Lt. Col. Kamal Singh Kalsi gave more than 1,000 interviews in eight years as part of his fight to help Sikh soldiers stay true to their faith while serving the U.S. Army. But on the day Army officials announced the long-awaited change, he was speechless.
"I was very emotional. I'm still sort of processing what it all meant," Kalsi said.
Before Army directive 2017-03 was signed on Jan. 3, accommodation requests from soldiers like Kalsi, who sought permission to wear a turban and a beard in observance of the Sikh faith, required input from the Pentagon and took several months to resolve. Now brigade-level commanders have the authority to approve requests to sidestep the Army's uniform policy for religious reasons, streamlining what was once a frustrating bureaucratic boondoggle.
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