Marine Corps and Navy update gas mask training to meet shaving rules
BLUF – The Navy and Marine Corps are requiring annual CBRN mask-fit and seal training for all personnel as part of the Pentagon’s stricter grooming standards, with service members required to be clean-shaven where the respirator seals regardless of medical or religious shaving waivers. For Navy Medicine, the policy directly intersects with management of pseudofolliculitis barbae and other medical shaving waivers, requiring clinicians to balance treatment of legitimate medical conditions with the operational requirement for sailors and Marines to achieve an effective protective-mask seal.