Six : Why

do the Seals have beards and bad hair ? Does the Navy allow this now ?

SEALs, like most special forces groups, are not subject to normal military grooming standards.

Thanks for all the answers. Goodbye Message Board.

I could be wrong but I think it's because, in certain situations, 'military clean cut' screams out American military, and there are situations they are out in where that's not what they want. They might have to blend in with locals to complete a mission, so that they won't be noticed and reported by the enemy.

That *sounds* logical, but it couldn't apply in the situations we've seen them. You think Afghanis can't recognize an American just because of long hair and a scruffy beard?

I think skeletornumber7's explanation is more likely to be the correct one.

I can agree with his reply, but I do think it has to do with where and how they're inserted and their specific missions we can differ from regular soldiers.

I don't think the military just said, 'we're going to give these 'special' guys some slack.' In fact, there's been times that the military wanted them more clean shaved and the higher ups of the seal teams fought back, saying it was necessary.

So, yeah, the guy's right, but there's reasoning behind it to begin with.

Several years ago, I read Rogue Warrior by Richard Marcinko, founder of SEAL Team Six. From what I recall, once upon a time, SEALs maintained the same appearance regulations as the rest of the Navy. One SEAL even lost his place on the team because he didn't want to shave off his mustache. Fast forward to the creation of Six (they had teams one and two and jumped forward to six to confuse). Marcinko fought to have the Seals look scruffier to blend in; as you said, he said nothing screamed American like a crew cut. One higher up had suggested that they use wigs when necessary, which he argued was ridiculous when you're parachuting into a situation to need to adjust your wig. I do know that across the board in Spec Ops and Security Forces, there are different regulations. I don't know exactly what the requirements are, but those in that community are at least encouraged to look more "civilian," depending on the assignment.

That's what I was thinking.

I read Rogue Warrior but it's been many years ago.