British troops in Afghanistan told not to shave 'to fit in with locals'
By CHRISTOPHER LEAKE, The Mail on Sunday
8th July 2006
The Army is abandoning military tradition by allowing beards
The British Army has abandoned more than a century of military tradition by allowing its soldiers in Afghanistan to grow beards.
Troops from 16 Air Assault Brigade embedded in the volatile Helmand Province are being encouraged to flout rules which insist they must wear their hair above the collar and be clean-shaven.
Army commanders in Afghanistan say that because their men are working so closely with bearded Muslim men from the Afghan National Army, it makes sense for them to let theirs grow.
'Respectful'
But once they return to barracks in safer parts from tours of duty on the front line, squaddies are told to shave off their facial hair.
Normally the only soldier in an infantry battalion allowed to sport a full beard is the Pioneer Sergeant, who is a battlefield engineer - although the others can have a moustache.
The other practical reason for the ban is that they prevent gas masks from securing a tight fit. Gas masks are not used in Afghanistan because there is no threat from chemical weapons.
Since the Thirties the Queen's Regulations for the Army have stated that: "If a moustache is worn, it is to be trimmed and not below the line of the lower lip. Beards and whiskers are only to be worn with authority, which will usually be granted only on medical or religious grounds, or where tradition permits."
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "Our men in the field are growing their beards because the Afghan soldiers think it is respectful. For men working very closely alongside the Afghans for long periods wearing beards has proved to be an excellent way of helping to win trust and breed understanding."
But an eminent military analyst Tim Ripley was cynical about the MoD's reasons for allowing the beards.
He said: "I think it might be more to do with the fact that there is a shortage of water for the troops in the more remote regions of Afghanistan and that they don't want to waste it on shaving."
timesonline.co.uk
By CHRISTOPHER LEAKE, The Mail on Sunday
8th July 2006
The Army is abandoning military tradition by allowing beards
The British Army has abandoned more than a century of military tradition by allowing its soldiers in Afghanistan to grow beards.
Troops from 16 Air Assault Brigade embedded in the volatile Helmand Province are being encouraged to flout rules which insist they must wear their hair above the collar and be clean-shaven.
Army commanders in Afghanistan say that because their men are working so closely with bearded Muslim men from the Afghan National Army, it makes sense for them to let theirs grow.
'Respectful'
But once they return to barracks in safer parts from tours of duty on the front line, squaddies are told to shave off their facial hair.
Normally the only soldier in an infantry battalion allowed to sport a full beard is the Pioneer Sergeant, who is a battlefield engineer - although the others can have a moustache.
The other practical reason for the ban is that they prevent gas masks from securing a tight fit. Gas masks are not used in Afghanistan because there is no threat from chemical weapons.
Since the Thirties the Queen's Regulations for the Army have stated that: "If a moustache is worn, it is to be trimmed and not below the line of the lower lip. Beards and whiskers are only to be worn with authority, which will usually be granted only on medical or religious grounds, or where tradition permits."
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "Our men in the field are growing their beards because the Afghan soldiers think it is respectful. For men working very closely alongside the Afghans for long periods wearing beards has proved to be an excellent way of helping to win trust and breed understanding."
But an eminent military analyst Tim Ripley was cynical about the MoD's reasons for allowing the beards.
He said: "I think it might be more to do with the fact that there is a shortage of water for the troops in the more remote regions of Afghanistan and that they don't want to waste it on shaving."
timesonline.co.uk