Air Force Grants Sikh Americans Religious Accommodations

​Sikh Americans will have an easier time serving in the U.S. Air Force thanks to uniform and grooming accommodations adopted Feb. 7. They will be granted the religious accommodation of wearing turbans and not trimming their beards so long as the turbans meet certain specifications and beards are conservatively tied. The U.S. Army made a similar policy announcement in 2017; now Sikh Americans are seeking similar changes in all branches of the military.

"The reason this is so important to the Sikh community is not just they want to serve," said Amandeep Sidhu, an attorney with McDermott Will & Emery in Washington, D.C. The military often is the model for uniform standards in civilian jobs, he noted. Employers with uniform requirements, such as in law enforcement and security, often will argue that they don't have to let Sikhs wear turbans and beards on the job because the military doesn't.

"Breaking down this barrier has far-reaching implications for Sikhs and other observant minorities in various industries," Sidhu said.

The Air Force also announced it will let Muslim women wear hijabs as a religious accommodation, noted Giselle Klapper, an attorney with the Sikh Coalition in New York City.

Fight for Accommodations

A requirement of the Sikh faith is that hair not be cut and that the head be covered with a turban as a crown, Sidhu said.

Sikh Americans have served in the United States' military for approximately 100 years and were allowed to wear their hair and beards in accordance with their faith. That changed in 1981 when the Reagan administration banned wearing beards and religious headwear in the military. Two dozen Sikhs who were serving at that time were allowed to stay and continue wearing their hair and beards as their faith requires.  

In 2009, a bipartisan group of 43 representatives and six senators requested that then-Secretary of Defense Robert Gates provide individual religious accommodations for two Sikh clients seeking to serve in the U.S. Army. The two individuals were never questioned about wearing a turban and beard during training because the grandfathered-in Sikhs were wearing both, Sidhu said.

When it came time for active-duty service, the two individuals were ordered to shave their beards and remove their turbans or they would be discharged, he noted. They also were told they'd be obligated to repay the loans that the Army gave them for their training. Following the representatives' and senators' request, the Army granted them the accommodations of wearing turbans and beards.

The two individuals—Capt. Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi and Capt. Tejdeep Singh Rattan—went on to serve in Afghanistan. Kalsi received a Bronze Star for his service there. Rattan received an Army Commendation Medal and a NATO Medal for his service.

A third individual, Corp. Simran Preet Lamba, received an individual religious accommodation and graduated from Army basic training in 2010.

By 2015 and 2016, there was a large influx of Sikh Americans who wanted to serve, but the Army initially resisted more accommodations, according to Sidhu. It was as though the accommodation experiment had come to an end, he said.

At a 2015 event that the Pentagon hosted to celebrate a Sikh holiday, Capt. Simratpal Singh, who years before had removed his turban and shorn his beard when he was told he must or he'd be sent home from West Point, met the accommodated service members. The choice Singh had been given was "gut-wrenching," Sidhu said. McDermott Will & Emery, the Sikh Coalition, and the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty sued so that Singh could start being an observant Sikh once again while continuing to serve in the military.

The Army granted a temporary accommodation for three months at the end of 2015 and extended it again in 2016. However, in 2016, the Army subjected him to extensive beard and gas-mask testing to determine if he met certain standards, Sidhu said. "This was an extraordinary deviation from norms applicable to other service members in the Army," he added, noting that Singh was a decorated soldier. A court blocked the testing, and the Army ultimately granted him a long-term accommodation.

In addition, the Sikh Coalition, McDermott Will & Emery, and the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty sued the Army in 2016 to permit three Sikh soldiers—Spc. Kanwar Singh, Spc. Harpal Singh and Pvt. Arjan Singh Ghotra—to serve in the military wearing turbans and beards. The plaintiffs argued that the denial of accommodations violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The Army granted accommodations to all three.

In January 2017, the Army updated its uniform and grooming policies, making it much easier for Sikhs to obtain accommodations to serve with turbans and beards.

This change was followed by 60 observant Sikh men enlisting in the Army and the Air Force's similar change in policy this year. "With the Air Force, things moved more quickly," after it was asked to accommodate, Sidhu said.

[SHRM members-only toolkit: Managing Equal Employment Opportunity]

Grooming and Uniform Standards

The military still may enforce uniformity and safety standards, Sidhu said. A turban must conform to the color of the uniform, for example. So, a service member would have to wear a camouflaged turban in the field. In uniform when not in the field, the service member might be required to wear a dark blue or black turban.

In active-duty service, where a helmet must be worn, Sikh service members would wear a smaller turban—called an underturban or patka, which is "almost like a bandanna"—to keep their hair covered, he said.

If someone keeps a long beard, it would have to be groomed in a certain way, tied closely to the face and not kept open.

"It's never been a question about special treatment for the Sikh community. It's equal opportunity," he said. "We hope now doors will open for young Sikhs to join and have equal opportunity in the Air Force and other branches" of the military.