It’s a cut above at Naval Hospital Bremerton’s Salty Shears Barbershop.

A grand reopening was held Feb. 5, 2024, to resume barbering services for active-duty personnel assigned to the military treatment facility after a pandemic-induced hiatus halted providing haircuts.

According to Chief Culinary Specialist Mitchell Reed, NHB barracks manager, plans to bring back the barbershop had been in the works for several months. Necessary equipment – including the requisite heavy duty barber chair – were brought onboard.



Sailors qualified to manage and operate the Salty Shears were prepped, led by Retail Service Specialist 1st Class Angelo Roman Tabayoyon, a Sacramento, California native with 12 of his 14 years in the Navy qualified as a barber from specific advanced training.

“This is part of what we do in our rate,” said Tabayoyon. “The only thing difficult is that I do get nervous at time because I don’t want anyone to leave unhappy with their new haircut.”

The Navy’s barber school that Tabayoyon and other retail service specialists attend is a multi-weeklong course which covers principles on cutting and trimming hair, along with basic background knowledge such as barbershop management and operation; barber tools and equipment; sanitation and sterilization practices; common skin conditions and diseases and customer relations.

There was also a lesson topic on cutting hair of female personnel.



“In 12 years as a barber, I think I’ve cut the hair of just one female Sailor in all that time and that was just because she wanted it really short,” remarked Tabayoyon.

“We thank our retail service specialists, Chief Reed, and Lt. Le for putting this all together. We also thank USS Nimitz [CVN 68] for helping us with some of the equipment and supplies we needed,” remarked Capt. Maria Edusada, NHB director for administration.

The honors of receiving the first haircut went to Capt. Patrick Fitzpatrick, Navy Medicine Readiness Training Command Bremerton commanding officer.

“This is really cool. Our very own old-school barber shop,” exclaimed Fitzpatrick, requesting to Tabayoyon to just take a little off the top.

Reed then rhetorically posed the question out loud that the difference between a bad haircut and good haircut for a man is typically about two weeks.

“That doesn’t apply to me. This is great,” Fitzpatrick said.

The Salty Shears Barbershop will be open Monday and Wednesday from 1130 a.m. to 1 p.m. for all active-duty personnel assigned to the command.