Acting Navy Secretary orders stricter grooming rules to improve combat readiness

Following Pete Hegseth’s push for uniform appearance, Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao released a Wednesday memo mandating stricter grooming policies across the Navy and Marine Corps. The order emphasizes that a well-kept appearance signals readiness, confidence and precision, and it calls for immediate adherence to standards on haircuts, beards and overall bearing. Cao warned that he has observed lapses in discipline and will empower commanders to enforce the rules rigorously, including on social-media behavior.

He cited the “Warrior Ethos” as the foundation for this cultural overhaul and promised a noticeable improvement by the end of the year. The memo also reiterated that he will not ask personnel to do anything he has not done himself. This move mirrors a similar directive from Hegseth earlier in the year that targeted beards and other personal expressions.