AR 670-1

Army Regulation 670-1 now permits Brigade-level commanders to religious accommodations to any soldier seeking to wear a religiously mandated beard, turban or Muslim hijab while in uniform with only a few exceptions. The soldier must have a sincerely held religious belief and the waiver will be lifetime. Previously such uniform exemptions had to be approved by the Secretary of the Army. 

Army previously had objected that allowing Sikhs (and other soldiers) to wear beards would interfere with wearing a gas mask, but recent advancements in design have mitigated that concern. 

Since 2007, the Army previously granted more than 50,000 permanent medical exemptions to allow soldiers to wear beards. Some special operations commanders have also authorized their troops to wear beards and long hair in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Sikhs fought during both World Wars, the Korean War and in Vietnam, but few have served in recent decades because of a 1981 policy mandating they cut their hair and beards. 

Sikh soldiers who wear unshorn beards and hair must wear them in “a neat and conservative manner that presents a well-groomed appearance.” They must role their beards to a two-inch length limit in garrison and a one-inch length for field training, physical training or when deployed. Their hair cannot fall their ears or eyebrows and must not touch the collar of their uniforms.