Senator Coons urges acceptance of Sikh Americans in the military
Senator Coons, Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) and 13 of their colleagues have written a letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel urging the Department of Defense to revise regulations on appearance that effectively prohibit religiously observant individuals from serving in the U.S. military. While applying to all faiths, the letter specifically references followers of Sikhism, who wear turbans and maintain unshorn hair and beards as a matter of religious obligation. Current military policy requires religiously observant service members to remove their head coverings, cut their hair, or shave their beards while accommodation requests are pending, even if they are capable of meeting safety requirements.
“No American who wishes to serve our nation should be barred from doing so because of their faith,” Senator Coons said. “In recent years, the military has taken steps to improve its accommodation of religiously observant individuals, but its restrictions regarding unshorn hair, beards, and turbans continue to prevent many Sikh Americans, in particular, from having the opportunity to serve. The Department of Defense can and should refine its regulations to accommodate religious obligations that do not interfere with the safe performance of duties. Our military has only to gain from the service of these dedicated and principled people of faith.”
Since the Reagan Administration, service members have been allowed to wear neat and conservative religious apparel as long as it does not interfere with the performance of military duties. In recent years the U.S. Army has granted waivers to three Sikhs to wear turbans and maintain unshorn hair and beards, as required by their faith. However, the most recent revisions would require religiously observant service members to remove their head coverings, cut their hair, or shave their beards while an accommodation request is pending and submit a new accommodation request each time they are assigned to a new base or duty station.
Full text of the letter is below:
Dear Secretary Hagel,
We respectfully request that the Department of Defense refine its January 22, 2014, revisions to Instruction 1300.17 (Accommodation of Religious Practices Within the Military Services) so that religiously observant individuals are not presumptively prohibited from serving in our military.
As you know, 10 USC § 774 was enacted during the Reagan Administration and permits service members to wear neat and conservative religious apparel, such as a yarmulke, as long as it does not interfere with the performance of their military duties. In recent years, the U.S. Army has granted individualized waivers to three Sikhs to wear turbans and maintain unshorn hair and beards. Each of them successfully completed basic training and complied with safety requirements relating to helmets and protective masks. Two of these soldiers deployed to Afghanistan and earned a Bronze Star Medal and Army Commendation Medal for their service; another was recently promoted to the rank of Corporal. In recent years, the U.S. Army has also granted waivers to a Jewish Rabbi and two Muslim doctors to maintain beards.
Despite their achievements, Section 4(g) of the revised Instruction would require religiously observant service members to remove their head coverings, cut their hair, or shave their beards—in violation of their religious obligations—while an accommodation request is pending, even if they are capable of meeting safety requirements. Section 4(j) of the revised Instruction would require each of these soldiers to submit to a new accommodation request each time they are assigned to a new base or duty station. These seem inconsistent with the intent of section 774, which creates the presumptive entitlement to wear religious apparel that is neat and conservative and which does not interfere with military duties.
We believe that a service member’s religion should not be a barrier to serving in our nation’s armed services. Accordingly, we hope that Instruction 1300.17 can be further amended so that talented Americans of faith are given a fair opportunity to serve in our nation’s military.
We appreciate your attention and look forward to working closely with you on this matter. Thank you for your time and consideration.