With Capt. Tejdeep Singh Rattan’s recent graduation from basic training, Sikhs are hopeful of one day being able to serve in all levels of the Army.

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During the nine weeks of Basic Officer Leadership Course, in preparation for active duty as an Army dentist, Tejdeep Singh dispelled two major concerns: Can a Sikh soldier wear a gas mask? And, can a Sikh soldier wear a helmet? He did both.

The Army granted Tejdeep Singh an accommodation last December to allow him to serve with his beard and dastaar. He was sent for training on Feb. 1 to Camp Bullis, Texas. He had to pass all of the requirements to become an officer – no exceptions.

During the nuclear, biological and chemical training, Tejdeep used a dab of Vaseline gel to tighten the seal around his beard and face before entering a gas chamber. It worked.

As for the helmet, he had a custom keski (under turban) sewn using Army camouflage material. The Kevlar helmet fit over it without a problem.

But then he went beyond requirements. When he is not wearing a helmet, Tejdeep Singh wears a black dastaar (turban). On his own initiative, he designed a flash, insignia worn on berets, which can be attached to it with Velcro. He dedication impressed his superiors and fellow soldiers.

Tejdeep Singh successfully completed officer training on March 19 and graduated with his class at Fort Sam Houston Army base on March 22.

In attendance, among the local sangat, was Harsimran Kaur, legal director of the Sikh Coalition, the New York-based advocacy group that lobbied the Army to allow Tejdeep Singh into its service. Also in attendance was Capt. Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi, a Sikh recruit who received an accommodation last October. This summer he will begin training as an Army doctor at Fort Sam Houston.

“Our expectation is that as we receive requests from additional Sikhs, we will help them go through the process,” said Amandeep Singh Sidhu, attorney at the Washington law firm McDermott Will & Emery, which is working pro bono with the coalition. But a complete policy change to allow Sikhs to serve at all levels in the armed forces, even in combat, will take time.

“There is momentum for progressive change…, with current leadership in the Army and the White House, if we can demonstrate that Sikh articles of faith are compatible with army requirements,” Amandeep Singh said.

Bhagat Singh Thind was the first Sikh to serve in the Army, during World War I. Sikhs were allowed to serve with their kesh and dastaar until 1986 when the Army banned “conspicuous” religious gear. But Sikhs and soldiers of other faiths who were part of the Army before 1986 were grandfathered in. As a result, Col. Arjinderpal Singh Sekhon, a doctor, and Col. G.B. Singh, a dentist, continued to serve in the U.S. Army with their turbans and unshorn hair until their retirement in 2009 and 2007, respectively.

The Army at Fort Sam Houston has been “sympathetic and supportive” of Tejdeep Singh in part because Major General Russell Czerw mentored Col. G. B. Singh, Harsimran Kaur said. G. B. Singh graduated from Fort Sam Houston 31 years ago. He is now a professor of dentistry at Meharry College in Tennessee. And Czerw is now chief of the Army Dental Corps.

“All of these people, they will support him (because of the) friendships I developed over the years,” said G. B. Singh, who served in the Army from 1979 to 2007. “That’s the reason I stayed so long.

“I think he will do very well,” he added. “I hope he goes farther than I did.”

Born in Amritsar, Tejdeep Singh came to the United States as a teenager. He was accepted into the Army’s Health Professions Scholarship Program with the understanding that he would become one of the Army's corps of officers. But when he completed the program last summer, he was told he could not serve with his beard and dastaar.

Several Sikh organizations crafted a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates asking him to make an exception to the Army’s policy on religious gear, Regulation 600-20. Six senators and 43 members of the House of Representatives, including Carolyn Maloney, D-NY, who represents Tejdeep Singh’s district, signed the letter. When he graduated, Maloney congratulated him in a statement from the floor of the House.

Tejdeep Singh, 31, is expected to report for active duty on or before April 12 at Fort Drum, New York, where he will serve as an Army dentist for at least six months. Then the Army will make a decision whether to deploy him elsewhere. Tejdeep Singh is also considering pursuing an Army fellowship for specialized dental training, Harsimran Kaur said. If that happens, he may move to a base over seas.

Tejdeep Singh’s success also has opened doors for Sikhs in other fields of security and law enforcement, she added.

“If a Sikh can serve in army without a problem, why should there be a problem in any other field?” she said. “There is nothing about having Sikh articles of faith that prevent them from performing their duties.

“We knew it all along. Now we can show the rest of the world.”


Note: Top image: Capt. Tejdeep Singh Rattan, courtesy the Sikh Coalition.
>>Click here to see more images from the Sikh Coalition.
>>Click here to see more images from the Army.

Story by Anju Kaur
Sikh News Network staff journalist
anjukaur@sikhnn.com
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