The Army has allowed a Sikh Army doctor to keep his turban and beard after an outcry by a Sikh advocacy group. 
But if he is transferred to another command or deploys, he’ll have to apply for another waiver from the Army’s uniform policy, said Army spokesman Lt. Col. Chris Garver.
“This accommodation does not constitute a blanket accommodation for any other individual; as each request must be evaluated based on its own unique facts and individual circumstances,” wrote Army Maj. Gen. Gina S. Farrisee in a letter to the soldier.
The Sikh religion requires men to wear turbans, beards keep their hair unshorn. To Sikhs, cutting one’s hair is as serious an offense as adultery.
When Capt. Kamajleet Singh Kalsi joined the Army during medical school, his recruiter told him that his religious beliefs would not pose a problem.
But as he neared the end of his medical training, he was told he may have to lose his turban and beard. He asked for an exemption from the Army Graduate Medical Education Office, but he was denied last December.
In April, Kalsi applied for a “request for religious accommodation” through his chain of command, and he learned Friday it had been granted by Army G-1, said his attorney Amandeep Sidhu.
“This is a victory and it’s one we applaud the Army for making, but at the same time we look at a general policy that doesn’t currently allow Sikhs to freely serve – to walk up to a recruiting office and be able to enlist without going through the hoops that our client had to go through,” Sidhu said on Friday.
Sidhu said his law firm was approached about Kalsi’s case by the Sikh Coalition, an advocacy group that was formed after two Sikhs were attacked in retaliation for the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
“I am overjoyed by the Army’s decision to allow me to serve my country,” Kalsi said in a Sikh Coalition news release. “Like the many Sikhs who fought before me, I know I will serve America with honor and excellence.”
The Sikh Coalition held a protest in April at the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial against the Army’s policy that prevents Sikh soldiers from wearing turbans and having beards.
The group also filed a formal complaint with the Army and Defense Department inspectors general on behalf of Kalsi and 2nd Lt. Tajdeep Singh Rattan, a Reservist training to be an Army dentist who is also seeking an exception to the Army’s policy on turbans and beards.
“I am willing to lay down my life for America. In return, I ask only that my country respect my faith,” Rattan said in April. “My turban and beard are not an option – they are in intrinsic part of me.”
Turban!
Goes to show once again the 'diverse' population gets their way.
If he was so interested in Army to begin with & researched enlisting, just because he's a Dr. doesn't mean special treatment.
Totally unsat!
reply
He's not enlisted.
I do not..
..agree with the policy being waived. If the Army wants to creat a Sikh regiment with Its own rules, like the British Gurka etc, well welcomed!! But we are going toward chaos allowing each individual, because of their religion, to ask the Army to adapt to their belief!! The Army does not have to adapt but is the individual that has to adapt. Whate else are we going to allow because of relion, female muslims drive a vehicle with a burka? Or having their license with their face covered? ..And what else...after?
Sikh Captain
SF soldiers have long had an informal exception to the policy. While I recognize the reasons for this exeption, I cannot see how the Sikh officer's beard can create problems for good order and discipline. The requirement for a beard is a long-established religious requirement for Sikhs. If the man is a good doctor and wants to serve his country, we need him. I don't hear too many complaints about women's haircuts in the Army. Why the double standard?
I don't like shaving either, where's my exemption?
The thing I disliked the most about the Army was the haircut and shaving standards, but nobody forced me to join so I followed the rules. I don't think anybody should be given exemptions for anything other than a medical reason. Religion is given far to much deference; you can get away with damn near anything if you just say "it's my religion." If he wants to wear a beard then he should join SF.
Equal Grooming Standards for Males and Females
If you grew up in the 1970s pilots and officers like Apollo and Luke in Battlestar Galactica and Star Wars had LONG hair, and I mean WHY not? Women fought for their equal rights to attend service academies and fly....why shouldnt males be able to have long hair...females prove its not operationally relevant - even if hotter in the tropics or desert.
Speaking of which why dont women have to shave their heads then in basic? Demi Moore did in the Seal film...Perhaps certain units like Airborne could keep high and tights out of tradition....Equal grooming standards could even boost recruiting...
Equal or Unequal?
why does the military do alot of things that they do? The rules are suppose to apply to all service members, enlisted, and officers alike. Why does the military let females have long hair? Why is it that the regulation say that a females hair has to be a certain way, but units don't follow the regulations when it comes to females? But when it concerns male soldiers they are closely watched?
Religions need Respect
No matter what you do, you must never forget that respecting other's Religion is every Human's Duty. You don't blame Muslims for their practices, You don't blame Christians for theirs.
One might not believe in other Religion, but as a secular state, we can't go against anyone.