Army will allow Sikh doctor from Morris County to serve with turban

By The Associated Press

October 24, 2009, 9:58AM

RIVERDALE -- The U.S. Army will make an exception to a decades-old rule and allow a Sikh doctor from Morris County to serve without removing his turban and cutting his hair, an advocacy group said Friday.

Capt. Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi, of Riverdale, is the first Sikh to be allowed to go on active duty with a turban, beard and unshorn hair in more than 20 years, according to the New York-based Sikh Coalition.

The decision does not overturn an Army policy from the 1980s that regulates the wearing of religious items, Acting Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Gina Farrisee wrote in a letter to Kalsi dated Thursday and posted online by the Sikh Coalition.

Instead, the Army's decision follows a long-standing practice of deciding such requests on a case-by-case basis, the letter said. Farrisee said the Army had weighed Kalsi's request against factors such as "unit cohesion, morale, discipline, safety and/or health."

There is more but I didn't feel like posting it......It just seems wrong to me...but then again I see the point of also getting a much needed MD in the ranks.....but I still don't like it......oh well....riff