Social puts mustaches to marching

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Devante Williams
  • 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  During the month of March, Airmen across Luke Air Force Base build camaraderie in a visual way. Mustache March is an Air Force tradition where Airmen grow mustaches in a good-natured protest against facial hair regulations. The act of growing a mustache is attributed to Air Force triple-ace Robin Olds who grew an extravagantly waxed handlebar mustache, which did not comply with Air Force regulations.

To make the tradition even livelier, Club Five Six hosted a Mustache March Social March 28 in which Airmen across base came by to support the cause and have a good time. The social was filled with free food and beverages, plus a Mustache March competition in which female judges played a part in celebrating the tradition by judging the mustaches.

"We got the social together in less than three weeks, but the turnout was incredible," said Leeann Evertsen, 56th Force Support Squadron general manager. "We had 24 participants for the Mustache March social, which is great."

The competition was divided into three categories: worst mustache, best mustache and overall winner of the mustache competition. The audience made their opinions known as the Airmen walked across the stage and presented their mustaches, but only the judges were able to select the winners and the losers. In the end, Lt. Col. Charles Jones, 607th Air Control Squadron commander, was the winner of the best mustache category, which was a unanimous decision by the judges.

"It's an honor to win the best mustache category," Jones said. "It's amazing to have all the Airmen celebrate the heritage of Mustache March and to just have a good time overall."

In general the Mustache March Social was a success, according to Evertsen.

"A lot of Airmen showed up to the event, and it definitely showed the camaraderie Mustache March has on military members," she said. "This is just the start of something new, which hopefully will continue for the next generation of Airmen.

"The Mustache March social will definitely be an annual event," she said. "We're glad for the good turnout and all of the support from Luke Top 3 and senior leadership. We look forward to having the event again next year."