[Vision2020] Army Regs Make Way for Religion

[Tom Hansen]

Courtesy of the November 9, 2009 edition of the Army Times.

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Regs make way for religion

Sikh, Muslim allowed to incorporate customs into Army dress
By Tony Lombardo, Army Times Reporter

The Army is quietly allowing religious soldiers to break long­standing
rules of appearance.

In late October the Army agreed to allow Capt. Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi — a
Sikh — to keep his beard, long hair and turban. The Army also approved a
request by a Muslim officer to retain his beard. Both men are physicians.
A third officer, a Sikh den­tist, is awaiting an Army decision on his
beard and turban.

The volunteer Army has attract­ed an increasingly diverse group of
soldiers. The latest report from the Defense Department tracks nearly 100
faiths among active-duty per­sonnel. The list includes 3,400 Muslims,
4,900 Buddhists, 1,900 Wiccans, 700 Hindus and more than 4,500 Jews. And
some of them are likely to be asking the Army to accommodate their
customs.

The Army is not speculating whether these cases and the resulting media
attention could open the flood gates to religious waivers. “I can’t
predict the future on how many more appeals we’ll see,” said Army
spokesman George Wright. “We’ll evaluate that on a case-by-case basis.”
Other than these three men, Wright said to his knowledge there have been
no other religious waivers sought in recent years.

When he joined the Army in 2001, Kalsi said, recruiters assured him he
would be able to maintain his appearance. Uncut hair and a turban are both
mandatory within Kalsi’s faith.

But in winter 2008, his superiors told him to get a haircut and ditch the
turban — actions he was unwilling to take. With the help of a civil rights
group called the Sikh Coalition, Kalsi filed a complaint and appealed to
the Army.

In an Oct. 22 letter granting Kalsi’s appeal, Maj. Gen. Gina Farrisee, the
acting deputy chief of personnel, wrote that her decision is based only on
Kalsi’s “individual circumstances.” The Army uses a waiver process that
weighs reli­gious needs against the health, safety and welfare of soldiers
and whether the exception would prove disruptive to the force.

“I know this accommodation is just for me personally, but I’m hopeful in
the days to come it will be extended not just to me, but to all Sikhs,”
said Kalsi, who is trained in emergency medicine.

In February, the Muslim Army officer, an orthopedic surgery intern at
Walter Reed Army Med­ical Center in Washington, D.C., who wishes to remain
anonymous, sought a waiver so he could keep his beard as required by his
sect of the Muslim faith.

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Dr. (Captain) Kamaljeet Kalsi (L) and Dr. (Major) Tejdeep Rattan (R)

http://thelangarhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/kalsirattan.jpg

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change
and the Realist adjusts his sails."

- Unknown