Oct 06, 2025

Beards in the US Military

The Beard and the Badge: A Whiskered Journey Through U.S. Military History

Beards in the military are more than facial hair — they’re a story of tradition, regulation, identity, and adaptation. From the rugged whiskers of Civil War generals to modern medical and religious exemptions, the U.S. military’s relationship with facial hair has evolved considerably over more than two centuries. In this post, we’ll trace that lineage, highlighting key moments, controversies, and lessons for collectors and history buffs alike.

About Challenge Coin Nation

We at Challenge Coin Nation are a veteran founded company and are honored to be able to continue serving our brothers and sisters in arms all over the world. We sell many different military themed items, but challenge coins are our specialty. Or we can make you a custom patch like the one below.

Early Republic: Clean-Shaven by Mandate

In the early days of the U.S. Army, facial hair was largely forbidden. Soldiers were required to shave at least three times per week while in garrison. The rationale was rooted in notions of discipline, uniformity, hygiene, and control.

That said, enforcement varied, especially in frontier posts or during extended field campaigns. But the general norm was clear: appearance equated to professionalism.

A milestone change came in 1801, when Maj. Gen. James Wilkinson abolished the traditional queue (a long braided ponytail), nudging uniform appearance toward greater simplicity.

19th Century & the Civil War: Whiskers Return

By the mid-1800s, facial hair became more socially acceptable across the U.S., and those shifts permeated military culture too. During the Civil War, nearly every prominent general sported a beard or sideburns — Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, and many others. The image of a bearded, resolute leader became iconic.

In the Navy, sideburns, mustaches, and “borderline mutton chops” were common among officers during the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War. As mid-century fashions shifted, more beard styles became visible across sea and land forces.

In effect, the Civil War era is when facial hair became “normal” in many military portraits. The aesthetic blended personal style with the realities of prolonged campaigns, limited shaving facilities, and cultural expectations.

Early 20th Century & World War I: The Rise of Restriction

The First World War brought a turning point. With chemical warfare emerging as a threat, the military began emphasizing the importance of gas masks and airtight seals — and facial hair was seen as an obstacle. By World War I, beards were largely prohibited across the services; clean-shaven faces became the default.

The logic was practical: a beard might compromise gas mask effectiveness, impede respirator seals, or introduce hygiene and uniformity issues. In addition, mass recruitment and training required standard rules for appearance.

Thus, from World War I onward, the no-beard rule became firmly entrenched — with only a few exceptions or special allowances for unique roles or religious reasons.

The Navy, Beards, and the Z-grams

Although the branches largely aligned behind the clean-shave standard, the Navy’s history of grooming offers interesting detours.

In 1841 the Navy codified rules stating that hair and beards had to be cut short. Over many decades, allowances were made for submariners (scarce water for shaving) or sailors in extreme climates. Then in 1970, Chief of Naval Operations Elmo Zumwalt issued a series of “Z-grams” relaxing many strict uniform and grooming rules. Among these was Z-gram 57, which explicitly authorized beards and longer hair.

However, that liberal phase was short-lived. By 1984, CNO James D. Watkins reinstated a full beard ban, citing safety — notably the ability to seal emergency breathing apparatus — and professionalism concerns.

The Navy also banned beards (not just full beards, but most facial hair) more strictly for non-commissioned personnel and visible roles in the early 1980s. In other words, the Navy flirted with facial hair again, but eventually reverted to the tighter controls that aligned with broader military practice.

Late 20th Century to Present: Rigidity, Exceptions, and Reforms

By the late 20th century, the no-beard rule was nearly universal across U.S. military branches. Religious accommodations existed but were rare and often contested.

Key developments:

In the 1980s, the Marine Corps, Army, Air Force, and Coast Guard aligned with stricter grooming standards. The Navy and Coast Guard officially banned beards in the mid-1980s.
For many years thereafter, the standard doctrine remained: beards not allowed; mustaches permitted under tight constraints.
Religious exemption policy became more formalized. In 2017, the U.S. Army revised rules to allow beards or headdress on religious grounds if certain conditions were met.
At the same time, modernization of gear began exploring beard-friendly respirators or sealed systems that could tolerate limited facial hair.
In July 2025, the Army issued updated guidance tightening rules again: nonreligious exemptions require medical profiles and memos, and clean-shaven standards are reinforced for uniformed duty.
That same policy shift included a reduction in leniency for shaving waivers.

Thus today, beards are tightly regulated, allowed only under specific conditions (religious, medical), and are seen more as exceptions than norms.

Why Such Strictness? A Trio of Tensions

The history of beard regulation in the U.S. military is shaped by three recurring tensions:

Operational and Safety Concerns
Gas masks, breathing apparatus, sealed respirators, and chemical defense gear often require airtight facial seals. Beards are viewed as potential interference. In high-risk or combat environments, uniform facial surfaces reduce failure points.
Uniformity, Discipline & Appearance
Military culture places a premium on uniform appearance, visible discipline, and standardization. Beards are harder to regulate — where is the “neatly trimmed” line drawn? Allowing them opens room for inconsistency. Many leaders have considered the no-beard standard symbolic of order and cohesiveness.
Cultural and Religious Identity
As religious accommodations increased for groups such as Sikhs and Muslims, the military has had to reconcile uniform policy with freedom of expression. More recently, debates over fairness, medical skin conditions (such as pseudofolliculitis barbae), and diversity have added pressure to re-examine strict bans.

Because of these competing pressures, policy has shifted repeatedly — sometimes more liberal, sometimes more rigid — but as of now, the default is still a clean-shaven face when in uniform, with specific carve-outs allowed.

For Coin Enthusiasts: Why This Matters to Challenge Coins

You might ask: “What does facial hair have to do with challenge coins?” More than you think. Here’s how:

Iconography & Portraiture: Many challenge coins depict officers, mascots, or symbolic faces. Understanding the eras when beards were common helps you date or interpret the imagery on coins — a bearded general likely points to 19th-century or Civil War-era inspiration.
Unit Identity & Aesthetic: Units sometimes adopt motif rules or themes — “The Bearded Battalion,” “Whisker Watch,” or similar concepts play with the tension between tradition and regulation.
Commemorative Issues: When new policies or cultural shifts happen — such as a branch relaxing grooming rules or granting religious waivers — units may issue challenge coins commemorating that change.
Storytelling & Value: A coin collector with knowledge of military grooming history can tell richer stories, adding narrative depth to each piece in a collection.

A Quick Timeline

Era	Facial Hair Status / Trend	Key Notes
Early Republic	Beard mostly banned	Soldiers required to shave frequently in garrison
Mid-19th century / Civil War	Beards flourish	Generals widely bearded; Navy officers sport sideburns and mustaches
World War I onward	Beards banned or severely restricted	Gas mask concerns and uniformity drive policy
1970s (Navy Z-gram)	Beard allowances	Zumwalt relaxes grooming norms
1980s onward	Beard bans reasserted	Navy bans in 1985; Coast Guard 1986; cross-branch stricter grooming
2017	Religious exemptions formalized	Army allows beard/headdress for religion
2025	Stricter enforcement	Army updates clarifying exemption rules and reinforcing no-beard standard

Thoughts & Looking Forward

Today, beards are tightly regulated, allowed only under narrow conditions in most branches. But the evolving debates suggest that the conversation isn’t over.

Advances in protective gear and respirator technology may allow more facial hair flexibility while maintaining safety.
The tension between standardization and individuality — religious, cultural, or medical — will continue to push policy reconsideration.
For challenge coin designers, this history invites creative storytelling — using whiskers as motifs, commemorative designs, or visual cues about time periods.

In the end, the history of beards in the U.S. military is a microcosm of how rules, tradition, necessity, and identity interact. Each whisker (or lack thereof) carries a story — and for those crafting or collecting challenge coins, those stories enrich every design, every strike of metal, and every emblem of service.

Carpe Per Diem morale patch