Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric Smith has some bad news for any Marines who want to grow beards.

When asked on Wednesday if he could foresee any circumstances in the coming years under which Marines would be allowed to grow beards, Smith replied with a definitive “No.”

“Because we’re Marines and we’re different,” Smith told reporters at a Defense Writers Group event, which is based at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

“The Marine Corps has a brand, and we’re making our recruiting mission,” Smith continued. “We’ve always made our recruiting mission, and what we don’t want to do is tinker with the ethos of the Marine Corps — you joined us, we didn’t join you. You knew that coming in. You signed up. We don’t have beards, and you knew that coming in.”