Air Force to allow uniformed members to wear turbans, hijabs, beards in new dress code update, officials say

The United States Air Force updated its official dress code policy this month, in observance of religious practices, to allow military personnel to wear turbans or hijabs as a part of the uniform.

The Air Force released an update to the “Dress and Personal Appearance of Air Force Personnel” code on Feb. 7, now permitting airmen to request a waiver to wear religious apparel while in uniform as long as they are “neat and conservative.”

The material used for headwear must resemble the color of the assigned uniform. This includes camouflage, and must be worn in a fashion that presents a “professional and well-groomed appearance.”

We are indeed 😊. My grandfather fought in WWII (for the right side) and my great grandfather fought in WWI (again for the right side). My son is ex military (Afghanistan and Iraq - doesn’t talk about it much). I never had the honor of serving in the field but did have max security clearance for work on the civilian side.

The Sikh's have always been valiant warriors and their distinctive beards and head-wear has never been an impediment to their effectiveness.

That doesn't change the fact that historically, Sikhs have never had an air force, much less one that included advanced craft that require oxygen masks. Sikh forces have never had to wear gas masks, they don't really use combat helmets, etc. But in US forces, that stuff applies. This doesn't detract from them as warriors, but it does detract from their effectiveness in many of the roles they might be in.

Sure, Airmen don't really have a need for gas masks like the Army does, but how do they do jobs like pilot? Firefighter? Air Crew Chief? (FYI they are required to be qualified on the craft they crew for, and attain so many flight hours. For all I know, the rest/some of the crew might have to get qualified on the craft as well.)

How long until some bright AF general claims discrimination because Sikhs are self-banned from all these MOSs?
How many Sikhs are actually now able to join the AF because of this policy change? (Guess what, all the ones already in were apparently fine with following the old uniform standard!) Sikhs aren't a major group in these US, and this policy change isn't going to suddenly cause bunches of them to join our military..

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