Frag Out! Magazine

SPARTAN.AT: How much beard needs a man to be able to become a TBOC member? Mike Hartmann: We strictly distinguish between „facial hair" and a „full grown beard". What are not sufficient are beards that are not fully-grown, namely 3-day-beards, downy beards with gaps, facial hair, nostril hair and stubbles. What we don't ever want to have is „gangsta style" beards that look like eyeliner around the chin. A chin-beard or goatee will be accepted but only if it is „seriously" grown. Everything you can shave off with a sharp towel doesn't count at all. I want to note that that this is not a „tactical club for people that might have beards". This is both to 100% bearded and tactical. The rate of accepted applications is about 1 to 10. What matters is your background, your assign- ment, your behavior on Facebook and (last but not least) your beard. If those factors do not fit into an overall picture you will get rejected. Some may never be accepted others apply with a small beard, get rejected, get ambitious and return with an impressive beard and finally get accepted. Therefore attitude and confidence plays a bigger role than most might think. But we only want those who understand this. SPARTAN.AT: Since when do you wear a full beard? What is your connection to the tactical scene? Mike Hartmann: I was blessed with a great amount of body hair. On the day of my confirmation I got an electric shaver from Braun as a present. Not as a pious hope but more like „go shave yourself…" because I was able to grow a full beard at 14 (if only I had wanted it). This duress haunted me un- til I got to 21. From that point onwards I had numerous „test runs" like a „D'Artagnon" type beard, (moustache with a separated goatee type beard) in Africa for which I acquired the nickname „actor" (what might be enforced due to the combination of the beard with a scarf and safari hat.) After that 5-day-beards and complete goatees followed. Ever since 2008 it is FULL and bushy, wiry and untamable. Sure it turns grey but will I dye it? Never! I am proud of it. I have had a good connection with the tactical community and it has become stronger over the last couple of years. I am a sports shooter and beside that I am a part time writer for a popular special interest magazine contributing stuff from time to time. There are contacts to big manufacturers in the tactical industry and personalities in the trainer scene. There were a lot of points of contact to the Bundeswehr and Bundeswehr reserve associations. Those contacts have grown over the years not only through TBOC. Varia

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