A few years back I tried everything I knew to get authorization to grow a beard.
1) I went to my company commander - was denied
2) Appealed to my installation commander - was denied
3) Appealed to my major suport command (TRADOC) - was denied
4) Appealed to the Chief of Staff - was denied
5) Tried to change the Regulation - never heard back on my request.
Then as the most senior W4 in my field with 26 years in the military, was notified that I was being assigned to a line battery (W1 position) in Korea. Needless to say I decided to leave the service.

To make a long story short I was cleaning out old files on my computer and ran across the old request to change the AR and I thought I might share with others who might want to take up the effort. If you would like the file feel free to email me at: agbulling@yahoo.com

In 2001, Captain James "Yusuf" Yee was commissioned as one of the first Muslim chaplains in the United States Army. After the tragic attacks of September 11, 2001, he became a frequent government spokesman, helping to educate soldiers about Islam and build understanding throughout the military. Subsequently, Chaplain Yee was selected to serve as the Muslim Chaplain at Guantanamo Bay, where nearly 700 detainees captured in the war on terror were being held as "unlawful combatants."

The approximate beginning date for Ramadan is 5 October 2005 . The observance continues for 29 or 30 days. An exact beginning date cannot be given beforehand because the Islamic calendar is Lunar. The exact beginning date of Ramadan will be determined by actually sighting the crescent moon after sunset on the evening before the Lunar month begins. There is an approximate 10-day, receding, difference between the Lunar and Solar calendars each year.

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany — Just weeks after Air Force policymakers issued guidelines limiting public prayer, officials at Ramstein Air Base threw open the doors to a unique new chapel dedicated to interfaith worship and understanding.

The new Kaiserslautern Military Community Interfaith Chapel, which formally opened Tuesday, is an unusual hybrid by any religious standards: It’s the Air Force’s first designated Jewish-Muslim prayer space.

War tensions put pressure on rising minority

Don Lattin, Chronicle Religion Writer

Wednesday, April 9, 2003

Jeff Hammad, an American Muslim in the U.S. Marines, noticed the shift during the buildup to the last Gulf War.

"The military has a tendency to demonize the enemy, and Muslims are on the receiving end of that hostility," said Hammad, a Palestinian American who served in the Marines from 1990 to 1994.