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Secretary of War<\/span> Pete Hegseth\u2019s push to eliminate so-called \u201cbeardos\u201d from the armed forces is drawing criticism from service members who say the policy tramples religious freedoms and disproportionately targets Black men, Muslims, Sikhs, and pagans. What Hegseth frames as discipline and toughness, critics say, is exclusion and discrimination packaged as military tradition.<\/p>\n \u201cThe feeling is, \u2018shave your beard or get out.\u2019 People are associating not shaving with laziness. It\u2019s not laziness, it\u2019s my constitutionally protected religious right,\u201d said a practicing Hanafi Muslim service member currently on active duty.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The service member, who spoke to The Intercept on condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation, said he renounced his citizenship in his country of origin in the Middle East to enlist in the U.S. Air Force, believing the branch would uphold the constitutional freedoms its members swear to defend.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore joining, I had a shaving waiver assigned to me because of my faith. I never shaved during basic training or tech school, and now it feels like I\u2019m going to be kicked out,\u201d the Hanafi practitioner said. \u201cI\u2019ve personally helped four other Muslims enlist in the military and promised their religious freedoms would be protected. Now it doesn\u2019t feel that way, and that matters to me.\u201d<\/p>\n In years past,\u00a0federal courts<\/a>\u00a0have\u00a0repeatedly found<\/a>\u00a0that service members who\u00a0grow beards<\/a>\u00a0have a right to keep them on grounds of religious freedom.<\/p>\n Hegseth\u2019s attempt to eliminate beard waivers, among his latest attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion, targets service members on the grounds of race as well as religion.\u00a0<\/strong>Many Black men in the armed forces are granted medical shaving waivers for painful skin irritation from pseudofolliculitis barbae, or severe razor bumps. The condition can be painful or itchy and, if chronic, may cause hyperpigmentation or permanent scarring.<\/p>\n \u201cOur hair is not the same texture as our coworkers, so it makes sense why shaving would irritate many Black men\u2019s faces,\u201d said former Senior Airman Azhmere Dudley. \u201cI was asked about shaving waivers on multiple occasions, even though the razor bumps were clearly visible. Leadership never really cared to know me or understand me.\u201d<\/p>\n In a speech delivered in Quantico, Virginia on Tuesday, Hegseth addressed his beard policy with comments seen as patronizing to members of Pagan communities, particularly practitioners of Norse Paganism.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf you want a beard, you can join Special Forces. If not, then shave. We don\u2019t have a military full of Nordic pagans. But unfortunately, we have had leaders who either refuse to call BS and enforce standards or leaders who felt like they were not allowed to enforce standards,\u201d Hegseth said. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n