Bearded Troops Barred From Hegseth Event in South Korea

An email from the 51st Fighter Wing at Osan Air Base barred service members “with shaving waivers” from attending Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s event at Camp Humphreys in South Korea, a restriction an Air Force official confirmed to Task & Purpose. The exclusion follows Hegseth’s Sept. 30 speech at Quantico in which he vowed “no more beardos,” announced tighter grooming standards and moved to rescind or tightly limit medical and religious shaving waivers. Hegseth has framed the change as part of an effort to restore military discipline and appearance standards. Critics say the policy change, which would limit waivers for conditions such as pseudofolliculitis barbae that disproportionately affect Black service members, could be discriminatory and have health consequences. The Pentagon has referred inquiries to the Air Force, and some service members and unofficial Air Force channels have pushed back on the optics of excluding bearded troops from the formation. The action comes as Hegseth is traveling with President Trump on an Asia trip that includes stops in Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam and South Korea.