a military chaplain after discussing the matter with the rabbi he considers his teacher and mentor. However, he says he uses an electric razor, the approach to shaving that is least objectionable in terms of Jewish law (rather than a razor, which all rabbinic authorities agree is prohibited based on traditional Jewish law), and "from the moment" he goes on leave to "the moment" he must return to duty, he does not shave. That is the position taken by Menachem Stern—that he is "strictly prohibited from shaving or removing" his facial hair "in any manner." In his original application for the chaplaincy, he wrote that "by not trimming my beard, I represent the unadulterated view of the holy Torah, the way we believe a person should live." Stern was sworn in and began serving as an Army chaplain in 2013, followed a year later by USAF chaplain, Rabbi Elie Estrin. For the first time, "grooming" rules such as the wearing of beards, was brought under the rubric of "religious accommodation," with procedures instituted for individual requests to wear beards for religious reasons. ==Military ID tags==