Sikh U.S. Army captain allowed to wear beard, turban in uniform

[Kutnupe14]

...psst, soldiers don't always wear helmets. Soft caps in garrison is the norm. Lots of guys, including me, wore some sort of cloth item under the helmet because the GI suspension system sucks butt and caused headaches if you didn't. I used one of these:

You'd know better than I. I'd still like my soldiers to wear helmets while engaging the enemy, if practical.

 

[Spear Dane]

Geesh.. ranger tabby pffffsh...... It's not like he's a Marine...

Well it matters some. If they join the Corps the get advanced placement. Skip the first two weeks learning drill and saluting. They figure the Army can teach that much.

 

[oldpink]

I have no doubt at all that Sikhs are honorable and willing to serve in our armed forces.
I know a bit about their history, much of it with Sikhs helping the U.S. and our allies against our enemies.
However, there are some specific problems with the very long hair, turban, and beard for specific situations that those in the military are likely to face in combat or even peacetime.
One I can name right off the top of my head is for people in the Navy, all of whom are expected to help fight fires using a device called an OBA that uses an oxygen producing cartridge with a rubber facemask that must seal up against a clean-shaven face.
On top of compromising the seal, a beard can absorb the oxygen from the canister and cause a nasty burn if near a heat source, an obvious inherent hazard of fighting a fire.
I respect and honor Sikhs for their willingness to serve, but we cannot compromise on the realities involved where their dress and grooming can interfere with that service.

 

[voidsherpa]

Waiting for a full burqa, camo clad female now.

 

[halfmileharry]

We've already got Spec Ops way over the military dress code line as I used to know it.
What the hell....At least with the beard we can tell if it's male or female.
I like the turban myself. In a SHTF scenario you can use it for double duty as a bath towel if needed.

 

[printcraft]

Long row to hoe to sikh approval to wear the turban and beard.

Waiting for a full burqa, camo clad female now.

It's like a full time ghillie suit.... just less fuzzy.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

You'd know better than I. I'd still like my soldiers to wear helmets while engaging the enemy, if practical.

Per the article, he was still able to wear a helmet. Just saying that part is a non-issue. The gas mask (protective mask in military speak) though, I just don't see how he doesn't fail the seal test with a beard.

 

[shootersix]

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facial hair on us soldiers....no it'll affect battle field morale...just like the marsoc, seals and delta force operators pics I posted, they cant fight with a beard or turban, just like the soft caps that the seal in pic 2 I wearing.

the man's a ranger and west point grad, I'm not in the service, but I've watched enough tv shows about the training required to earn a ranger tab, if the man wants to wear a pink tutu, hell let him, he's fighting for our rights to sit behind a keyboard and complain about people wearing a turban and a beard while in a us soldiers uniform. I'd bet that if we asked the people who went thru ranger school/west point, they'd say the same thing!.

 

[Woobie]

I remember seeing an article in Army Times, IIRC, about another guy doing this back a couple of years ago. He was a doctor, though, not combat arms, so nobody really saw it as a big deal. I guess if my CO wants to die by being gassed, well, that's his deal. I personally never saw officers as mission essential equipment anyway.

 

[HoughMade]

...psst, soldiers don't always wear helmets. Soft caps in garrison is the norm. Lots of guys, including me, wore some sort of cloth item under the helmet because the GI suspension system sucks butt and caused headaches if you didn't. I used one of these:

Oh, Mr. Fancy pants. My gourd made due with this:

 

[Woobie]

Oh, Mr. Fancy pants. My gourd made due with this:

You old dudes need to try an ACH on. Still heavy, but they are so much nicer than the old helmets.

 

[HoughMade]

You old dudes need to try an ACH on. Still heavy, but they are so much nicer than the old helmets.

Us old dudes plan to stay out of situations where bullet resistant headgear is thought to be necessary. Even in 1990, there were some M1 steel pots used in certain situations. Not general issue, though.

Anyhoo, I bet the phrase: "which one is Capt. Singh" isn't used very often.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Oh, Mr. Fancy pants. My gourd made due with this:

I started with the foam doughnut, but the cool aid was so much better. Soak it in cold water, the strips swell up and stay cool for a few hours. Some sort of gel inside.

 

[Roland of Gilead]

Beards should be mandatory for one reason. Mr. Freeman's annoyance of a couple of hundred thousand bearded dudes handling automatic rifles safely would be entertaining.

 

[Texican]

Kudos to the US Army. I have never met a Sikh that was not an honorable person, and I've had dealings with quite a few. As for the long hair, Sikh culture states it must be well-maintained and kept. The turban covers the hair.

As far as whether or not this is a good thing, I'm all for it.

And I agree with others out there, that turban looks awesome!

 

[trucker777]

Welcome back to ancient Rome...

 

[HoughMade]

Beards should be mandatory for one reason. Mr. Freeman's annoyance of a couple of hundred thousand bearded dudes handling automatic rifles safely would be entertaining.

I'm on board, but first you'll have to get soldiers to handle automatic rifles safely. My memory is something close to strip searches to make sure we never had live ammo anywhere other than the range.

 

[Expat]

If we are going to reach out for transgender recruits why not allow a guy to have a beard. The old fashioned concepts of unit cohesion, good order and discipline are dead.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

The old fashioned concepts of unit cohesion, good order and discipline are dead.

Which is being violated by this, and how?

 

[Kutnupe14]

Which is being violated by this, and how?

We all have our own biases, I'm just one of the few that admit it. I can imagine, that my bias stems from the fact that a turban isn't a very traditional look in the U.S. military. We've kinda been bred on the idea that a soldier has that "all-American" football stud look. Long hair and beards seem a lil to hippy/hipster-ish. Obviously, it's wrong to think that way, but it's something we'll have to overcome.

Kut (doesn't like the look, but begrudgingly accepts it)