2RHPZ
05-18-2004, 04:17 PM
U.S. Afghan Special Forces Ordered to Shave
By MATTHEW ROSENBERG
.c The Associated Press
BAGRAM, Afghanistan (Sept. 12) - Out came the razors and off went the
beards this week for special operations troops at camps and safe
houses throughout Afghanistan as soldiers complied with new orders
requiring them to shed their local look in return for clean-cut
military appearance.
The order came Sept. 6 and was supposed to go into effect by noon the
next day, according to special operations soldiers operating in
southeastern Afghanistan.
Officials at Bagram Air Base, the U.S. military headquarters in
Afghanistan, were not immediately available for comment.
At the Special Forces safe house in Bamiyan, in central Afghanistan,
soldiers complied with the new orders over the past few days. Two
soldiers who had been sporting long, bushy beards for the last few
months were almost unrecognizable when they shaved all except their
mustaches on Tuesday, to the laughs of their colleagues. The last
holdout shaved his Fu Manchu mustache early Thursday morning.
Since the beginning of the U.S.-led campaign in Afghanistan against
al-Qaida and the Taliban, dress and grooming standards for special
operations forces have been relaxed to help the troops blend in better
with the local Muslim population.
It wasn't immediately clear why the soldiers were ordered to return to
the traditional military standard for grooming and dress. Some of the
special operations troops said they'd been told that they did not need
to blend into the population as they once had.
They were also told they had to clean up because of increasing coverage
of the operations by journalists - especially during the weeks leading
up to the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
International aid organizations have complained about armed soldiers
doing humanitarian jobs like building schools or digging wells while
wearing civilian clothes and beards in an effort to blend in.
Aid groups say the practice puts their workers in danger because
militants looking to make a statement against the United States could
accidentally snatch or kill an impartial aid worker if they can't tell
the difference.
09/12/02 11:05 EDT
By MATTHEW ROSENBERG
.c The Associated Press
BAGRAM, Afghanistan (Sept. 12) - Out came the razors and off went the
beards this week for special operations troops at camps and safe
houses throughout Afghanistan as soldiers complied with new orders
requiring them to shed their local look in return for clean-cut
military appearance.
The order came Sept. 6 and was supposed to go into effect by noon the
next day, according to special operations soldiers operating in
southeastern Afghanistan.
Officials at Bagram Air Base, the U.S. military headquarters in
Afghanistan, were not immediately available for comment.
At the Special Forces safe house in Bamiyan, in central Afghanistan,
soldiers complied with the new orders over the past few days. Two
soldiers who had been sporting long, bushy beards for the last few
months were almost unrecognizable when they shaved all except their
mustaches on Tuesday, to the laughs of their colleagues. The last
holdout shaved his Fu Manchu mustache early Thursday morning.
Since the beginning of the U.S.-led campaign in Afghanistan against
al-Qaida and the Taliban, dress and grooming standards for special
operations forces have been relaxed to help the troops blend in better
with the local Muslim population.
It wasn't immediately clear why the soldiers were ordered to return to
the traditional military standard for grooming and dress. Some of the
special operations troops said they'd been told that they did not need
to blend into the population as they once had.
They were also told they had to clean up because of increasing coverage
of the operations by journalists - especially during the weeks leading
up to the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
International aid organizations have complained about armed soldiers
doing humanitarian jobs like building schools or digging wells while
wearing civilian clothes and beards in an effort to blend in.
Aid groups say the practice puts their workers in danger because
militants looking to make a statement against the United States could
accidentally snatch or kill an impartial aid worker if they can't tell
the difference.
09/12/02 11:05 EDT