A US court has ruled that the Marines cannot refuse admittance to Sikhs with beards and turbans, in a huge victory for three recruits from the community who can now join the elite unit’s basic training without having to give up their religious convictions.
The recruits, Aekash Singh, Jaskirat Singh, and Milaap Singh Chahal, had sought an exemption from a Marines grooming rule forcing them to cut their beards, claiming it was an expression of their religious devotion. The Marine Corps told three Sikh men that they could only serve if they shaved before beginning basic training.
Aekash Singh, Jaskirat Singh, and Milaap Singh Chahal filed an appeal with the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
In September, they filed an appeal with the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit after a lower-court judge denied their request for a preliminary injunction, which would have allowed them to start basic training with their articles of faith.
“They are now suffering and will continue to suffer grave, immediate, and ongoing injuries to their exercise of faith,” a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals declared here on Friday.
“This is a major ruling for religious freedom—for years, the Marine Corps has barred Sikh recruits with religious beards from entry into basic training. Today’s ruling strikes down that rule as a “violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA),” he said.
“No one should have to choose between serving God and country,” he added in a series of tweets.
Marines’ ban on facial hair applies throughout basic training and in “combat zones”
The Marines’ ban on facial hair applies throughout basic training and in “combat zones,” which the plaintiffs claimed in court spans over three dozen countries where hazard pay is paid, according to the Washington Post.
Marines stated that beards would affect “troop homogeneity” and recruit appearance, compromising national security. The United States Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard all accommodate Sikhism’s religious requirements. Male Sikh believers must not trim their hair or beard while also wearing a kanga (wooden comb), kirpan (small sword), kara (steel bracelet), and a white cotton undergarment (kachera).
“They believe, as part of their religious duty, in defending the rights of others,” Baxter told National Public Radio (NPR).
The Marine Corps now allows medically needed beards and a variety of hairstyles for women, and it has modified its tattoo policy.
NPR reported in 2021 that the Marine Corps aimed to address its lack of diversity and retention issues.