DBWI No moustache rule

West

In 1908 Theodore Rosevelt felt that the milataries rules on facial hair were too strict and decided to create an excutive order that allowed any man who had been in combat to wear a moustache. The military being what it is then banned any one who hadn't been in a combat operation from having a moustache. This rule has remained in place in the American military ever since.

Airforce, Army, Marine core, Navy, coast guard if you haven't seen combat your not allowed to have a moustache, but what if the rule had not been created how would that change the united states military and its culture?
 
Indiana Beach Crow

Indiana Beach Crow

Monthly Donor
I don't want to imagine giving Sgt. Major's one more thing to terrorize soldiers about:
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Mike D

In the British Army the opposite was true and men were expected to have moustaches. A famous actor of the day went to Court Martial to try and get the rule changed, saying the rash he'd be left with when he shaved it off would affect his chances of work after the war. I forget how the case ended though.
 

sloreck

The rules on facial hair in the military have fluctuated with time since 1908, and also are service dependent. For a while in the Navy, during the 70s under Zumwalt, even beards were allowed. As always, any face hair has to meet service specific regulations. Over the last 20 years or so, tattoos have become a point of contention, regulations varying with time and service. Right now the general rule on face hair is mustaches are OK if they meet guidelines, and tattoos should not be visible when wearing a uniform - basically nothing above the collarbone or below short sleeve length on the arms and of course racist/gang tats are strictly forbidden.
 

Expat

Having such a specifically masculine feature denote veteran status almost certainly hasn't helped the effort to integrate women into the services. It's in the realm of "soft propaganda," so we can't really say for sure how much the perception has hurt the effort. Who knows, maybe the Army would've had women in combat roles 20, 30, even 50 years ago, instead of the barrier only breaking in 2012. Of course the Navy has been much better on this front. When did the first all-female sub go out? '98? '99?
 

West

Expat said:
Having such a specifically masculine feature denote veteran status almost certainly hasn't helped the effort to integrate women into the services. It's in the realm of "soft propaganda," so we can't really say for sure how much the perception has hurt the effort. Who knows, maybe the Army would've had women in combat roles 20, 30, even 50 years ago, instead of the barrier only breaking in 2012. Of course the Navy has been much better on this front. When did the first all-female sub go out? '98? '99?
Click to expand...

Some women pencil in a stash after being in a confirmed fire fight, the brass allows it.
 

173rd LRRP

I was in 101st Abn 1965-66. I saw only two mustaches in the entire time I was there. Both were worn by Medal of Honor recipients, a tough club to join
 
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