By Michael Woyton
It’s almost as if Defense War Secretary Pete Kegseth was looking for ways to white-male-ify the entire military.
I’ve lost count of the number of non-white, non-male officers in leadership positions who have been fired by the former weekend Fox & Friends host since he was installed in the Pentagon.
The Army is getting ready to institute a new policy that could disproportionately affect Black men, leading to kicking them out of the service, Military.com reported.
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Soldiers with a chronic skin condition called pseudofolliculitis barbae, or PFB, have been able to receive permanent shaving waivers allowing them to grow modest facial hair.
PFB is a condition where the hairs curl back into the skin after shaving and become irritated.
Under the new policy — in March, the Marine Corps instituted a similar scheme — permanent shaving waivers would be banned and medical personnel would be required to come up with formal treatment plans for affected soldiers.
The soldiers could be directed to get laser treatment, the cost of which taxpayers would cover. The treatments can cause changes in skin pigmentation and scarring, however, and it is unknown how many sessions would be required.
If a soldier needed exemptions to shaving for more than 12 months over a two-year period, he could be kicked out of the Army.
Military.com spoke with one senior noncommissioned officer who was familiar with the plan, who said there is no tactical reason for the policy and that a soldier can look professional with facial hari.
“Of course, this is racially motivated,” the officer said, speaking anonymously to avoid retaliation.
In March, Kegseth ordered a review of military standards. That included physical fitness, body composition and grooming, CBS News reported.
He said before he was nominated to be the defense secretary that he opposed opening up all combat roles to women, a policy that has been in effect since December 2015.
“We should not have women in combat roles,” he said at the time. “It hasn’t made us more effective. Hasn’t made us more lethal.”
Kegseth tried to walk that opinion back during his confirmation hearings.
Of course, the elimination of diversity, equity and inclusion by the administration of President Donald J. Felon has allowed the current Pentagon, under Kegseth, to reduce recruiting efforts linked to minority groups.
The reality is, though, in the years between 2018 and 2023, there was a 43 percent drop in recruits identified as white, with no other demographic seeing such a major decrease.
“Much of the recent recruiting slump was attributable to men being less qualified, or willing, to don the uniform while women have been joining the ranks at a steady rate,” Military.com said.
It’s hard to imagine military readiness being maintained under this administration’s zeal to purge anyone who is not a white male from the armed services.
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Lead art: Army Spc. Carrol Walter Hughes IV from U.S. Department of War website
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