Officers and troopers will likely be allowed to develop beards — however they need to preserve knowledgeable look and cling to particular steerage on what their beards can appear to be, Carney mentioned. The coverage went into impact on Friday to permit these on Easter trip to instantly begin rising out their facial hair.
These going unshaven ought to anticipate to have their look reviewed to make sure that beards are in keeping with military laws. Every so often, beards will nonetheless have to return off if the operational scenario calls for it.
Grant Shapps, who’s U.Okay. secretary of protection, is among the many proponents of the brand new measure. He instructed the Occasions final yr that banning beards within the military was “ridiculous” and referred to as on the establishment to “modernize.”
With the change, Britain joins the armies of Denmark, Germany and Belgium, which already permit their troops to develop beards, the BBC reported.