Tag Archives: kamal kalsi

US Army Grants Waivers to 14 Sikh High Schoolers

Matthew Cox at Military.com reports the US Army has granted 60 religious accommodations to Sikhs entering the service, most recently to 14 high schoolers who will soon enlist:

Army Lt. Col. Kamal Kalsi, who is the president of the non-profit advocacy group that promotes Sikhism and military service, was surprised to learn there are 13 other high school students who will be allowed to enlist in the Army and openly serve as Sikhs.

This is a new milestone, he said.

“It shows progress,” Kalsi told Military.com, adding that he has been involved in this effort since he was granted the first such accommodation in 2009. “I was the first to get the accommodation for turban and beard way back in the day.”

Kalsi, who is also president and Read more

US Soldier: Combining Religious, Military Uniform Inspires Confidence

For Kalsi, wearing his “religious uniform” with his military uniform provides him confidence as a soldier.

“I know that my faith makes me a better soldier,” the lieutenant colonel said. “It makes me stronger, it makes me more resilient and it sustains me in ways that I would have a hard time explaining.”

The Stars and Stripes recently noted a surge in waivers for observant Sikhs to serve in the US military while retaining the outward symbols of their faith:

Eight Sikh Army recruits have received waivers this year allowing them to maintain their religiously mandated beards and turbans in uniform, nearly doubling the number of observant Sikhs in the Army despite a decades-old policy barring visual symbols of faith.

The success of Sikh adherents publicly exercising their religious faith in uniform has befuddled Michael “Mikey” Weinstein — the self-proclaimed Read more

Sterling, Military Religious Freedom Get Support at Supreme Court

Court-martialed Marine LCpl Monifa Sterling has appealed to the US Supreme Court, alleging her religious liberty was violated when she was convicted for not removing Bible verses posted to her desk.

The Supreme Court has not yet agreed to hear the case — and there are already significant briefs being filed in her support.

Critics like Michael “Mikey” Weinstein have tried to frame her case as a Christian trying to inappropriately “expose” others to their beliefs — and thus deserving of court-martial.

However, people who actually support religious freedom — rather than advocate discrimination against Christians as Weinstein does — are coming out in support of Sterling.

This includes a substantial number of significant and high profile non-Christians. Those supporting Sterling’s case with amicus briefs include:  Read more

Marine Aviator Criticizes Monifa Sterling, Religious Freedom Case

Carl Forsling, a retired Marine MV-22 pilot, recently took to Task and Purpose to criticize the current Supreme Court appeal of court-martialed Marine LCpl Monifa Sterling. One part of Sterling’s case, as you’ll recall, centered on her decision to post a paraphrased Bible verse on her desk — which she was ordered to take down. Forsling opines:

Sterling worked in a customer-service job at an ID center, so people conducting their official business had to read the verse. This made effectively made something that was supposedly for her own personal inspiration into proselytization.

To quote Inigo Montoya: “You keep using that word…” How does a posting a verse from Isaiah translate into an attempt to convert other people to a religion?  In short, it doesn’t, but claiming that Read more