The demand for the 'right to serve' has been very vocal in the last few years amongst various Sikh organizations. However, the question of who we are serving and most importantly why we are serving is rarely ever discussed. For the first time, the Jakara Movement at our Paaras Sikh Youth Center will be organizing a community forum around the question - to serve or not to serve?

For the first time, you'll get to hear from the young Sikh men and women, who are active or veterans in the United States military. You'll get to hear their thoughts, experiences, perspectives, and ideas about the US military. We want to give them a forum so that they can share their own voices with the community.

So whether you are thinking about joining the Army, Navy, Marines, or the Air Force, or just interested to hear from the voices of those that have, we hope you come out and support this community initiative.

In addition, for other desi vets or those interested in supporting them - here are some key links:

Instagram @southasianveteans

FB - Open only to Desi Veterans [https://www.facebook.com/groups/SouthAsianVeterans/]

Email - southasianveterans@gmail.com

Panelists:



Navpreet (Nav) Singh Sandher is a Marine Corps veteran from Turlock CA. He did one tour of duty in Afghanistan and was stationed in Okinawa, Japan. Navpreet was a valuable asset during the Jakara Movement's first annual Nishaan conference for high school students and has been an instructor at the Bhujangi Youth Academy for the past three years. He will be transferring to the University of Hawaii in the fall.



Harveer (Harvey) Athwal has been a US Marine reservist for the past five years. He is a Military Police Officer, who graduated from Central High School in Fresno 2008. Currently he is a a student at Willow International in hopes of pursuing his AA degree.

Jasdeep (Jassi) Singh is a veteran of the Marine Corps where he served four years as a rifleman. He is currently studying History and Middle East studies at UC Davis. He has been an active member of the Jakara movement for a number of years and credits Jakara with much of his own personal growth. He is the founder of the South Asian Veterans network and hopes the group can provide sangat for returning veterans. He hopes to someday backpack the Pacific Coast Trail.

Jaskiranjot (Joti) Brar was in the Marine Corps for four years, completing one tour in Iraq. During her time in the Marines she worked in a Maintenance Battalion as a Supply Administrative clerk. She is Fresno, currently completing her undergraduate degree at UC Berkeley. She studies Social Welfare and hopes to one day become a social worker or a teacher. She likes writing, photography, music, traveling, trees and birds.