First Sikh officer in 26 years
I remember during the Cold War ,when we thought it was inevitable that we would face the Soviets and the chemical weapons at the Fulda Gap, when the Army gave Sikhs the option of shaving their beards and wearing Army headgear or leaving the service. Well, the first Sikh since the ban has completed his Officer Basic Course;
Capt. Tejdeep Singh Rattan, a 31-year-old dentist, graduated Monday at Fort Sam Houston after the Army made an exemption to a uniform policy that has effectively prevented Sikhs from enlisting since 1984.
“I’m feeling very humbled. I’m a soldier,” he said, grinning after the ceremony as other members of the Sikh community milled about nearby. “This has been my dream.”
I wonder how long it takes him to put his protective mask on over the beard and turban. I guess Common Task Training now has religious exceptions for the standards.
I have no objection to Sikhs serving in the military, but unless they’re serving in a chaplain capacity, they should adhere to common sense standards.
Thanks to one of our vigilant LEO readers
Category: Politics
I disagree on this one. But, if only to take issue with the assinine Protective Mask bullshit. If I could have gotten away with it I would have thrown that shit away, put 2 poncho liners in the case, and grabbed an extra atropine injector for as I was going out. Because those masks don’t work worth a shit on anything stronger than CS, the failure rate is extra-ordinary, and the Atropine will at least let me take a few with me, or give me the strength to down a few last pints of Guinness as I listen to Dropkick Murphys.
Oh, and I would be totally in favor if getting 1,000 sikhs into the army in some special gurkha-like unit and let them do their thing, cause those dudes are BADASS.
I’m not concerned if he’s a dentist but you can’t let them go into combat with that much facial hair…..unless they go SF!! How do you put a brain bucket over that thing?
Does this mean that those of us of Scots/Irish descent can now wear kilts outside the wire?
Considering the Sikhs have probably killed more Muslims than the US Marines, I say give em a little wiggle room here…
They’ve already made this kind of exception before for a Jewish rabbi: http://tinyurl.com/ycjdghd
H.; Like I said, if he was a chaplain, I could understand an exception to the policy. But as far as I know, dentists still ride in trucks that are vulnerable to IED attacks. Wearing a k-pot might be advantageous in that situation.
About time they got rid of that ****ed up bull****. Bringing the Sikhs back into the army will make it better. I remember having them in back int he day too. Damn fine soldiers.
if they make a choice not to wear a helmet, then it’s on them.
If we had a highland battalion then I’d see the concept of kilts. Since we don’t, wear it at the Infantry Ball and have a bite of haggis.
Oh, and bring back bayonet training.
I really don’t have a big problem with this. Mainly because he is a dentist. Like Mcenroe said they have probably killed more muslims than the Marines.
Sikhs have a very strong military tradition. It is unfortunate that neither our military or Sikhs budge on this issue.
I wouldn’t mind being able to wear a kilt.
I have a problem with this. I also have a problem with the NYNG rabbi retaining his beard and the story the Army Times ran a few years ago about the muslim female who wore her hijab from basic training on.
It seems that we, for the sake of diversity and numbers, are too willing to give some more ‘individualism’ than others.
I have spent too many years tucking my cross back under my t-shirt because it wasn’t within regs, or it espoused a religious belief or it wasnt’ ‘strac’.
Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with their religious beliefs, I just want everyone treated the same. After all, isn’t that what that pesky piece of paper we swore an oath to said?
SF has modified grooming standards based on their mission and if the Army isn’t concerned about the gas mask thing there, why use it as an excuse for this?
I don’t have a problem with this, either. I happen to think it’s a good thing.
I love the Sikh’s. Ive worked with the several times over the years in Nepal. Top notch group on the whole.
However! If you volunteer for the US Military, you give up your rights to a certain extent for individualism. What if they need a dentist at a FOB, oops cant send this guy because of this, no cant send that guy because of that, and so on. Its a matter of where do you draw the line?
I applaud Capt. Rattan for wanting to serve his country, but maybe he could have opened a practice and gave free care to children of veterans. My 2c
Normally, I would agree with Jonn, but…these guys (the Dentist and the Dr. coming in this summer) went out and got valuable skills on their own dime. They followed the proper protocol and asked to serve a country which had given them great opportunities. They are serving in areas in high demand in which they could make a lot more in the private sector and in areas which, lets face it, are the least “military” in the military. If they wanted to be in the infantry or line officers, I might have a problem, but these exceptions for medical professionals and the clergy seem to be appropriate.
Well, I guess he will not be able to be stationed in Korea, where the NBC threat is no joke. Then again, if Kim starts lobbing scuds loaded with VX, who’s going to be worried about getting their teeth cleaned?
The Army paid for my sister’s medical degree. After graduating from medical school she served in the Army as a doctor for eight years. She had very little actual military training. In fact she probably would not even recognize a gas mask.
i’m siding with the sikhs on this one. i’m a HUGE stickler for uniform regulation and i’ve corrected many a boot LT and up for f’ing up our uniform.
but, the sikh’s are friggin badass. and they’re warrior history and ethic is something i deeply respect. if i were a platoon sergeant and had a sikh in one of my squads, i’d be cool with it, but i’d also have an expectation that he make up for his “uniqueness” with badassness.
S’ok. That is, until the first nerve agent attack.
Then what?
Then, in reality, he and most of the rest of his mates will be FUBAR with or without the masks. I wore a beard for most of my time in the Navy. I could get a seal on an EAB, I just had to pull on the straps like my life depended on it.
I say let em in and sic em on OBL.
We left our masks in our B-huts on Bagram when we went on operations. I never even saw my new MOPP suit that had been issued just for the deployment. I doubt we are more MOPP-prepared in 2010 than we were in 2006.
Sig
GEES—I don’t know. How do the Indian and Pakistani do it. They both know of chem and nuc systems of each other, and of China. I’m sure they don’t get into a big bubble helmut as say a cosmonot