Pentagon reviews policy to allow Sikhs to join US Army

Lalit K Jha

Washington, Jun 6 (PTI) Following an outcry from the Sikh
community, the US defence department has decided to review its
policy which prevents Sikhs from joining the country's armed
forces.

On behalf of Defense Secretary Robert Gates, the Pentagon
has informed an advocacy group Sikh Coalition that it was
reviewing current regulations preventing a US Sikh national
from serving the army on the ground that they wear turban.

"Although our current regulation establishes the
standards of wear and appearance of the uniform, we understand
the importance of reviewing the rationale behind our current
policies when circumstances warrant," wrote Major General John
R Hawkins, Director, Human Resources, Policy Directorate,
Pentagon.

The senior leadership is aware of the concerns of the
Sikh community, said the letter dated April 29, which was
released to the media Friday.

The Coalition, which had taken up the issue after two
Sikh Americans challenged the regulation, has welcomed the
Army's step.

"We believe that once the Army fully reviews the policy,
it will agree that Sikh practices have in no way acted as an
impediment to successful service in any military in the
world," Amardeep Singh, executive director of Sikh Coalition,
said in a statement.

On January 26 this year, the Coalition wrote to Gates
regarding two Sikhs who were told to give up their religious
practices in order to continue their services in the army.

Captain Kamaljit Singh Kalsi and Captain Tejdeep Singh
Rattan were recruited as part of an Army program that pays for
medical education in return for military service. At the time
of their enrollment, military recruiters assured both of them
that their turbans and unshorn hair "would not be a problem."

Four years later, the army is now telling the two Sikhs
that the recruiters' assurances were false and that they will
have to forsake their religious practices. PTI LKJ
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