A US Army sergeant is thought to be the first Christian in the service to receive a religious exemption to skip the crew cut and grow his hair out.
On July 25, Sgt. Jacob DiPietro of the Florida Army Reserve's 489th Transportation Company received the go ahead from his superiors that he could officially grow his hair in religious observance.
'In observance with your Christian faith, you may wear uncut hair in accordance with Army uniform and grooming standards provided in Army Regulation (AR) 670-1,' a memo to DiPietro from Lieutenant General Gary M. Brito, the head of Army personnel read.
'You may grow your hair in accordance with the standards for long hair set forth in AR 670-1.'
Sgt. Jacob DiPietros is thought to be the first Christian in the service to receive a religious exemption to skip the crew cut and grow his hair out. He was first granted permission to grow out his beard last year (he is pictured in May 2021) but had to wait until this year for permission to grow out his hair
It capped a two-year effort on the soldier's part after he put in his initial request for the exemption.
DiPietro observes the Christian Nazarite vow from the Book of Numbers in the Old Testament, according to Task & Purpose, which states that, 'no razor may be used on their head.'
In the New Testament, John the Baptist and Paul are known to have taken the Nazarite vow, which also calls forbids alcohol consumption, according to Christianity.com.
DiPietro wasn't always a Nazerite, however.
He joined the Army in 2010 on the day he turned 18. He said he had known he would join the military upon witnessing the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks when he was in third grade.
DiPietro's request languished for two years in Pentagon bureaucracy. While he was granted the exemption to grow his beard out early on, he did not get the go-ahead to grow his hair out until last week
'That seed was planted early in my life, he told Task & Purpose. 'I knew what I was going to do.'
He said he enjoyed his service, where he worked as a cargo specialist for several years, until he returned home from deployment in Kuwait in 2017, and went through a dark period in his home life.
He had gotten married to a women he had been dating for years, but when she became pregnant with their first child, she left him.
That was when he said he turned to prayer.
'I noticed that by praying, I found strength,' he said. 'By finding strength, I was able to keep fighting these personal battles of mine.'
Finally, he received a memo from Lt. General Gary Brito head of Army personnel in his email inbox on July 25 with the go ahead to grow his hair out
He enrolled in classes for a degree in business administration, which he is scheduled to receive this week, and found he was feeling better.
DiPietro said he wanted to give back, and came across the inspiration when he was reading the Bible and came across the passage containing the Nazarite vow.
'I said, "Oh, this is it,"' he recalled. 'I just felt utterly compelled that this is what I was being called to do.'
In 2019 DiPietro spoke to his unit chaplain of his decision, who then passed it along to his immediate superiors, who he said were supportive of the decision.
When it went to the top brass, things started getting more difficult.
His first request was kicked back, with officials saying it was formatted incorrectly.
Then, in June, 2020 he received an email from a Pentagon official saying the beard portion of DiPietro's request had been approved, but not the hair portion, and he would have to pursue it separately.
In 2016, Air Force Staff Sgt. Abdul Rahman Gaitan was one of the first in the branch to be given a waiver to shave his beard for religious reasons
By March, 2021, however, DiPietro had yet to hear back, and began asking around to chaplains he knew worked in the Pentagon.
Finally, four months later he got his approval.
DiPietro is not the first US service member to receive a religious hair exemption. Sikh's, Muslims, as well as a Norse Pagan, have been allowed to grow out their hair in recent years.
In 2016, Air Force Staff Sgt. Abdul Rahman Gaitan was one of the first in the branch to be given a waiver to shave his beard for religious reasons when it issued new guidance on religious accommodations.
For DiPietro, despite getting the exemption, he said the ordeal soured him on the service.
'There are things that I see and I don’t like … like the way soldiers are treated when they seek an exception to policy while following Army regulation,' he said.
'If a soldier is following the rules as set by the Army, they should absolutely be free from harassment discrimination. I feel like there’s still a culture that is, truthfully, fearful and hating towards that which is different.'
As a result, he said, he says he'll likely leave the service when his contract is up next year. He had originally planned to remain in the Army for 20 years.
But those who do not have religious reasons to skip out on shaving or buzzing their head he said, 'If you’re trying to fleece the system because you just don’t want to shave, or you just want to grow your hair out, I’m telling you now: It’s not gonna work.'
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