Religious accommodation on a case-to-case basis in US Army.
AB Wire
Yet another Sikh man has been accommodated in the US Army with unshorn beard and full turban, keeping his faith intact, but a Muslim woman has been denied a request to wear hijab over her uniform at a military college, signaling that religious diversity is making inroads for some in the services, on a case-to-case basis.
California resident Harpal Singh begins his Army training this week with his beard and turban, after the US Army accommodated his request. McClatchy reported that the Army faced legal and political heat, including from Central Valley lawmakers over the issue and gave in to Singh’s request.
“The accommodations are an enormous step forward,” Harsimran Kaur, California-based legal director for the Sikh Coalition, said Monday, adding that “they were made under pressure.”
But while Singh, 34, left from his San Francisco Bay Area home for Army basic combat training, the systemic policy that once impeded his enlistment remains in place. For now, Sikhs must request religious accommodations on a case-by-case basis.
This tension between religious dictates and military standards is playing out in federal court, where a judge last Friday declined to grant a Ranger-trained West Point graduate firmer protections for following Sikh traditions. This officer, like Harpal Singh, is relying on an individual accommodation.
The judge rejected the request by Army Capt. Simratpal Singh to consolidate his lawsuit with one filed on behalf of several Sikhs including Harpal Singh, who is no relation, reported McClatchy. A request for a preliminary injunction, which would have given more legal force to Capt. Singh’s individual accommodation, was also denied.
An estimated 500,000 Sikhs live in the United States, with roughly half of them in California. Particularly significant Sikh populations reside in Central Valley municipalities including Yuba City, Fresno and Livingston.
Male Sikhs leave their hair uncut and bound in a turban as a mark of commitment to Sikhism’s “divine presence.” This conflicts with military grooming standards, which can start with a basic-training buzz cut.
In 2014, 105 lawmakers, including seven from the Central Valley, urged the Pentagon to permanently revise its grooming policies to cover all Sikh soldiers and prospective recruits.
“Given the achievements of these soldiers and their demonstrated ability to comply with operational requirements while practicing their faith, we believe it is time for our military to make inclusion of practicing Sikh Americans the rule, not the exception,” the lawmakers wrote.
Speaking at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government last December, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told a Sikh member of the Army National Guard that the military needs “everybody who can contribute to our mission (and) who can meet what are high standards.” Nonetheless, individual determinations remain the route to exemption from military grooming rules.
Harpal Singh was born in New Delhi and trained as an engineer before going to the Bay Area five years ago. He has been living in Dublin, California, and working as a contractor for Ericsson, setting up cellular communications networks.
As a fluent speaker of Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu, he first tried to enlist in the Army in 2011 and again in 2012 through a program recruiting those with vital skills.
“I was told I could not join because of my beard and turban,” Singh said in a declaration.
Last November, after learning the military was offering individual accommodations through the Army’s Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest program, Singh signed an enlistment contract. In late March, still waiting for his accommodation, he joined one of the lawsuits, the McClatchy report said.
About a week after Singh sued, the Army delivered the accommodation that enabled him to report for Army training this week: With his hair wrapped in a turban, the Army declared, “your hair may not fall over your ears or eyebrows or touch your collar of your uniform.”
It added that officials “may withdraw or limit the scope of your accommodation for reasons of military necessity.”
The news of harpal Singh’s accommodation in the US Army has been welcomed by Sikhs.
“We are forever grateful for being accepted for who we are and what we believe,” said Karm Bains, reported CBS.
Bains is a fourth-generation farmer and developer in Sutter County and is pleased to hear a few of his fellow Sikhs won’t have to compromise on faith or patriotism.
“One thing is we are all proud to be Americans,” he said.
For generations, military men have been required to be clean-shaven with short, cropped hair. Recently, three army enlistees and a U.S. Army captain won the right to wear beards and turbans for religious reasons.
Bains says for those in the Sikh community, the beard and turban are foundations of faith. He’s grateful to hear the government recognizes that.
“For the military to accept us in the way we look or allow us to practice our religion or keep our articles or our faith while serving this great nation is true honor and privilege,” he said. “It’s with great pride and honor to see fellow Sikhs serving our great country,” he added.
While there was jubilation for Sikhs, Muslim women who prefer to wear a hijab and service in the US Army, have an uphill battle ahead.
Raw Story reported a Muslim student will not be allowed to wear a hijab with her uniform at the Citadel military college in South Carolina should she decide to enroll this fall, the school’s president said on Tuesday.
Lieutenant General John Rosa, the president, said the public military college recognized the importance of individual religious beliefs but could not grant the exception to the standardized uniform considered essential to its learning goals.
“Uniformity is the cornerstone of this four-year leader development model,” Rosa said in a statement. “This process reflects an initial relinquishing of self during which cadets learn the value of teamwork to function as a single unit.”
Rosa said the student’s request to wear the headscarf was given “considerable review” by the college in Charleston, and he added the school hoped the admitted student would still enroll.
The student was informed of the decision Tuesday morning and has not said whether she will attend, Citadel spokesman Brett Ashworth said in a phone interview, reported Raw Story.
Some students and alumni had spoken out against allowing the exception to be made, citing the military college’s emphasis on uniformity in apparel and privileges.
Citadel students are required to wear uniforms furnished by the college at nearly all times except when the corps of cadets is furloughed or a cadet is on leave, according to the college’s website.
Ashworth said the Citadel allowed an exception to the uniform requirement several years ago when a cadet requested for religious reasons to wear long pants and a long-sleeved shirt for physical fitness training.
“We do everything we can to support our cadets,” Ashworth said. “We allow cadets prayers time. We’ve released cadets on a Friday night or a Saturday night or to miss an inspection for a religious service.”