Sikh Navy Captain and Poolees File Federal Discrimination Complaint

A Navy captain and three Deferred Entry Program members of Sikh faith have filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Corps’ decision not to allow the wearing of traditional turbans and beards in combat or training areas recruits.

Captain Sukhbir Singh Toor along with Jaskirat Singh, Aekash Singh and Milaap Singh Chahal filed a lawsuit through their attorneys, with the assistance of the Sikh Coalition, Monday in the Federal District Court in Washington, D.C. DC. “Singh”, which means lion, in the Sikh faith is adopted by men much like a baptismal name in Christianity.

Over the past year, the Marine Corps has changed some of its previous practices to allow Toor and others to keep beards, turbans and articles of faith intrinsic to Sikh religious identity.

However, the lawsuit, reported by The New York Times and other media electrical outletsstipulate that remaining restrictions on which the Corps has yet to move violate the civil rights of Toor and his co-defendants, primarily their First Amendment rights to exercise their freedom of speech through the practice of their religion.

“We didn’t want to do this, any of us, including our clients, (a lawsuit) is never a goal, it’s absolutely a last resort,” Gisselle Klapper, lead attorney for the Sikh Coalition, told The Daily Mail. Marine Corps Times. Wednesday.

“We’ve been trying for a year to practically communicate with the Marine Corps, the Department of the Navy,” she said. “We want this to work, we’re not here to fight you, we’re here to help you.”

These years of work primarily refer to Toor’s personal campaign, which he launched both on his own behalf and for current and future Sikh Marines, when he was selected as a captain in the spring of 2021.

warrior legacy

Toor joined the Corps in 2017 and became an artillery officer.

At first he shaved his beard and wore no turban or articles of faith. This, Toor said, was mainly because he felt he had to give something of himself to the Corps before applying for the accommodation.

The Sikh faith has a strong tradition of warrior heritage that encourages its members to fight for the oppressed. Military service fits closely into this tradition.

The beard, the turban and the articles of faith like the “kanga”, a small wooden comb; a “kirpan” or small ceremonial knife or sword; “kachera” a short or longer cotton soldier’s undergarment; a “kara” which is a small steel bracelet and the practice of not cutting one’s hair or beard, known as a “kesh”.

Following his petition, Lt. Gen. David Ottignon, head of manpower and reserve affairs, drafted a letter granting Toor permission to wear the turban and uncropped hair, within certain limits.

At first, Toor was not authorized to wear the turban and Articles of Faith while assigned to units, such as the one he served in, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, CA.

These limits also included a ban on wearing these items in ceremonial uniform in a ceremonial position. When later challenged by Toor’s co-defendants, all three of whom were Deferred Entry Program poolees who had not yet been shipped off for recruit training, Corps leaders also refused to allow them to attend training camp without cutting their hair and giving up those items.

The rationale expressed by Navy leaders for the limits placed on rapidly deploying units in combat zones was a matter of security. This included not being able to properly don and clean a gas mask.

The recruit training restriction had to do with uniformity, a driver of early discipline and unit cohesion instilled in Marines at this point of entry into the Corps.

However, Toor and his co-defendants pointed out some inconsistencies, in their view, about the Corps’ logic.

The Marines recently relaxed regulations now allowing long sleeve tattoos. They accommodated skin conditions that prohibit daily shaving, such as pseudofolliculitis or PFB, a condition that can cause irritation and painful bumps when the skin is shaved regularly and is prevalent among African American men.

Not to mention the meme-worthy photos dotting the internet of Special Operations Forces personnel, Marines and others, sporting long, thick beards amidst active combat zones and tasks.

Since September 23, 2021, Toor and the other beneficiaries of the exemption have been authorized to wear their articles, under these limited conditions.

But for the co-accused, that was not enough.

Toor and his co-defendants have referred their comments on this article to their representatives at the Sikh Coalition.

The Marine Corps has deferred comments on the lawsuit and the broader issue to the Justice Department, which handles federal prosecutions. The Justice Department representative reached by Marine Corps Times on Wednesday declined to comment at this time.

Marine Corps Times has published previous coverage of this series of events, including a longer profile of Toor in 2021.

Kamal S. Kalsi, president of the nonprofit Sikh American Veterans Alliance and a currently serving Army Reserve Lt. Col., told the Marine Corps Times that while separate Sikh groups have won victories thanks to a 2016 lawsuit that caused the Army to adjust its regulations, they knew that with the Marine Corps, “it would be a tough conversation.”

While Kalsi has heard similar arguments against his own request to wear his Articles of Faith before he was granted permission to don them in 2016, the issue comes down to simple metrics.

“If someone says, ‘I am ready to die for you defending my country, my unit, we should allow them to keep their articles of faith,’ Kalsi said.

The alliance chairman said that while the military and air force understand this and can make it work, so can allied and partner forces such as Canada, the UK, India and Australia , so he doesn’t see why the Marine Corps can’t make reasonable changes.

“Either the whole world is wrong or the Marine Corps is wrong,” Kalsi said.

There is also some measure of history here. Troops were allowed to wear a number of articles of faith, including turbans, until regulatory changes emerged in 1981, Karper said. But it wasn’t until Congress passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in the early 1990s that the troops even had a basis to take legal action.

And Kalsi speaks from experience.

“When I deployed to Afghanistan in 2011, we deployed with the Marines, they’re awesome, I love the Marines,” Kalsi said.

At the time, he was chief of the emergency department of the 44th Medical Brigade. They took care of many wounded, many of whom were Marines involved in heavy fighting. No one being treated at this field hospital cared that he was wearing a turban and a beard, he said. They just wanted to know that he knew how to do his job and that he did it well.

Past precedents can signal future decisions. A federal judge has ruled in favor of the lawsuit filed in 2016 by Army Captain Simratpal Singh. The military followed suit and expanded clearances not only for Sikhs, but also for Jewish troops wearing yarmulkes and Muslim troops wearing hijabs.

The recent lawsuit filed by Toor and others names the commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. David Berger, his deputy commandant, the secretary of the Navy, and the secretary of defense.

As Karper noted, the naval services don’t have to wait for a court ruling. The entire trial could end with a decision by one of the top leaders to end the practice of banning the wearing of Articles of Faith under limited conditions.

“Why is this a problem for the Marine Corps?” Karper said.