Navy Memo Gives Sailors New Guidance on Religious Facial Hair Exemptions

A new Navy memorandum is providing guidance on sailors’ grooming standards as it pertains to religious liberties and whether exemptions can be granted for those who request them.

The three-page Navy memo, released by Vice Admiral Jeffrey J. Czerewko, chief of naval personnel, as part of an administrative message, applies to all active and reserve sailors with currently approved or pending religious accommodations (RAs) for waiving current grooming standards for facial hair, and also applies to all other Sailors seeking renewed consideration of previously denied requests based on changes in military policy or other circumstances.

“Commanding Officers must objectively weigh the fundamental value of accommodating religious practices against the compelling, life-or- death interest of maintaining an absolute protective posture and ensuring the operational viability of our Fleet,” the memo states.

The memo stipulates that sailors must inform their command within 10 business days of planning to submit a new RA request, while those who do not provide notice within that time period will be told they are not in compliance.

For sailors who submit updated requests, they are to be processed by command and include an updated chaplain review “that aids commanders in assessing sincerity of the requestor’s religious belief and accommodation requested.”

Commands are tasked to “expeditiously evaluate and forward resubmitted packages” within a 30-day timeframe of receiving a request.

Navy Follows Previous DOD Guidance

This latest memo follows previous directives issued by the Department of Defense and its secretary, Pete Hegseth.

Hegseth said in September 2025, during a speech to a crowd of generals and admirals at Quantico, that the military should have “no beardos.” The words suggested a drastic deviation from the military’s previously granted waivers for religious-linked facial hair from faiths including Christians, Muslims, Sikhs and Norse Pagan.

“We don’t have a military full of Nordic Pagans,” Hegseth said during the speech. “But unfortunately, we have had leaders who either refused to call B.S. and enforce standards, or leaders who felt that they were not allowed to enforce standards. Both are unacceptable.”

Then, on March 11, a DOD memo issued by Hegseth raised religious standards for grooming waivers and said service members were subject to disciplinary action under the Uniform Code of Military Justice if sworn statements were plagiarized.

That memo, initially reported by Task & Purpose, called for currently approved waivers to be reevaluated under 90-day guidelines while providing military department secretaries with more leeway to either support or oppose a particular waiver.

An application must go through the ranks of lower-level officials before a local commander either accepts or rejects the request, the memo stated.