Trump's Trials - Military members worry new grooming policy will lead to discrimination

Episode Date: November 14, 2025

New military standards for grooming and appearance have some worried about religious and racial discrimination, particularly the guidance that men must be clean shaven.Support NPR and hear every episode of Trump's Terms sponsor-free with NPR+. Sign up at plus.npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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Listen on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. This week on Consider This, On Consider This, An Encryptuble group chat, where members of the National Guard are processing President Trump's actions. This is just not what any of us signed up for. And I just wonder, like, who's going to stand up to this? Plus, what's next for Congressional Democrats after their move this week to release more of Jeffrey Epstein's emails? Listen this week to consider this on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Steven Skeep. The Pentagon's top civilian made news earlier this year when he summoned hundreds of generals for a lecture, that included remarks about their personal appearance.

His critique included beards. Steve Walsh of W.H.R.O. and Norfolk covers the military and reports on why some military personnel have beards and how they're affected. In September, when Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth called top generals and admirals to Virginia, many thought he would discuss the use of troops inside the U.S. Or hold the first public briefing on the operation underway in the Caribbean. Instead, they heard, No more beardoes.

The era of rampant and ridiculous shaving profiles is done. Simply put, if you do not meet the male-level physical standards for combat positions, cannot pass a PT test or don't want to shave and look professional, it's time for a new position or a new profession. Sailors and soldiers with pseudophiliculitis Barbay took to social media. The condition leaves sores and bumps from ingrown hairs after they shave. As you get, you can see, it's pretty bad. It's not very appealing.

So you want me to walk around. with this all over my whole face. You're like, make that make sense. It's people that look nothing like me, if you know what I mean, suggesting how to shave. You guys just don't understand, I'm sorry. The skin condition primarily impacts black men. The final regulations have not been released,

but there is a concern that they could be kicked out if they have a beard. Black men are not the only group worried about a ban. Arthur Ziedman is a former military lawyer and an Army Reserve Officer. He works with the Aleph Institute, which offers help to Jewish members of the military. He says beards became more common in 2020.

This was during the first Trump administration, not only to chaplains, but others who, for religious reasons, are not allowed to shave or have limitations on shaving, and they were allowed to wear beards in uniform. It was the culmination of a long legal battle to force the military to uphold the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which originally passed in the 1990s. Muslim men could also wear.

beards. There was an influx of observant Jews who felt they were able to join the military for the first time, Ziedman says. Many of the regulations before, and they're mostly in terms of uniform regulations, had interfered with practice of a number of groups. For example, the wearing of a cross by Christians. And the pushback isn't just about facial hair. Before he retired in 2003, Michael McGirk led civilian teams, which spent a decade developing a new Army combat fitness test. He worked at Army Training and Doctrine Command when it was at Fort Eustace in Virginia. He pushes back on Hegsa's comments that standards were lowered to promote women and minorities. When the females went through Ranger School, the enforcement of standards, I think,

actually got tougher or stricter because they wanted to make sure that everybody that went was being held to the same exact standard. Making those elite women pass a PT test at at least 70% of the male standard, the way Hegseth is demanding won't be an issue, he says. Women who succeed in the grueling combat arms already perform above that standard. Frankly, among the females that I know that are in the infantry or have gone through different elite training and stuff, they're like, hey, we're good with that. Bring it on.

Meanwhile, Hegseth's speech on fitness standards and grooming remains required viewing. throughout the services. For NPR News, I'm Steve Walsh. Before we wrap up a reminder, you can find more coverage of the Trump administration on the NPR Politics Podcast, where you can hear NPR's political reporters break down the day's biggest political news with new episodes every weekday afternoon. And thanks, as always, to our NPR Plus supporters who hear every episode of the show without sponsor messages.

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