Civil rights organization cautions that uniform rules barring Sikh service still remain intact
WASHINGTON, DC - The Sikh Coalition issued the following statement today in response to new Pentagon rules governing religious liberty in the U.S. military:
"The Sikh Coalition is deeply appreciative that the Pentagon established a formal process so that aspiring Sikh American Soldiers and other Soldiers of faith may request accommodation of their articles of faith. We are disappointed, however, that the presumptive ban on Sikh articles of faith remains intact."
"While the policy revisions announced today provide a framework through which Sikh Soldiers may seek religious accommodation, we caution that uniform rules barring Sikh service remain intact. To be clear, Sikh Americans must still go through a lengthy and uncertain administrative process before being approved or denied the opportunity to serve their country with their religiously-mandated turbans and beards. We will respectfully work with our Nation’s military leadership to improve these regulations and promote the rights that our brave Soldiers are working to protect."
Since 2009, three Sikh Coalition clients—Major Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi, Captain Tejdeep Singh Rattan, and Corporal Simran Preet Singh Lamba—have received rare and historic accommodations to serve in the U.S. Army with their articles of faith intact.
These American Soldiers have won awards and promotions and courageously proved that Sikhs can make great Soldiers without abandoning their faith. However, their historic accommodations came only through the expending of significant resources from the Sikh Coalition and our co-counsel at McDermott Will & Emery LLP over several years.
The revised Pentagon policy appears to formalize the ad hoc process through which these three clients were granted individualized religious accommodations, while maintaining restrictive appearance regulations that effectively ban Sikh articles of faith.
We will continue our respectful dialogue with military leadership to convey our clear message – the service of Sikh Americans in the U.S. Armed Forces is entirely consistent with military readiness, safety, and unit cohesion, and the presumptive ban on Sikh articles of faith must therefore end.
