The deployment mustache holds sacred status in military culture. When units deploy overseas, facial hair policies often relax, and the race to grow the most impressive mustache becomes an unofficial competition that boosts morale and marks the experience.
The Deployment Beard Begins
On deployment day one, razors get packed away and the growing begins. Some service members sprout thick growth within days while others spend months cultivating wispy attempts. The variety becomes part of the humor, with daily comparisons and ruthless commentary on everyone’s progress.
Command policies vary widely. Some units allow full beards while others maintain the peacetime mustache-only standard. Certain career fields require clean shaves for gas mask seals, leading to creative solutions like mustaches with shaved cheeks that technically meet requirements.
Competitive Categories
Informal mustache competitions emerge on most deployments. Categories might include the fullest, the most creative styling, the saddest attempt, and the most improved from start to finish. Trophy presentations at deployment end ceremonies recognize the champions.
Some units document the progression with weekly photos, creating before-and-after compilations that become cherished deployment memories. The mustache wall in the headquarters building serves as both entertainment and morale boost during long nights.
The Return Home Shave
Homecoming brings the ceremonial shave. Many service members let spouses or children remove the deployment growth, turning the return to regulations into a family bonding moment. The clean-shaven face emerging often surprises everyone who has only seen the bearded version for months.
Photos of the full deployment mustache in its final glory get printed and framed. These images join other deployment memorabilia, reminding veterans of the time they spent downrange with their closest friends.
Mustache March
Even stateside, some units celebrate Mustache March, an unofficial tradition where service members grow mustaches during the month. This provides a taste of deployment camaraderie without leaving home and generates plenty of entertainment along the way.
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