The US Army will make an exception to a decades-old rule and allow a Sikh doctor to serve without removing his turban and cutting his hair, an advocacy group said on Friday.
Captain Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi is the first Sikh to be allowed to go on active duty with a turban, beard and unshorn hair in more than 20 years, the New York-based Sikh Coalition said.
“I am overjoyed by the Army’s decision to allow me to serve my country,” Kalsi said in a statement. “Like the many Sikhs who fought before me, I know I will serve America with honor and excellence.”
The decision does not overturn an Army policy from the 1980s that regulates the wearing of religious items, Acting Deputy Chief of Staff Major General Gina Farrisee wrote in a letter to Kalsi dated on Thursday and posted online by the Sikh Coalition.
Instead, the Army’s decision follows a long-standing practice of deciding such requests on a case-by-case basis, the letter said.
MORALE
Farrisee said the Army had weighed Kalsi’s request against factors such as “unit cohesion, morale, discipline, safety and/or health.”
There’s no indication that the overall policy is being reconsidered, said Army spokeswoman Jill Mueller, adding that she could not confirm that the Army had reached a decision in the case until she received word from her superiors that Kalsi himself had been notified.
But Sikh Coalition director Amardeep Singh said he was hopeful the Army would announce a full policy shift.
“This bodes well for the future,” he said. “My guess is the Army’s going to be seeing a lot more Sikhs requesting to be a part of the Army ... This issue is not going away.”
TRAINING
Kalsi is an emergency room doctor. He promised to serve in the Army in exchange for help paying for his medical training.
A second, similar case — that of Captain Tejdeep Singh Rattan — will be decided after he receives the results of his dental board exams, Amardeep Singh said.
A number of members of Congress wrote to US Defense Secretary Robert Gates in August asking him to allow the men to serve while wearing the turban, beard and unshorn hair required by their faith.
“We do not believe that any American should have to choose between his religion and service to our country,” the letter said.
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