I assume that Scott knows that this direction came from the Special Forces Command, and not from any oversight organization or other military leadership. There’s valid reasons for what they’ve requested.
Did anyone else find this story about the U.S. military freaking out over soldiers growing beards in Afghanistan as strange as I did? I understand the armed forces require (literal) uniformity, but these are Special Forces troops who apparently have good reason to want to blend into the local population. It just seems that our leaders might have more pressing matters to focus on. [Scott Rosenberg’s Links & Comment]