Starting September 1, 2019, the Royal Air Force will no longer be mowing down any and all beards they see. Service personnel are free to let it all grow!

But of course like all things RAF does, the beards will have to be topnotch. Service personnel can sport facial hair, provided that it looks neat. And if the Navy’s protocols end up being followed, before they get around to growing it all out, they may still need their commanding officer’s approval.

The move is aimed at helping RAF become more inclusion. But this doesn’t mean that our lads will be able to walk around with an unkempt stubble. They will have to put their best face forward, and “Scraggly or patchy bears will not be accepted,” according to a MoD spokesperson.

Despite what it seems, vanity was the last thing on RAF’s mind when beards were originally banned. There’s a very practical set of reasons why they weren’t allowed in the past, the biggest one being that all the hair would make it harder to breathe under the gas masks and other breathing apparatus. Think of being airlocked in a small space with a big beard – sounds mighty uncomfortable.

While RAF will be getting its beards, there’s no news if a similar stance can be expected for the Army – where our men in uniform are only allowed moustaches (unless of course they’re headed out on a spy mission).