Can medical providers dictate to soldiers to only shave the face and let the neck hair grow out?

2023-09-18T05:40:47-04:00

I have a soldier who got a temporary shaving profile. He was instructed by the provider to only shave his face and not his neck. So he just has a neck beard now and it looks bad. I spoke to the provider just to clarify and that’s what his plan of action was since the soldier only had razor bumps on his neck.

Is this authorized? I thought it had to be either all clean shaven or a full beard, as long as it is not shaped or sculpted and no longer than 1/4 inch? It does not display a professional appearance and is not uniform. Dude just has a chin strap. The soldier is Hispanic and his hair is dark so it is very noticeable.

Response by CSM William Everroad made Sep 18 at 2023 8:11 AM

2023-09-18T08:11:28-04:00

SGT Private RallyPoint Member without seeing a picture, what you have described would earn a conversation and profile review by the 1SG and Commander.

One thing to remember is that a profile is a recommendation to the Commander. The only one who can make a final determination in this scenario is the Commander.

I have never seen a pseudofolliculitis barba profile that stipulates in clear and plain language that the Soldier should shave everything but a certain area. Usually is says what parts they should not shave. It is then up to the leadership to counsel the Soldier on how to maintain appearance standards within the profile. Generally, the conversation goes:

Welcome back from your Doctor's appointment, what was the determination of your visit? You received a profile recommendation? Let's see what is says. It says here you were diagnosed with pseudofolliculitis barba, specifically in the neck area. That can be an extremely painful condition that is exacerbated by shaving. Let us make sure you understand that you will be able to care for your skin by not shaving, but you have to maintain Army standards for appearance, do you own a shaver than can keep all your facial and neck hair not to exceed 1/4"? If not let's get you to the PX as the earliest possible time so you can pick one up. Keep in mind that the best course of action is to trim all the hair the same length, you don't want the slightest appearance that you are shaping or "lining" your beard. This profile appears to be temporary, let's make sure we go ahead and schedule a follow-up during the timeframe so it does not lapse if you need to extend it. Do you have any questions on maintaining Army standards within the recommendations set forth by your profile?

The problem with most shaving profiles and compliance is that this conversation never happens and leaders have to deal with it after the fact. The Soldier interprets what they can and cannot do with their newfound beard growing freedom and is on track to have a conflict with leaders who see them out and about.

Response by COL Randall C. made Sep 18 at 2023 8:50 AM

2023-09-18T08:50:36-04:00

Short answer: Yes (sort of).

The provider can dictate what won't be shaved due to medical reasons, but can't dictate what will be shaved unless it is also tied to a medical reason. Keep in mind, profiles are not legal writs to commanders - they are used to inform a commander what the medical view is on what a soldier can and can't do for medical reasons. However, if a commander ignores a profile, they risk harm to a Soldier and adverse actions on themselves.

The 'odd' situation is that you're not looking to have a medically necessary profile eliminated/changed, you want the (I assume) non-medically part of the profile deleted (shave the face, but not the neck to "don't shave the neck" or "don't shave").

Specific to a shaving profile, as you stated it still needs to be maintained in a professional manner (or as much as is possible) and remain trimmed at no longer than 1/4 inch (the length of the beard should be annotated on the medical profile).

Regarding the shaving profile, while grooming standards are specifically called out as punitive, guidance to leaders is to exercise good judgment when enforcing Army policy. As a commander, I could easily justify relaxing the beard grooming standards to present a more professional appearance.

Some reasonable options available in this situation:
● Your commander can request that the provider modify the profile to specifically address only those medically necessary restrictions or to issue a "no shave profile". If the profiling authority won't change it, the request can be elevated up the MTF chain to override the profile.
● Your commander can "ignore the profile" and interpret it to a full "no shave" profile (again, verify that there is no medical reason for the provider saying to shave the face). Instruct the Soldier not to shave at all for the duration of the temporary profile. Worst case is that the commander might have to explain to a senior commander why one of his Soldiers has a beard.

Finally, is it you or your commander that has an issue with the "chin strap"? I would make sure that your unit leadership shares your sentiments before it is pushed further because YOU can't do the above - only the commander can.
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* TB MED 287 - https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/pdf/web/tbmed287.pdf
* AR 40-502 (Medical Readiness) - https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/ARN37126-AR_40-502-001-WEB-3.pdf
* Army IG update (Guidance on Facial Hair Standards and Accommodations) - https://ig.army.mil/Portals/101/Documents/IG%20UPDATES/IG%20Update%2023-2_Grooming%20Policies_DAIG.pdf?ver=q2Y1eoeRJnxr6XEZS_Xtlg%3D%3D

tbmed287.pdf

Response by SCPO Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 20 at 2023 2:07 PM

2023-09-20T14:07:33-04:00

People need to get real. A neck only beard? WTF. Hopefully, common sense will prevail within the chain of command (I know, common sense is too often not common.)

Response by SSgt Christophe Murphy made Sep 21 at 2023 10:52 AM

2023-09-21T10:52:54-04:00

Each branch has guidance for things of this nature. Due to the nature of the beast we have to walk the line sometimes when it comes to medical needs and Military standards. When I was a young Marine an incident happened where a bayonet went through my upper lip. My lip was patched back together and I was told to not shave my upper lip. I had a few young NCO's yell at me for trying to grow a mustache and I had to show them I was told not to shave. They said to shave everything but the knife wound and I refused to leave an off center island of hair on my face. I stayed within the grooming standard for a week and when the wound started to heal I shaved again. It wasn't an issue but some people made it an issue. Just leave on the rules and use common sense. No shave doesn't mean that the hair can run to unlimited lengths or height. They can still keep it neat enough.