Can someone in the US Marines have a beard?

Beards are not allowed. Mustaches are. There was an exception to this rule back in 1959. That was the year of the Oregon 100th Anniversary Centennial Celebration. Many Oregonian males grew beards to celebrate Oregon's frontier heritage. My dad, K.D. Kerr I was a major in the U.S.M.C. read more

The Oregon Marine Reservists petitioned the Commandant of the Marine Corps to give them a dispensation to the Corps’ beard regulations for that year and he granted it. So dad didn’t have to shave his beard. Also if you have a rash on your face or upper neck you can get a medical dispensation to the beard ban. read more

: So, there is this connotation that beards are unprofessional. This may have been true at one point, but no one can really argue that this is true today: statistically, bearded men get paid more and are preferred for management. read more