Sikh officer approved for active duty with US Army

WASHINGTON — A decorated veteran Sikh officer is the first to win an approval from the U.S. Army to continue on active duty while maintaining his religiously mandated beard and turban. The Army issued a decision March 31 concluding that to allow beards for medical reasons but ban them for religious reasons is a discriminatory bar to service for Sikh Americans, said Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, one of the law offices that argued Capt. Simratpal Singh’s case.

Singh, a West Point graduate, an Army Ranger and a veteran who earned a Bronze Star in Afghanistan, “proves to our military that the religiously mandated turban and beard do not hinder the ability to successfully serve,” said Sikh Coalition Legal Director Harsimran Kaur on April 1. “This decision gives hope that our nation’s largest employer is making progress towards ending a policy of religious discrimination.”

(RNS)