Editor’s note: This report has been updated to correct Allvin’s title.
The U.S. Space Force published a new rulebook outlining distinctive new dress and appearance regulations.
Released Aug. 15, the Space Force Instruction (SPFI) 36-2903, Dress and Appearance manual sets a new standard for guardians as the service departs from Air Force norms it has leaned on since its founding in 2019.
“The Space Force is a distinct military service with just under 10,000 uniformed Guardians, each of whom has an outsized impact on the mission. Every Guardian’s military presence and appearance are a critical and visible demonstration of our professional force, and this new policy provides clear standards that support our warfighting objectives and culture,” Katharine Kelley, Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Personnel, said in a service release.
Although many of the new regulations mirror those existing within the Air Force, there are several notable differences. Key areas where differences have been introduced include in grooming standards and permissions for wearing duty identifier patches, Air & Space Forces Magazine first reported.
While the Air Force banned all of its 134 duty identifier patches in late January, the Space Force allows guardians considerable flexibility in this regard.
“There’s a bigger issue at play here. As we identify ourselves as one type of Airman or another, with one specialty, or one skillset or another, we really diminish ourselves,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin said in a Jan. 27 video explanation of why the patches were banned for airmen.
The Space Force is taking a different stance and, in doing so, appears to be encouraging service members to take pride in showcasing their diverse mission areas. These include orbital warfare, electromagnetic warfare, cyberspace warfare, satellite communications, navigation warfare, missile warning and tracking, space-based sensing and targeting and satellite control, among others.
Both the Air and Space Forces are largely in lockstep when it comes to personal grooming standards, such as for approved hairstyles for men and women, requiring women’s nail polish colors to be muted and other details unveiled by the Air Force in January. However, the Air Force requires male airmen to be clean-shaven at the start of each duty day and forbids their hair from touching their ears, while the Space Force does not.
Additional updates to the dress code will likely appear on the horizon once the Space Force’s new service dress uniforms arrive, which is speculated to happen in early 2026.
Zita Ballinger Fletcher previously served as editor of Military History Quarterly and Vietnam magazines and as the historian of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. She holds an M.A. with distinction in military history.
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