Sikh soldier in US Army allowed to keep beard, wear turban

Captain Simratpal Singh, 27 had to cut his hair on his first day at the United States Military Academy at West Point nearly 10 years ago since the Army would not allow a soldier with long hair or a beard, a report in the New York Times

said.

Last week however, the Army finally granted Singh, who led a platoon of combat engineers who cleared roadside bombs in Afghanistan and was awarded the Bronze Star, a religious accommodation under which he is allowed to grow his beard and wrap his hair in a turban.

"It is wonderful. I had been living a double life, wearing a turban only at home," he told  the Times. "My two worlds have finally come back together." 

"A true Sikh is supposed to stand out, so he can defend those who cannot defend themselves," he said. "I see that very much in line with the Army values." The report said that the accommodation is only temporary, lasting for a month while the Army decides whether to give permanent status to Singh's exception.

If the Army decides against giving a permanent religious accommodation to Singh, the captain could be confronted with the decision of whether to cut his hair or leave the Army. He has said he is prepared to sue if the accommodation is not made permanent.

The report said it is the first time in decades that the military has granted a religious accommodation for a beard to an active-duty combat soldier — "a move that observers say could open the door for Muslims and other troops seeking to display their faith."

"This is a precedent-setting case," said Eric Baxter, senior counsel at the Becket Fund, a nonprofit public interest law firm that specialises in religious liberty. Currently there are three Sikh-Americans seeing in the US military - Major Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi, Captain Tejdeep Singh Rattan and Corporal Simranpreet Singh Lamba.

Kalsi, a doctor who is a major in the Army Reserve, had got permission to grow a beard in 2009, the first of only three Sikhs to receive permission before Singh.