|
Capt. Tejdeep Singh Rattan, a 31-year-old dentist, has become the first
turbaned officer in a generation to graduate from the U.S. Army’s officer basic
training program.
Rattan graduated from Fort Sam Houston after securing an exception from
the Army’s uniform policy, which since 1981 has barred conspicuous religious
articles of faith, such as headgears and beards.
Rattan retained his turban and beard during his training in the Army’s
Health Professions Scholarship Program, but would have been required to remove
them before starting active duty. He requested a waiver from the army, which
granted his request as an individual exception.
In a statement issued through the Sikh Coalition, which advocated on
his behalf,, Rattan said, “I am overjoyed to serve my country, work with my
fellow soldiers and to have completed basic training.”
Another soldier, Dr. Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi, who completes his emergency
medicine fellowship this summer, has also secured a waiver.
Turbaned Sikhs have served in the U.S. Army since World War I, but new
rules barred beards and turbans in 1984. Those recruited before the new policy
went into effect were allowed to retain their beards.
|
