New York Daily News | By Brian Niemietz
Published
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth won’t meet with any “beardos”[1] serving in South Korea.
Service members stationed in the Pacific recently received notice that enlistees with shaving waivers will not be allowed to attend Hegseth’s upcoming Camp Humphreys rally[2], according to military site Task & Purpose.
The former Fox News host arrived in Hawaii[3] on Monday for a trip that will later take him to Japan, Malaysia and Vietnam. Korean station KBS World Radio said Hegseth is scheduled to spend two days in South Korea[4] beginning next Monday.
He recently summoned the nation’s top military officials to Virginia, where they heard their boss deliver a speech[5] deriding soldiers with beards.
“No more beardos,” Hegseth said during his late September address. “The era of rampant and ridiculous shaving profiles is done.”
He told military brass that ignoring seemingly small matters like lax shaving habits can lead to bigger problems.
Hegseth also issued a Sept. 30 memo[6] stating the military would only issue facial hair waivers for troops with certain medical issues such as pseudofolliculitis barbae[7], a painful skin condition that’s made worse by shaving.
The 45-year-old Pentagon boss served in the Army National Guard from 2003 to 2021 where he earned the rank of major. He joined Fox News in 2014 and participated in a 2018 television skit that featured a barber shaving his “vacation beard.”[8]
A letter from one viewer read during that segment contended that a man without a beard is like a lion without a mane.
“That’s how I feel!” Hegseth agreed.
The Minnesota native said that he wanted to keep his facial hair, but his TV bosses insisted it had to go.
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Military Headlines[11] Pete Hegseth[12] Department of Defense - DoD[13]
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