M A I N   N E W S

US Army opening up to turbaned Sikhs

Washington, September 25
Growing up near the air force base in Dayton, Ohio, Tejdeep Singh Rattan knew he wanted to serve in uniform. When the military discouraged him, he persisted but again got a cold shoulder.

When he was turned away the third time, Rattan -- a Sikh with a turban and beard -- became suspicious.

“I was, like, I don't know what's going on,” he said. “I was very introverted at the time. I never felt the need to fight back. But I said I really want to do this, and you guys are sending me out again and again." The 31-year-old is now US Army Captain Rattan, and since July he has been the head dentist at the Fort Drum base in New York.

In what appears to be a quiet shift, the US military since last year has allowed Rattan and two other Sikhs to serve while retaining their turbans and beards, which are required by their faith.

Rattan and another Sikh who received approval last year — Captain Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi, a doctor — said in interviews that their superiors had welcomed them warmly.

Kalsi, 34, said on his first day of training at Fort Sam Houston in Texas, a first sergeant pulled him out of thecrowd and told the soldiers about the Sikh's long ordeal to enlist. — AFP