I really would have liked to been a fly on the wall for the process of obtaining this accomodation.
First the Sikhs. Now the Pagans.
A member of the Norse Pagan Faith, serving in the 795th Military Police Battalion at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., has been granted permission to wear a beard under a 2017 Army policy directive which makes it easier for soldiers to receive exemptions from grooming and appearance regulations if they conflict with their religious beliefs.
“In observance of your Heathen, Norse Pagan faith, you may wear a beard, in accordance with Army uniform and grooming standards for Soldiers with approved religious accommodations provided in Army regulation (AR) 670-1,” said a memo signed by Col. Curtis M. Shroeder, commander of the 14th Military Police Brigade.
The 2017 policy changed allowed brigade-level commanders to authorize the exemption based on religious grounds – and with some limits on the length and appearance of the beard.