Pfc. Jaskirat Singh, left, passes a drill instructor at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego in California on Aug. 14, 2023. Singh graduated with the Marine Corps’ Golf Company, 2nd Recruit Training Battalion. (Mark Abramson/The Sikh Coalition)
A Sikh man who won a court order allowing him to enter the Marine Corps without being required to shave his beard or cut his hair recently graduated from boot camp.
Wearing a white turban, Pvt. 1st Class Jaskirat Singh was among the Marines celebrating their achievement Friday at U.S. Marine Recruit Depot in San Diego, nonprofit organization the Sikh Coalition announced in a statement the same day.
“I’m proud to demonstrate that wearing a turban or beard does not make me any different or less of a Marine, and I intend to prove that in the future,” Singh said at a news conference afterward.
Singh, who will serve in the infantry, is thought to be the first Sikh to be granted the grooming standards waiver to attend recruit training, according to the coalition.
The 21-year-old is among four Sikhs who sued the Marines in April 2022 alleging that the service discriminated against them in denying their religious accommodation requests.
The Corps’ refusal to allow them to keep their beards and leave their hair uncut for boot camp or duty in a combat zone is unconstitutional, the men say. The Navy also is named in the suit.
Pfc. Jaskirat Singh graduates from boot camp with fellow Marines on Aug. 11, 2023, at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego in California. (Mark Abramson/The Sikh Coalition)
Key to the men’s argument is the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which limits the federal government in restricting a person’s exercise of religion, even when it may have a compelling interest to do so.
The Army and Air Force make accommodations for Sikh service members. The Navy has made changes for Jewish and Muslim sailors pending the outcome of a lawsuit.
In December, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that the Corps must allow Singh and two other recruits who are parties in the lawsuit to attend boot camp without cutting their hair or shaving their beards while their case continues.
The remaining party in the lawsuit, Marine Corps Capt. Sukhbir Singh Toor, is seeking accommodation so he can serve in a combat zone.
In defending the service, Justice Department lawyers have argued that the requirements are necessary to promote uniformity, cohesion and other esprit de corps characteristics. Beards also could interfere with a proper seal on a gas mask, the service’s attorneys have said.
But Singh and his attorneys say Marine Corps values such as honor, service and discipline are fundamental to the Sikh religion as well. That commonality is what inspired Singh to enlist, he said.
“For me personally, my understanding of the principles of (Sikhism) overlaps with my decision to serve my country,” Singh said at the news conference, adding that many Sikhs serving in the military have the same interpretation.
Pfc. Jaskirat Singh, third from the right, marches with the Marine Corps’ Golf Company, 2nd Recruit Training Battalion, at a graduation ceremony Aug. 11, 2023, at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego in California. (Mark Abramson/The Sikh Coalition)
Singh said fellow recruits were supportive during boot camp, asking questions about his faith and pleased with the diversity coming into the Corps. Commanding officers treated him the same as they treated other recruits, Singh said at the news conference.
Singh also said he easily met seal requirements for a gas mask during his training. If he had failed, the service wouldn’t have let him graduate, one of his attorneys said.
While Singh and his attorneys are glad he and the other Sikh recruits can attend boot camp without forfeiting their religious identity, they cautioned that the court decision applies only to them.
More legal work remains to guarantee the accommodation for other Sikhs, they said.
“What we’re pushing for … obviously is a policy change so that the next person doesn’t have to go back to court essentially to fight this,” said Giselle Klapper, deputy legal director of the coalition.
However, the Corps could implement the policy change based on the court decision, she added.
