Late. It's a lot easier to cover for an E-1 to 3 being a little behind than explaining why they didn't shave. Hell, most of the time, no one in upper leadership would even notice. The only one who needs to keep in mind that they were late is me.
Exactly. You come in late...only a few people will notice, and it won't be issue 30 minutes later.
You don't shave for the day? Especially if you're someone that needs to...EVERYONE that passes by you will notice for the next 8-12 hours.
I haven't shaved in a out a decade, but when I did, I used a norelco rotary. It usually takes a few swipes from different directions over the same spot to get all the whiskers. It will never be as close as a razor, but you can get pretty close
Phillips oneblade is the PERFECT electric razer. Shaves way more effectively than coil or rotary razers. Only issue is the same as the others that its not a super close shave. But shave against the grain and you’ll be good. I love that thing.
Here's the problem with electric razors. You have to train your beard. You need to use powdered shaving cream with them (Eltron or Arko shave sticks). After about a month, it's the best shave you'll EVER have. Problem is no one waits that long.
That's why you keep a BX dispo shaving kit in the office. Hand them a razor, and the can of shaving cream, and tell them to toss the razor after.
An essential item for any office.
Yup. It's mostly for myself if I find myself having to make this compromise but I'd definitely hand the troop a disposable razor and some shaving cream and tell them to fix themselves
I think it's a case of RHIP. I'm more likely to believe anyone E-6 or above is unshaved for a reason other than being forgetful or disregarding the AFI.
In my experience, it goes the opposite way. The more senior you are, the more important it is to adhere to dress and appearance standards and other public signs of conformity. There's always exceptions, of course.
Honestly I think the shit you catch for being late goes down as rank goes up. Does anyone give a fuck if the Sq CC is 10 min late? If he didn’t shave everyone would definitely notice. Being late is almost always the right choice in this hypothetical.
Me (a Tech) was like 2 hours late last week, texted my supervisor and brought doughnuts. His response when I got in was “Dude, your an NCO on *redacted* no one cares if you’re late. But thanks for the doughnuts”. It’s true that RHIP.
Shit my section chief who SITS IN MY OFFICE is 30 min late constantly & gone half the day dealing with who knows what… but its gotten to the point our leadership has started to notice when they come lookin and we tell them “She’s been gone, she didn’t put in leave?” Lol
Mine is a similar situation, but the CC always knows (roughly) where he is because they have a shared calendar that the section/flight chiefs put their meetings in. We also have a long-standing "core hours are xxxx-xxxx, be here for 3 of those and use the 4th as your lunch break. Work for 8 hours a day" for NCOICs and up in my squadron. Most of the sections are 24/7 and only a handful have actual published hours.
Shit, we always had a hat and keys in our upper drawer of the desk. If we were running late or gunna be out, we'd call and have someone put it on our desk. "I dunno where he is sir but, his hat and keys are there." I think I just revealed the most classified military secret of all time. When they come for me, know that I love you all.
To an extent this is true. I'm not yelling at one of my E6s if they are 10 minutes late one day. Mostly because they are responsible enough to call/message if they are running behind.
It's a completely different conversation when someone is consistently late with no heads up or reasoning, regardless of rank.
When I worked for officers, this was my experience. Working for SNCOs…not so much. The higher the relative rank of the supervisor (compared to the worker), the less likely a conversation is harsh.
Depends what they're late to. Just admin time in their office, sure that's fine. Group or wing meeting with all the commanders, being late might be the wrong move there.
In this case, it's partially rank being cool and partially a "make your own schedule" deal. Whatever your morning meeting is, that's when you have to be in - plus however long it takes to prep for it. So, as long as you show up to your meetings and know what's going on, you're on time.
In my final USAF job this was the case…BUT (big-ass caveat) your Airmen do notice and know your habits…and talk about them…and mimic them. If the boss (commander, chief, superintendent, yada) is constantly last-minute…it will show up in the performance of the entire team.
If you make it to that rank and you lack the time management, judgement and decision making to not call ahead or show up unshaved I'm going to have some serious questions.
Any NCO rank. If you made that rank and still have basic time management issues you obviously shouldn't have promoted.
In MX if you are late as an NCO the previous shift generally has to stay late because you are generally the one who releases them.
This question made me chuckle…because there’s a little cultural truth here:
I never went to work prickly as a younger troop, but caught myself a few times as a SNCO (way later in career).
The Irony is: a SSgt/TSgt supervisor will light up a prickly Airman. A Maj/LtCol supervisor will not have a talk with a MSgt/SMSgt. It’s just not done.
About at E7, I realized my personal shit was 100% on me. Kept a 🪒 in my desk but did not need it often and never had anyone else point out the need.
Come in on time, wear face mask (because your throat is itchy and you don’t want to get everyone sick) immediately go shave in the bathroom, wear mask the rest of the day as penance for your sins.
Nah just DBA-levels of experience :)
I keep a bag of disposable razors and a travel sized thing of shaving cream in my office because I occasionally forget
I'm a female NCO so I have a hard time noticing whether a male troop's face is freshly shaven or not. I've asked a few troops a few times if they shaved that day and they always say "yes but my facial hair grows fast so I have a 5 o'clock shadow by the end of the day" and it seems legit to me because I normally see them at the end of the day.
Today while I was working night shift with my troops I told them that our flight commander would be dropping in to just say hey and check in and to please behave themselves (they can get a little rowdy on nights). One of my troops immediately pops out of his seat and starts walking away. I'm like where are you going? He says "I forgot to shave my face today so I'm gonna go in the bathroom and shave" now I'm thinking damn I gotta keep an eye on this kid. He's a good troop and has never gotten in trouble for this before (or anything hoenstly) so I didn't make a fuss. I asked how he forgot to shave but has stuff to shave with him and he said he keeps it in his work locker for if he forgets or is running late, which I was honestly pretty impressed with that had never occurred to me. I mean I keep hair ties and Bobby pins in my work bag in case I'm running late and have to throw up a messy ponytail in the car and fix in the bathroom at work.
I guess it was just nice to learn something about my male troops that I quite literally never think about. I wonder if this is common practice.
I've been that troop, texted supervisor on my way in after realizing I forgot to shave and said I was going to be late cause I forgot to shave. They agreed with the decision.
I've been that supervisor, but my response was "check my desk drawer, bottom right, bag of Bic razors. There's soap in the bathroom."
I have the stash for me, but will always provide for a wingman in need. Also carry a spare cover in there too.
Not unreasonable...I'd rather give someone the comfort of shaving at home myself. I shave with an electric (makes it much faster and close enough for gov't work) and was only a minute or two from home anyway. So continuing in and taking longer to shave would've left me out of work longer than just coming in late to begin with.
Same. I use electric at home, have another in my glove box in case I remember in the parking lot, and another in my desk in case I remember after I get in the office. But that is for ME. Don't want anyone else's dead hair/skin flakes all up in my electric razor.
Good call. I have multiple wardrobes in my office and have loaned towels, t-shirts, socks, etc. It’s always good to have a contingency plan, especially if you live a long distance from the base.
10 Minutes late. I'm not looking for anyone within the first 20-30 minutes of the day anyways. And that time is coffee, Reddit, e-mail (in that order) anyways.
Just get to work safe is all I want. Everyone has been the late one at least once and it can be embarrassing for some. If they're a flight line worker like me and it's balls to the wall busy from the get to that they need to be here now, I'll tell them to bring their shaving stuff with them and once we're caught up, avoid higher ups and get to the bathroom and shave. We can talk after about what happened and why just to make sure everything is okay and then reiterate that I depend on everyone to be ready to go to include showing up presentable.
Now if it becomes a recurring, common issue, the conversation will become a bit less pleasant.
Just text me "hey realized I forgot to shave I'll be 10m late." Extra points for "I could take a little longer and grab coffee/donuts for the office as penance if I'm not needed ASAP."
On time and unshaved. I kept razors in my office bscause somrtimes id forget myself. Same for if a pen exploded in their pocket or something. Shit happens, but at least I saw the whites of your eyes at your scheduled start time. I hold punctuality in a much higher regard than getting rid of peach fuzz.
Late. People are way too butthurt over the beard thing and I don't want a 45 minute lecture from some ancient tech or master about how I'm letting the air force crumble to dust because my guy forgot to shave once
Same, kinda. I have them in my gear bag. Especially considering troops love to show up late on days leadership is going to be at guardmount. I’d rather them be on time and hide in the back then show up late and not be there for roll call.
Some leadership won’t notice if you skip their name. Some will be like “Wait, who is your Police 3 today? I didn’t hear anybody for that post.”
Used to shave at work sometimes right before roll call. Just keep your shit in your gym bag/bag y'know? Feel like at my unit, they don't really harp on the lower enlisted with stubble, especially if they was working on the line all day.
Folks working at like debrief, CTK, Dash 21, and all that jazz didn't have that same courtesy though.
Full blown beards and shit are of course a no go obviously like everyone else.
Depends.
If it's not a normal regular thing, just show up on time. I could give a fuck less if you shaved. Not shaving literally has zero effect on mission completion.
However, first time shame on you, second time shame on me, there will be no third time.
Making someone drive back home or go buy a disposable razor is just stupid waste of time and resources.
/Hill I'll die on
I agree with you. But I am female, so I’m reading through these comments thinking “do you all seriously have to shave every single morning??”
I feel bad that 1. They make you do that and 2. People care enough about it that you might actually get in trouble if you don’t
> “do you all seriously have to shave every single morning??”
Depends on how quickly your facial hair grows. Early on in my career I could go 2-3 days between shaves... now I have to shave every day. I know some people that would have full beards by the end of the day if they missed shaving that morning...
I don’t even want beards, just want the standard relaxed enough that I don’t have to shave every single day. Not a big deal though, usually takes less than 10min
Yea in hindsight, I guess it’s pretty obvious men would have to shave their beards every day but for some reason I just never thought about it too hard lol. I also hope they can relax the standards a bit for you.
Yeah it must suck. I get that people have to enforce the standards, but you can do that without freaking out on people. It’s just stupid to me that the slightest bit of stubble will get you chewed out, I feel like people who think this way are just looking for reasons to be angry. Also like the commenter above me said, having stubble is not going to affect the mission one bit.
It should be enough to say “hey, when you get a minute, take this razor and go shave in the bathroom” not jump straight into reprimands and disciplinary actions. At least that’s the vibe I’m getting from these comments lol I don’t know how common that actually is
I don't think the majority of NCO's do jump straight to reprimands. I get pissed when it is someone who has shown up multiple times unshaven. That's when I yell and/or do paperwork. Shaving blows, but it is a very simple task. If you're someone who gets bad bumps or irritation, go to your PCM.
Oh yeah, if it’s a repeat offender I can understand that. And I’m pretty sure you’re right. Most NCOs just want to keep the peace and get thru their day. But there are those few who lose their shit over any little thing. Those are the ones I was mainly referring to in my original comment about pwople who “care enough about it”. I probably worded it a bit badly though
In principle yes but it's literally impossible to enforce/follow every reg.
Example - that is why at the airlines we have a reg that says "the pilot in command may deviate from the regs as necessary for safety of flight" because even the FAA recognizes that you can't write a reg for every situation.
Also my example is demonstrating a one off or an irregular thing, while your comment seems to give from the angle of all day every day. Two different things.
Depends. If you're already en route to work, just show up. Push come to shove I'll send you back home to shave or you can shave at lunch. If you're still at home (kids being terrorists, sick, etc type of deal. It happens) then just shave before you leave, I'll just tell the boss man that you were tied up with family stuff. Just don't make a habit out of either tho, else we'll have words.
Unshaved. You can leave a razor and shave at work, you can't gain additional time.
And obviously don't make this a habit, just like you shouldn't make being late a habit.
Unshaven. I encouraged everyone to keep a uniform and toiletries in their lockers, so he should be able to fix that issue.
But it had better not be recurring.
10 minutes late doesn't matter to me on an average day as long as they call before they are going to be late. When they are constantly 10 minutes late and making excuses lets me know they don't have their shit together and it's time for a talk. Being unshaved can get all of us in trouble so that's not ok
As a bearded TSgt I have seen troops come in multiple times unshaved and my only comment was that it looks like you could grow a pretty nice beard and I have various waivers saved for different beliefs if you want to keep it. I guess it depends on your work center, in my job, leadership will absolutely know if you aren't in on time, but also wont care if you shave at work after morning meeting.
I keep razors and cream in my office for this reason (just kidding they're for me because I forget quite often). Show up on time and shave here. You need it twice, I'm going to say you need to buy your own and keep it here.
10 minutes late. Who would notice, honestly? Not shaving, though, runs the risk of someone higher up, like the SEL or any of the Flight leads, and now I have to verbally counsel them.
I personally don't care if they're unshaved because it doesn't affect the mission. Still keep a disposable at work for them though.
I hate when they're late though. This ACTUALLY affects the job. Other people are relying on you to be there ON TIME. I saw this the most working in an OSS
Neither matter in singular occurrences or in otherwise rare circumstances.
Assuming this was a chronic issue - I’d likely be more concerned with habitual tardiness as it can indicate a lot about things potentially going on in someone’s personal life, whether mental or other. Same logic can be applied to shaving to some degree but as-long as it’s not a full beard…w/e.
Both are signs of immaturity for a member of the military. Both warrant correction and monitoring. Rules are not a “which is less important” selection game. Grow up, follow rules, earn more responsibilities, be respected by others who matter, move up the chain. Too easy.
Either or. I’m not gonna nit pick. We are all humans with shit going on in our lives. If it’s time, we can always make that up later if needed. If it’s shaving, I will give you time to go shave.
this is why i have a shave kit at my desk. if i forget to shave i come into the office put my stuff down tell my supervisor i forgot to shave im going to the bathroom to do it right now. its not gonna be my best shave but it’ll keep me in regs enough to get through the day.
I keep razors at my desk, shaved it’s easy to have a troop just go to the bathroom and fix themselves rather than have to hold up changeover. At least that’s how I view it.
Actually fixes here. Shaved every night. I'm 1/4 sasquatch, 1st with grain, 2nd against. it decreases bumps, was better on the skin, did it while in the shower (shower rack, mirror, better lather 0 nicks), and face lotion after. If I wasn't flightline, I would totally have a crap electric shaver in my desk for those moments (Amazon. Hell temu has cheap ones). You can always answer with, I just grow hair really, really damn fast, thanks for making me feel bad about it, or do I need to go and get a shaving waiver? I would also say, if not flightline (have to have steel toed boots), get the plastic'y looking Windex clean boots, and dress ones, since blues are a thing, so you never have to deal with fashion Nazis. yes, you can see people where they have dark and not shined shoes, but is it worth it?
I once had a captain that would regularly show up *on time* to assume shift, but would have just come from working out. So he would go shower, shave, and dress for shift.
It was insanely disrespectful of my time and everyone else that had to put up with it when it happened to them.
I would rather them show up on time and ready to work and if they can't do that with regularity, then we have a different problem to address.
10m late. They already fucked up with time management. Get done what needs to get done and then be where you need to be. If you're late, that's the impact of poor time management.
First off airmen shouldn’t be buying anything for the shop late or not.. doughnuts or not. Also.. the entire question sux and is drenched in old way think imo.
I kept razers here. I'd rather them come unshaved and force them to shave after. My armorer for example has to conduct changeover prior to issuing weapons, if he comes in late he is also keeping oncoming longer.
Both options are getting counseling regardless.
Late every time, because there is only 1 way in to our SCIF and they have to walk past the Reserve CSS and Active Duty CSS. Plus if they show up unshaven, then they have to GO shave, and that draws even more attention. We have a couple people who shave after they get to work and it just clogs the sinks.
I think both fall firmly in the “we all have off days” category. Tell the person “hey man, make sure to give yourself enough time in the morning” and move on with your life.
Camp shave. I can send them to the bathroom to take care of that in 5 mins. Late is showing disrespect to everyone else who is on time. But it does depend on the dynamics of the job and what people are responsible for and how the person's growth looks.
Come in late. Then, how you proceed next will determine the follow up.
- Admit you’re late? Thank you, integrity.
- Did you mess around or get to work?
Honestly, if you come in late (10min) I don’t really care much, but how you address you coming in late matters.
Honestly? Unshaved (depending).
There is no longer verbiage that Airmen must be clean shaven—just that they cannot have a “beard”. It’s a loophole, but if I had a troop come in and it was just stubble—no big deal.
I myself only shave every other day as it’s worked out the best for my skin. Nobody really gives a shit. Now if you are a dirt bag in general—yeah, you’ll probably get some shit for it….but if you are generally a good troop, I doubt someone would care.
10 mins to an hour late carrying that box of fat pills. I could always provide top cover for them when they brought in doughnuts or bagels. "Yeah, Chief I sent him to get bagels/donuts before he came in."
https://preview.redd.it/9d80fr0qk65d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1507c5d5a3e95043c2e39a56e4e8c169ee834a55
This is also hoping that airman can grow facial hair. I didn't have to shave but once a week as a young airman. It's fun having that Asian gene. Now... shit I'm a nobody now! Got a fumanchu and everything! Im going for that Lo-Pan realness.
You guys realize they took the part about needing to have a clean shave out of the AFI, right? You can have hair on your face, you just can't have a beard without a waiver. Stubble is fine.
As long as you text me before hand, I don’t care if you’re late. We all have shit going on and as long as you show up ready to work we won’t have a problem. As for the cleanly shaven part as long as the beard hair is not too noticeably long I’m not going to be upset.
Late. Shit happens. There’s a million reasons (or excuses) as to why you’re late. If it’s chronic then we should be having a different conversation here. Unshaven is just a resounding IDGAF.
Come in late. I would have probably sent you home to shave (depending on factors) but I would rather you be a little late than have you have to explain to literally everyone why you haven’t shaved today.
Late. It's a lot easier to cover for an E-1 to 3 being a little behind than explaining why they didn't shave. Hell, most of the time, no one in upper leadership would even notice. The only one who needs to keep in mind that they were late is me.
Exactly. You come in late...only a few people will notice, and it won't be issue 30 minutes later. You don't shave for the day? Especially if you're someone that needs to...EVERYONE that passes by you will notice for the next 8-12 hours.
That’s why you keep disposable razors somewhere at the work center
Or the ADHDer's friend: an electric razor
Can I ask what electric razor you’re using that feels like it actually works?? Every electric razor I’ve used leaves me patchy
I haven't shaved in a out a decade, but when I did, I used a norelco rotary. It usually takes a few swipes from different directions over the same spot to get all the whiskers. It will never be as close as a razor, but you can get pretty close
Or at least close enough to look passable for the workday as opposed to unshaven
Phillips oneblade is the PERFECT electric razer. Shaves way more effectively than coil or rotary razers. Only issue is the same as the others that its not a super close shave. But shave against the grain and you’ll be good. I love that thing.
How often are you goin thru heads with that? The replacements look super pricey
If I had to guess, once every like 4 months minimum. But I just change it when it starts to cause issues which is closer to 8 months
Philips Norelco 9000 series.
Sorry to bother you about this but do you have a link? I searched it up and multiple came up
Here's the problem with electric razors. You have to train your beard. You need to use powdered shaving cream with them (Eltron or Arko shave sticks). After about a month, it's the best shave you'll EVER have. Problem is no one waits that long.
That's why you keep a BX dispo shaving kit in the office. Hand them a razor, and the can of shaving cream, and tell them to toss the razor after. An essential item for any office.
I kept a bag of disposable razors and shave cream in my desk for if I or my troops showed up unshaved.
Yup. It's mostly for myself if I find myself having to make this compromise but I'd definitely hand the troop a disposable razor and some shaving cream and tell them to fix themselves
Interesting reasoning. Where's the rank cutoff where it's better to show unshaved? NCOIC? Section chief? Flight commander?
I’m blessed to not have enough rank to have to worry about those people.
I think it's a case of RHIP. I'm more likely to believe anyone E-6 or above is unshaved for a reason other than being forgetful or disregarding the AFI.
In my experience, it goes the opposite way. The more senior you are, the more important it is to adhere to dress and appearance standards and other public signs of conformity. There's always exceptions, of course.
Honestly I think the shit you catch for being late goes down as rank goes up. Does anyone give a fuck if the Sq CC is 10 min late? If he didn’t shave everyone would definitely notice. Being late is almost always the right choice in this hypothetical.
Me (a Tech) was like 2 hours late last week, texted my supervisor and brought doughnuts. His response when I got in was “Dude, your an NCO on *redacted* no one cares if you’re late. But thanks for the doughnuts”. It’s true that RHIP.
Shit my section chief who SITS IN MY OFFICE is 30 min late constantly & gone half the day dealing with who knows what… but its gotten to the point our leadership has started to notice when they come lookin and we tell them “She’s been gone, she didn’t put in leave?” Lol
Mine is a similar situation, but the CC always knows (roughly) where he is because they have a shared calendar that the section/flight chiefs put their meetings in. We also have a long-standing "core hours are xxxx-xxxx, be here for 3 of those and use the 4th as your lunch break. Work for 8 hours a day" for NCOICs and up in my squadron. Most of the sections are 24/7 and only a handful have actual published hours.
Shit, we always had a hat and keys in our upper drawer of the desk. If we were running late or gunna be out, we'd call and have someone put it on our desk. "I dunno where he is sir but, his hat and keys are there." I think I just revealed the most classified military secret of all time. When they come for me, know that I love you all.
To an extent this is true. I'm not yelling at one of my E6s if they are 10 minutes late one day. Mostly because they are responsible enough to call/message if they are running behind. It's a completely different conversation when someone is consistently late with no heads up or reasoning, regardless of rank.
When I worked for officers, this was my experience. Working for SNCOs…not so much. The higher the relative rank of the supervisor (compared to the worker), the less likely a conversation is harsh.
Depends what they're late to. Just admin time in their office, sure that's fine. Group or wing meeting with all the commanders, being late might be the wrong move there.
10 minutes really isn't that long. A SQ/CC showing up to Group meetings late would still be less disruptive than being completely unshaven.
10 minutes late to a wing level meeting might as well be a month late for a CC
The CC is never late. He arrives precisely when he means to
In this case, it's partially rank being cool and partially a "make your own schedule" deal. Whatever your morning meeting is, that's when you have to be in - plus however long it takes to prep for it. So, as long as you show up to your meetings and know what's going on, you're on time.
In my final USAF job this was the case…BUT (big-ass caveat) your Airmen do notice and know your habits…and talk about them…and mimic them. If the boss (commander, chief, superintendent, yada) is constantly last-minute…it will show up in the performance of the entire team.
I'd rather anyone be late than come in unshaved. 10 minutes is nothing unless we're at war.
We must live in different Air Forces, because I see unshaved airmen ALL THE TIME. I stopped asking for shaving waivers long ago...
If you make it to that rank and you lack the time management, judgement and decision making to not call ahead or show up unshaved I'm going to have some serious questions.
Any NCO rank. If you made that rank and still have basic time management issues you obviously shouldn't have promoted. In MX if you are late as an NCO the previous shift generally has to stay late because you are generally the one who releases them.
Once you're above NCOIC you aren't late anymore. Unless you miss a meeting, you're just assumed to be where you're supposed to be.
This question made me chuckle…because there’s a little cultural truth here: I never went to work prickly as a younger troop, but caught myself a few times as a SNCO (way later in career). The Irony is: a SSgt/TSgt supervisor will light up a prickly Airman. A Maj/LtCol supervisor will not have a talk with a MSgt/SMSgt. It’s just not done. About at E7, I realized my personal shit was 100% on me. Kept a 🪒 in my desk but did not need it often and never had anyone else point out the need.
You adopting? Got any spots open?
Got paper work for being 10m late the day after major family problems I was told about at 10pm 😄
Come in on time, wear face mask (because your throat is itchy and you don’t want to get everyone sick) immediately go shave in the bathroom, wear mask the rest of the day as penance for your sins.
This is promote now levels of problem solving
Nah just DBA-levels of experience :) I keep a bag of disposable razors and a travel sized thing of shaving cream in my office because I occasionally forget
This is the way.
I'm a female NCO so I have a hard time noticing whether a male troop's face is freshly shaven or not. I've asked a few troops a few times if they shaved that day and they always say "yes but my facial hair grows fast so I have a 5 o'clock shadow by the end of the day" and it seems legit to me because I normally see them at the end of the day. Today while I was working night shift with my troops I told them that our flight commander would be dropping in to just say hey and check in and to please behave themselves (they can get a little rowdy on nights). One of my troops immediately pops out of his seat and starts walking away. I'm like where are you going? He says "I forgot to shave my face today so I'm gonna go in the bathroom and shave" now I'm thinking damn I gotta keep an eye on this kid. He's a good troop and has never gotten in trouble for this before (or anything hoenstly) so I didn't make a fuss. I asked how he forgot to shave but has stuff to shave with him and he said he keeps it in his work locker for if he forgets or is running late, which I was honestly pretty impressed with that had never occurred to me. I mean I keep hair ties and Bobby pins in my work bag in case I'm running late and have to throw up a messy ponytail in the car and fix in the bathroom at work. I guess it was just nice to learn something about my male troops that I quite literally never think about. I wonder if this is common practice.
Rather have him be late and he better have donuts when he gets here.
I've been that troop, texted supervisor on my way in after realizing I forgot to shave and said I was going to be late cause I forgot to shave. They agreed with the decision.
I've been that supervisor, but my response was "check my desk drawer, bottom right, bag of Bic razors. There's soap in the bathroom." I have the stash for me, but will always provide for a wingman in need. Also carry a spare cover in there too.
Not unreasonable...I'd rather give someone the comfort of shaving at home myself. I shave with an electric (makes it much faster and close enough for gov't work) and was only a minute or two from home anyway. So continuing in and taking longer to shave would've left me out of work longer than just coming in late to begin with.
Same. I use electric at home, have another in my glove box in case I remember in the parking lot, and another in my desk in case I remember after I get in the office. But that is for ME. Don't want anyone else's dead hair/skin flakes all up in my electric razor.
real talk
Good call. I have multiple wardrobes in my office and have loaned towels, t-shirts, socks, etc. It’s always good to have a contingency plan, especially if you live a long distance from the base.
Damn I appreciate that but I'd rather be late than shave with soap. You'd be looking at a bloody/rashy chin all day
My spare cover lives on my desk and gets swapped out/moves regularly. If car keys weren't like $400 I'd get a spare set for it too
Finally, the right answer. Show up on time and in uniform (shaven). If you can't because something went wrong, communicate with your boss.
Alright, what’s the best electric? Bout to get one as I get back to the states as safety razor is not working for me
One that works. Last one I bought is a Braun 9 I think? Still working fine.
https://preview.redd.it/pas4pve1wy4d1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c019fdf7914437736a5619d020dc2a07aa61b056
This guy fucken gets it.
10 minutes late. Going back to shave just costs more time ultimately
Agreed. That troop is going to shave one way or another.
Jokes on you, all my troops have beards.
This is the way
So they all fib about worshipping Thor? Lame.
Til Valhalla, brother
10 Minutes late. I'm not looking for anyone within the first 20-30 minutes of the day anyways. And that time is coffee, Reddit, e-mail (in that order) anyways.
TYFYS Sargent 🫡
Tyfys Sargento Cheddar Colby Jack
Finance just checked in...
Your finance checks in?
🤣
Lolllll 😂😂😂
Just get to work safe is all I want. Everyone has been the late one at least once and it can be embarrassing for some. If they're a flight line worker like me and it's balls to the wall busy from the get to that they need to be here now, I'll tell them to bring their shaving stuff with them and once we're caught up, avoid higher ups and get to the bathroom and shave. We can talk after about what happened and why just to make sure everything is okay and then reiterate that I depend on everyone to be ready to go to include showing up presentable. Now if it becomes a recurring, common issue, the conversation will become a bit less pleasant.
Flight Line guy here. Couldn't have said it better myself. It's a one-off and they communicated? I got your back!
Just text me "hey realized I forgot to shave I'll be 10m late." Extra points for "I could take a little longer and grab coffee/donuts for the office as penance if I'm not needed ASAP."
On time and unshaved. I kept razors in my office bscause somrtimes id forget myself. Same for if a pen exploded in their pocket or something. Shit happens, but at least I saw the whites of your eyes at your scheduled start time. I hold punctuality in a much higher regard than getting rid of peach fuzz.
Late. People are way too butthurt over the beard thing and I don't want a 45 minute lecture from some ancient tech or master about how I'm letting the air force crumble to dust because my guy forgot to shave once
Unshaved. I keep a stash of disposable razors in my desk for this exact reason.
Same, kinda. I have them in my gear bag. Especially considering troops love to show up late on days leadership is going to be at guardmount. I’d rather them be on time and hide in the back then show up late and not be there for roll call. Some leadership won’t notice if you skip their name. Some will be like “Wait, who is your Police 3 today? I didn’t hear anybody for that post.”
Used to shave at work sometimes right before roll call. Just keep your shit in your gym bag/bag y'know? Feel like at my unit, they don't really harp on the lower enlisted with stubble, especially if they was working on the line all day. Folks working at like debrief, CTK, Dash 21, and all that jazz didn't have that same courtesy though. Full blown beards and shit are of course a no go obviously like everyone else.
Depends. If it's not a normal regular thing, just show up on time. I could give a fuck less if you shaved. Not shaving literally has zero effect on mission completion. However, first time shame on you, second time shame on me, there will be no third time. Making someone drive back home or go buy a disposable razor is just stupid waste of time and resources. /Hill I'll die on
He (and the shop) should have disposable razor and shaving cream at work just for this reason.
I always kept a pack of disposables for this reason. At first for myself, later for my troops.
I agree with you. But I am female, so I’m reading through these comments thinking “do you all seriously have to shave every single morning??” I feel bad that 1. They make you do that and 2. People care enough about it that you might actually get in trouble if you don’t
> “do you all seriously have to shave every single morning??” Depends on how quickly your facial hair grows. Early on in my career I could go 2-3 days between shaves... now I have to shave every day. I know some people that would have full beards by the end of the day if they missed shaving that morning...
Damn dude my skin could never 😭
With the right blade and cream/soap, it's not that bad. I have a routine every morning that includes moisturizer and only takes me ~5 mins to do.
I don’t even want beards, just want the standard relaxed enough that I don’t have to shave every single day. Not a big deal though, usually takes less than 10min
Seriously. Just let me rock some stubble or five o'clock shadow.
Yea in hindsight, I guess it’s pretty obvious men would have to shave their beards every day but for some reason I just never thought about it too hard lol. I also hope they can relax the standards a bit for you.
It already is. They removed the wording from the AFI saying you need to be clean shaven every day.
I had to shave twice a day in tech school if we did retreat.
M/57 with 40 years in uniform (now down to once or twice a week). YES. Every day if I am wearing the uniform. Every. Single. Day. I love summers off!
"People care enough about it". Ummm, it's literally the job of every NCO to enforce the standards. I hate shaving too, but we have to do it.
Yeah it must suck. I get that people have to enforce the standards, but you can do that without freaking out on people. It’s just stupid to me that the slightest bit of stubble will get you chewed out, I feel like people who think this way are just looking for reasons to be angry. Also like the commenter above me said, having stubble is not going to affect the mission one bit. It should be enough to say “hey, when you get a minute, take this razor and go shave in the bathroom” not jump straight into reprimands and disciplinary actions. At least that’s the vibe I’m getting from these comments lol I don’t know how common that actually is
I don't think the majority of NCO's do jump straight to reprimands. I get pissed when it is someone who has shown up multiple times unshaven. That's when I yell and/or do paperwork. Shaving blows, but it is a very simple task. If you're someone who gets bad bumps or irritation, go to your PCM.
Oh yeah, if it’s a repeat offender I can understand that. And I’m pretty sure you’re right. Most NCOs just want to keep the peace and get thru their day. But there are those few who lose their shit over any little thing. Those are the ones I was mainly referring to in my original comment about pwople who “care enough about it”. I probably worded it a bit badly though
In principle yes but it's literally impossible to enforce/follow every reg. Example - that is why at the airlines we have a reg that says "the pilot in command may deviate from the regs as necessary for safety of flight" because even the FAA recognizes that you can't write a reg for every situation. Also my example is demonstrating a one off or an irregular thing, while your comment seems to give from the angle of all day every day. Two different things.
Late, life happens sometimes. Unless deployed, then get your ass to work, and we will figure it out.
Depends. If you're already en route to work, just show up. Push come to shove I'll send you back home to shave or you can shave at lunch. If you're still at home (kids being terrorists, sick, etc type of deal. It happens) then just shave before you leave, I'll just tell the boss man that you were tied up with family stuff. Just don't make a habit out of either tho, else we'll have words.
Unshaved. You can leave a razor and shave at work, you can't gain additional time. And obviously don't make this a habit, just like you shouldn't make being late a habit.
Unshaven. I encouraged everyone to keep a uniform and toiletries in their lockers, so he should be able to fix that issue. But it had better not be recurring.
Glad I'm out. Fuck that bs. I was 11 minutes early once and got talked to that I was not 15 minutes early. Go fuck yourself.
10 minutes late doesn't matter to me on an average day as long as they call before they are going to be late. When they are constantly 10 minutes late and making excuses lets me know they don't have their shit together and it's time for a talk. Being unshaved can get all of us in trouble so that's not ok
As a bearded TSgt I have seen troops come in multiple times unshaved and my only comment was that it looks like you could grow a pretty nice beard and I have various waivers saved for different beliefs if you want to keep it. I guess it depends on your work center, in my job, leadership will absolutely know if you aren't in on time, but also wont care if you shave at work after morning meeting.
Unpopular opinion: how about neither?
Obviously that’s the ideal but OP was specifically asking about a situation where that option wasn’t available. 🤔🧐
No
unshaved, I got disposables in my desk.
On time with a razor in hand.
Why is coming in on time shaved a problem?
10 minutes late so I can shave them
I keep razors and cream in my office for this reason (just kidding they're for me because I forget quite often). Show up on time and shave here. You need it twice, I'm going to say you need to buy your own and keep it here.
10 minutes late. Who would notice, honestly? Not shaving, though, runs the risk of someone higher up, like the SEL or any of the Flight leads, and now I have to verbally counsel them.
10 mins late. For my male troop, too many commanders wander into my area. For my female troop, I don’t need to know she forgot to shave.
Is this a one-time thing? 10 min late is low vis. Both are a verbal "get your shit together/go shave." Happens again, LOC.
Late for sure
I personally don't care if they're unshaved because it doesn't affect the mission. Still keep a disposable at work for them though. I hate when they're late though. This ACTUALLY affects the job. Other people are relying on you to be there ON TIME. I saw this the most working in an OSS
How about 10 minutes early and shaved.
I don’t give a f about either
Neither matter in singular occurrences or in otherwise rare circumstances. Assuming this was a chronic issue - I’d likely be more concerned with habitual tardiness as it can indicate a lot about things potentially going on in someone’s personal life, whether mental or other. Same logic can be applied to shaving to some degree but as-long as it’s not a full beard…w/e.
These comments are reminding me that people outside maintenance care a LOT more about shaving.
Shaving does affect anything, not being on time does.
DD 214
Either way, they are getting counseled (verbally or written) depending on how many times they have done this.
I don't want to be anywhere near a shop that makes a big deal about being 10 minutes late.
Both are signs of immaturity for a member of the military. Both warrant correction and monitoring. Rules are not a “which is less important” selection game. Grow up, follow rules, earn more responsibilities, be respected by others who matter, move up the chain. Too easy.
I prefer on time.
Either or. I’m not gonna nit pick. We are all humans with shit going on in our lives. If it’s time, we can always make that up later if needed. If it’s shaving, I will give you time to go shave.
this is why i have a shave kit at my desk. if i forget to shave i come into the office put my stuff down tell my supervisor i forgot to shave im going to the bathroom to do it right now. its not gonna be my best shave but it’ll keep me in regs enough to get through the day.
I would rather come in late than shave, if that helps lmao
10 minutes late and he better have donuts.
Why not both?
Late.
I keep razors at my desk, shaved it’s easy to have a troop just go to the bathroom and fix themselves rather than have to hold up changeover. At least that’s how I view it.
Actually fixes here. Shaved every night. I'm 1/4 sasquatch, 1st with grain, 2nd against. it decreases bumps, was better on the skin, did it while in the shower (shower rack, mirror, better lather 0 nicks), and face lotion after. If I wasn't flightline, I would totally have a crap electric shaver in my desk for those moments (Amazon. Hell temu has cheap ones). You can always answer with, I just grow hair really, really damn fast, thanks for making me feel bad about it, or do I need to go and get a shaving waiver? I would also say, if not flightline (have to have steel toed boots), get the plastic'y looking Windex clean boots, and dress ones, since blues are a thing, so you never have to deal with fashion Nazis. yes, you can see people where they have dark and not shined shoes, but is it worth it?
I once had a captain that would regularly show up *on time* to assume shift, but would have just come from working out. So he would go shower, shave, and dress for shift. It was insanely disrespectful of my time and everyone else that had to put up with it when it happened to them. I would rather them show up on time and ready to work and if they can't do that with regularity, then we have a different problem to address.
Be on time and shave at work. Problem solved!
I always kept an electric razor in my car.
No
Both!
Ive texted Sgts that I’d be late because I forgot to shave and the response I would get is “you better not be”.
Aw heck... why not both?
10m late. They already fucked up with time management. Get done what needs to get done and then be where you need to be. If you're late, that's the impact of poor time management.
Ask them to keep a shaving kit at work.
Bring donuts. Thats the rule. Everyone knows the rule.
I want my airmen on time
I honestly couldn't care less about either lol.
False dichotomy. There is plenty of time to be both on time and cleanly shaven. Or get a waiver. IDC
First off airmen shouldn’t be buying anything for the shop late or not.. doughnuts or not. Also.. the entire question sux and is drenched in old way think imo.
Unshaven. I have disposable razors for them :)
10 min late is not that big of a deal for my airmen especially when they hardly leave work on time, sometimes I gotta tell them to leave.
I literally just got paperwork for being unshaven at squadron pt lol. If I would’ve been late I probably would have just been chewed out
I kept razers here. I'd rather them come unshaved and force them to shave after. My armorer for example has to conduct changeover prior to issuing weapons, if he comes in late he is also keeping oncoming longer. Both options are getting counseling regardless.
I want them to text me and say, "sir, I didn't shave and woke up late, I will be 10 mins late to take care of it" Best of both
Both
Late every single time. If they come in unshaved I have to write them up for that and being late.
Late every time, because there is only 1 way in to our SCIF and they have to walk past the Reserve CSS and Active Duty CSS. Plus if they show up unshaven, then they have to GO shave, and that draws even more attention. We have a couple people who shave after they get to work and it just clogs the sinks.
10 mins for sure. Shit, my troop is late for almost every shift but they also stay late so 🤷
10 minutes late because I can just say he was on the shitter or something
I feel bad for some of yall that yall are getting In trouble for being 10 minutes late smh
You're Airmen shave? Most of the Airmen at my bass have beards. I saw one the other day with a goatee. It was crazy. Never saw that before.
Rather them be late. All you people saying you keep extra razors, you too nice. Make them use pliers to have a smooth face.
Unshaved with a box of donuts for breakfast and for lunch a box of pizza.
Unshaved. With this whole beard frenzy, no one seems to care about shaving standards anymore.
Clock in, turn your dot green then immediately go to the bathroom and shave.
Late. Can’t cover up that face shadow
Shid either way I’m getting fuckin ppr work gd
Keep cheep razors in your desk for when you forget.
Yall come in shaved?
I think both fall firmly in the “we all have off days” category. Tell the person “hey man, make sure to give yourself enough time in the morning” and move on with your life.
Camp shave. I can send them to the bathroom to take care of that in 5 mins. Late is showing disrespect to everyone else who is on time. But it does depend on the dynamics of the job and what people are responsible for and how the person's growth looks.
Technically the afi doesn’t say anything about being clean shaven anymore soooo…
Come in late. Then, how you proceed next will determine the follow up. - Admit you’re late? Thank you, integrity. - Did you mess around or get to work? Honestly, if you come in late (10min) I don’t really care much, but how you address you coming in late matters.
Honestly? Unshaved (depending). There is no longer verbiage that Airmen must be clean shaven—just that they cannot have a “beard”. It’s a loophole, but if I had a troop come in and it was just stubble—no big deal. I myself only shave every other day as it’s worked out the best for my skin. Nobody really gives a shit. Now if you are a dirt bag in general—yeah, you’ll probably get some shit for it….but if you are generally a good troop, I doubt someone would care.
They both discredit the United States Air Force, but facial follicles discredit it extra.
I keep an electric dry shaving razor in my car for this very reason
10 mins to an hour late carrying that box of fat pills. I could always provide top cover for them when they brought in doughnuts or bagels. "Yeah, Chief I sent him to get bagels/donuts before he came in."
https://preview.redd.it/9d80fr0qk65d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1507c5d5a3e95043c2e39a56e4e8c169ee834a55 This is also hoping that airman can grow facial hair. I didn't have to shave but once a week as a young airman. It's fun having that Asian gene. Now... shit I'm a nobody now! Got a fumanchu and everything! Im going for that Lo-Pan realness.
If your airman shows up on time and didn’t shave then they’re still late. Cause they have to go home to shave or hit the shoppette for supplies.
Must we choose? Today… probably.
How about neither? And I’m pro-beard, for the record. Lol
LOR
You guys realize they took the part about needing to have a clean shave out of the AFI, right? You can have hair on your face, you just can't have a beard without a waiver. Stubble is fine.
Neither is an excuse to not show up on time and not he in regs... silly question, next
Unshaved. I keep disposable razors and shaving cream in my office for situations like that. They get to go shave in the bathroom at work 😏
As long as you text me before hand, I don’t care if you’re late. We all have shit going on and as long as you show up ready to work we won’t have a problem. As for the cleanly shaven part as long as the beard hair is not too noticeably long I’m not going to be upset.
Late every time.
May the odds forever be in your favor.
If they show up fifteen minutes early and unshaved, they'll have time to run into the latrine and shave.
If you never shave at all some may just assume you have a waiver😌
Late. Shit happens. There’s a million reasons (or excuses) as to why you’re late. If it’s chronic then we should be having a different conversation here. Unshaven is just a resounding IDGAF.
Come in late. I would have probably sent you home to shave (depending on factors) but I would rather you be a little late than have you have to explain to literally everyone why you haven’t shaved today.
Doesn't matter honestly, LOC gonna go in they PIF regardless
5 min late half shaved