Captain Kamaljit Singh Kalsi, and Second Lieutenant Tejdeep Singh Rattan
Posted on 10/24/2009 10:49:48 AM PDT by BGHater
The 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 Friday.
The doctor, Capt. Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi of Riverdale, N.J., 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.
The decision does not overturn an Army policy from the 1980s that regulates the wearing of religious items, the acting deputy chief of staff, Maj. Gen. Gina Farrisee, wrote in a letter to Captain Kalsi dated Thursday and posted online by the Sikh Coalition.
Instead, the Army’s decision follows a longstanding practice of deciding such requests on a case-by-case basis, the letter said. General Farrisee said the Army had weighed Captain Kalsi’s request against factors such as “unit cohesion, morale, discipline, safety and/or health.”
There is no indication that the overall policy is being reconsidered, said an 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 Captain Kalsi himself had been notified.
But the Sikh Coalition director, Amardeep Singh, said he was hopeful that 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.”
Captain Kalsi, 32, 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 Capt. Tejdeep Singh Rattan — will be decided after he receives the results of his dental board exams, Mr. Singh said.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
OK by me.
Sikhs aren’t muslims.........
Leni
Sikh’s aren’t radical Muslims.
It’s about time they wake up. We allowed this for years, and stopped it for really dumb reasons.
Sikh’s are good people and very loyal. It doesn’t hurt that they are good fighters, too. LOL
very slippery slope...just wait
I don’t want to comment because sikhs are good people, but these kinds of “exceptions” to the uniform are a slippery slope that will eventually end up with some US soldiers wearing muslim garb while Christians will still have to conceal their cross under their t-shirt.
Makes sense. He’s a doctor. Combat troops would be a different story with helmet safety issues.
Leni
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
I like Sihks but this is a very wimpy mistake by the pentagon.
To: BGHater
The ONLY reason this is being allowed is because of the very critical lack of doctors. Had the Army been flush with doctors this would not have happened and they would have been shown the door. Simple as that.
Yeah. At least the troops, seeing the turban, will be reassured in a way that they wouldn’t otherwise be if they were to see a doctor of another race.
Sikhs aren’t muslims in any way, actually they don’t get along.
“Will female Islamic doctors and nurses be allowed to wear full burhka outfits in the military?”
If they’re of the proper camoflage pattern.
Now I want to see an army digital camo burkha...
There goes the Military!!! You can’t make rules for a certain GROUP!! EVERY GROUP WNTS SOMETHING!!!
The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Sikhs are bada$$ warriors too, excellent fighters.
They are sort of the Klingons of Earth.
Fighting Buddhists from the sky?
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