The Stupid Spreads: Now it's Beards in Afghanistan

by: Brandon Friedman

Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 03:31:29 AM EST


Who's in charge of policy formulation in the military these days?  This is getting ridiculous.  It's not just a ban on masks for Iraqi interpreters anymore.  Now it's beards in Afghanistan:

KABUL--As the U.S. military garners increasing counterinsurgency experience in America's long-standing war in Afghanistan, soldiers are questioning one military restriction that has long been the norm within the U.S. armed forces: the prohibition against beards.

The military says it has good reasons for the beard ban for most American troops--including hygiene, soldierly discipline, and the ability to get a good seal on gas masks should troops need them.

Right.  Real big threat of chemical attacks in rural Afghanistan.  Good thinkin' guys.

There is an exception, though, for special operations forces to enable them to better blend with locals. Senior military officials point out that special operations forces have more experience and maturity than other troops, so that lax grooming standards will not lead to a degeneration of other forms of discipline.

Do these "senior military officials" see the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions and think Delta Tau Chi?  Probably so, I'd guess.  But then, these same "senior military officials" are likely career staff officers who've never met a "real" Afghan or Iraqi.

Still, the restriction often garners some eye-rolling among regular troops who think that growing beards would also benefit them in interactions with Afghans. Troops increasingly argue that beard growth is hardly a disciplinary slippery slope for soldiers and marines on long tours with a great deal of interaction with the locals.

This is not so much an issue in the comparatively less conservative capital city of Kabul, where many Afghan men don't wear beards. But in other areas of the country, the more tradition-oriented regions, beards are a symbol of manhood--just as much a sign of social norms as the clean-shaven faces of U.S. soldiers are regarded as a symbol of American military order.

Some U.S. troops are beginning to buck the beard rule, however, both with and without the permission of senior commanders.

One soldier in the violent border area of Kunar province estimates that his combat outpost gets attacked almost daily. But when the base received a visit recently from a commanding officer, the soldier recalls, "the main thing" he told the soldiers is that they needed to shave more frequently. They did shave, but they felt they gathered better intelligence with locals when they were unshaven, as locals felt more comfortable talking to bearded men.

Typical.  I want to know the name of the non-combatant who thought this was a good idea.  Because it's clearly not someone who's ever fought in a counterinsurgency.  I know Generals Petraeus, McKiernan, and Odierno have a lot on their respective plates, but maybe they could delegate someone to look into this rash of bad ideas we're now experiencing.  It's becoming a problem.  

I miss the Army all the time.  In fact, I'm always on the verge of joining a Reserve or National Guard unit.  But then I read shit like this and I remember why I said I'd never go back in.  Ever.
Brandon Friedman :: The Stupid Spreads: Now it's Beards in Afghanistan
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The Stupid Spreads: Now it's Beards in Afghanistan | 19 comments
That CO needs a come to jesus meeting (0.00 / 0)
with a good senior NCO.  When we were outside the wire for long periods of time, we were totally getting our beard on.

BGID  

I'm on twitter.

Once Again Lessons Not Studied............ (0.00 / 0)
While I was in 'Nam Adm.  Zumwalt came down with a directive for the USN, beards were allowed as long as they weren't shabby and overgrown, close cropped and taken care of, I grew one and still have one.

Can't remember if it was service wide, believe it was, do no it was In-Country and I kept it on discharging as that was my last year of the 4yr. hitch.

'Hearts and Minds, "The ultimate victory will depend on the hearts and minds of the people who actually live there." -- President Lyndon Johnson

Also (0.00 / 0)
this might be relevant.  

I'm on twitter.
Real Cute ;o} (0.00 / 0)

Thanks!!!!

'Hearts and Minds, "The ultimate victory will depend on the hearts and minds of the people who actually live there." -- President Lyndon Johnson

[ Parent ]
omg (0.00 / 0)
pro mask seal? really? -spare me
I just e-mailed both diaries to CNN as 'news tips' (0.00 / 0)
and also sent them to Jack Cafferty.

Maybe they will pick this up.

Unfortunately, both Rachel and Keith are on vacation this week at MSNBC. Think that somebody deserves "Worsest Person".

I'm reminded of my BN CDR... (4.00 / 1)
...a typical West Pointer who approached war as if it were being held on the parade ground.

 Once, as our FOB was rocketed, he stopped one of the QRF guys - while we were under fire - and ripped into him because...he didn't have his DCU jacket on, only a T-shirt and an IBA.

 He also got into a pissing match with some ODA guys on our FOB because they were sporting beards, longer hair, etc...you know, sort of "blending in" with the locals. He tried to order them to shave, etc...and is believed to have gone up the chain to get said order enforced from on high. No dice on that.

 The BN CDR had no jursidiction over ODA's ops, so they roundly ignored him...but wouldn't you know it, the info we were getting from them suddenly got a lot thinner. Hmmm.

 Way to keep a good working relationship going, LTC xxxxxxx. You, too, are a "Real Man of Genius."

As we said about these... (0.00 / 0)
...boneheaded, asinine orders:

 "That boy's been eating retard sandwiches again!"

[ Parent ]
I remembered something, it's out of a book but pretty good (0.00 / 0)
By Barbara Tuchman--a great historian and writer, and she wrote a lot about wars, of course.  This was about War I or II, I forget:

"Dead battles, like dead generals, hold the military mind in their dead grip and _________ (insert nationality here, she was talking about Germans), no less than other peoples, prepare for the last war."

[ Parent ]
Mixed Feelings (0.00 / 0)
Never been to Afghanistan. I did try growing a regulation 'stache in Iraq specifically because stache's are de rigeur there, but it looked, well, unprofessional.

On the one hand, I agree our military should have some cultural adaptability and needs to do the right thing when it comes to making local leaders it interacts with feel comfortable or in acquiring intelligence. I agree that this can often extend beyond language and handshakes.

But where do we draw the line? How about uniform items? What about all those wannabe-high speed COs who wear the checkered scarves to look like spec-ops guys or carry AKs to look like billy badass? You know what that guy looks like from the air when his helmet is off? Or at night? A Muj.

I'm of two minds. On the one hand, you have to be flexible, and not so rigid in your own culture that you are unable to adapt to those you are working in. On the other hand, a professional military is just that, and I'm anything but convinced telling soldiers to shave constitutes malpractice or zealotry.

Speaking only from my own experience as a Marine, I know that Marines get nasty in the field and to a degree that's fine, but at the same time, following up on the little details can make sure troops stay and feel professional and don't develop an inertia of slacking that results in a non-give-a-shit attitude that is hard to control.  

I think that's like trying to say, "We can't (0.00 / 0)
have gay marriage, because who knows what that'll lead to?  The next thing you know, people will be wanting to marry farm animals or their own dog.  It's a slippery slope."  Well, no, not exactly.  It just means gay people could get married.  No more, no less.  

I just don't buy the "slippery slope" argument.  No one has to authorize scarves or AKs.  You can even put restrictions on the "wear" of the beard--just like we do with mustaches.  I just think in this case the benefits far outweigh the potential costs.  

And again, why not leave something like this up to individual battalion commanders?  Why does the high command have to get involved?    

[ Parent ]
Also, it just looks like a trend when I see (0.00 / 0)
this along with the new "mask" rule for interpreters in Iraq.  That's when I get nervous.
[ Parent ]
First you have beards, the next thing you know (0.00 / 0)
Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling!
Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes...
The dead rising from the grave!
Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!


"No U.S. soldier ever dies in vain because they're carrying out the missions of their commander in chief. And we honor all the service that they've provided." - Barack Obama
[ Parent ]
Speaking from experience, not hypothetically. (0.00 / 0)
Yeah I'm not making a "Marijuana is a gateway drug" argument. What I'm doing is describing the grey area of uniform adaptations that are often claimed to be more practical but are sometimes emotionally driven or just lazy. I haven't passed judgment, just discussing the other side of the coin. I think you've made a compelling argument for beards in certain cases, but I don't think it's a slam dunk that it's unreasonable to tell troops to shave.

Like I said, I've never been to Afghanistan. But I have seen troops in the field get lax on seemingly small details and watch it grow into a malaise. Hey, beards may not be the issue, maybe it's general hygiene or foot care that's most important- I've seen that ignored as well. I'm not making a broad argument like you are, I'm describing a micro experience that informs my opinion.

For the record, I'm pro gay marriage..

[ Parent ]
I hear what you're saying. And I agree to (0.00 / 0)
an extent.  In fact, maybe I'm the one who's getting a little emotional over this.  But it's based on some experiences I've had.  I'll give you one example:

During the summer of 2003, the 101st Airborne Division--and probably the entire military in Iraq at the time--started strictly enforcing the seat belt rule in humvees.  Whereas units had been lax about wearing seat belts up to that point, by mid-summer 2003, the division was suffering more casualties from vehicle accidents than from combat.  It was that quiet in northern Iraq, and the new policy was understandable.  

However, when we started getting hit with ambushes in late 2003, my battalion moved to a "no seat belt" requirement.  The reason was that guys were having trouble getting out of the trucks when they got hit.  They were getting hung up in the seat belts when they should have been shooting and moving.  So we stopped wearing them while on the roads.

So one afternoon I'm down on the FOB, and some Support Battalion Sergeant Major with nothing better to do flags me down.  I have the driver stop the truck because I don't know what's up.  He can't see my rank and he starts trying to dress me down about not adhering to the "always-wear-your-seat-belt-in-a-moving-vehicle" policy.  He's talking down to me like I'm some lazy, FNG who doesn't know any better.  

Anyway, I just rolled my eyes and gave him a "Roger, Sergeant Major, got it," and we rolled out.

I literally have dozens of stories like this from my two tours.

That said, I've also witnessed first hand the breakdown in discipline you're talking about.  But in our case, it was never related to uniform or grooming standards.  It was guys getting street drugs from the locals.  Or fraternization of males and females of different ranks.  Stuff like that.

[ Parent ]
E9s like that (0.00 / 0)
do themselves more harm than good. When you do that as a CSM, you are just illustrating that you don't have a real job.  If you are out checking seat belts as a Sergeant Major, who have too much time on your hands.

Another thing for us wasnt just the tactical aspect, but when you are out for long periods of time, you literally may not get a chance to shave for a few weeks.

I'm on twitter.

[ Parent ]
Check out what I wrote on Wednesday--it's (0.00 / 0)
about the Afghan-U.S. military interaction.  It's important enough that it just might trump the slippery slope of facial hair.  I'm thinking that most of our troops in Afghanistan have a lot of other stuff to worry about.
[ Parent ]
I don't (0.00 / 0)
think our guys are going to be growing beards large enough to interfere with any kind of seal on the M40A1 masks. Then again, they can always check their seals periodically, just in case.  
That's what this subject needed--experience (0.00 / 0)
"The LT's Good Idea Fairy Takes on Beards in Afghanistan" was from a civilian point of view--albeit a civilian with pretty good experience/knowledge of the Muslim and Afghan take on a lot of subjects.

Anything in the above diary you'd like to include--go for it!

The Stupid Spreads: Now it's Beards in Afghanistan | 19 comments
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