World days, 1 to 31 Mar 2027
Mustache March
A United States Air Force tradition: airmen grow moustaches through March, in memory of a famous fighter pilot.
Mustache March is an informal custom in the United States Air Force. Through the month, airmen grow moustaches, keeping within the service's grooming rules, and units often compare the results at the end. The tradition is linked to Robin Olds, a fighter pilot and commander who grew a large handlebar moustache while leading a wing in Thailand during the Vietnam War, against the regulations of the time. His moustache became a symbol of morale, and the March custom grew up in his memory. It sits within the wider history of armies setting rules for facial hair, which have ranged from requiring moustaches to banning beards.
Guides tied to Mustache March
Still to be written: Facial hair in the military.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Moustache: VAZHAR, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Handlebar moustache: unattributed, Public domain, source