Facial hair and military discipline

Here we go again. A controversy has erupted over new regulations concerning beards in the Israel Defence Force. Haaretz reports:

Under the new rules, permission to grow a beard will be up to the soldier’s commanding officer and will only be granted in very exceptional circumstances. 

Previously, soldiers could receive permission to grow a beard from a lieutenant colonel in their own unit, after completing their initial period of training. Now they will need approval from a full colonel, who is either the adjutant or chief manpower officer of one of the IDF’s 15 commands or branches where the soldier serves.

Lawsuit to follow.

General Ulysses S. Grant