WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, the Pentagon relaxed its rules governing the religious apparel and facial hair that troops can wear or maintain while in uniform, permitting dastars (turbans), beards, and other religious items.

The Defense Department issued the changes via a directive Wednesday afternoon. As part of the military’s changing approach to making religious accommodations, the new policy will allow service members to sport different kinds of religious garb and hairstyles so long as they don’t have an “adverse effect on military readiness, mission accomplishment, unit cohesion, and good order and discipline.”

The new rules aim to address a spate of controversies in recent years from religious troops seeking special treatment—for example, an Army Sikh, U.S. Army Major Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi, wanted to wear a turban with his uniform and a rabbi wanted to wear a beard.

A long fought battle

Major Kalsi comes from a long tradition of military veterans. His great grandfather served in the Royal British Army. Both his father and grandfather saw combat while serving in the Indian Air Force. So when recruiters approached him and asked him to join the military in 2000, Kalsi jumped at the opportunity.

“I was in medical school at the time, and I was really excited to continue the family tradition of military service,” Kalsi explains. “They also offered to cover the cost of my medical schooling, so it was a no-brainer. You’re going to give me financial support and I get to serve my country? How could anyone turn down such a great opportunity?”

What seemed like an easy decision soon brought its own challenges. Major Kalsi is an American physician whose religion—Sikhism—mandates that he maintain a turban and beard. At the time of his enlistment, it had been more than two decades since the Army had enacted a presumptive ban against religious minorities who maintain visible articles of faith, and it did not seem likely that Major Kalsi would receive an accommodation to serve while upholding his distinct identity.

Kalsi and his team of lawyers, led by the Sikh Coalition with assistance from an international law firm, McDermott Will & Emery, worked on securing this accommodation. As he describes it, Major Kalsi’s commitment to the lengthy process drew from his intense desire to serve and better his country.

“It was very clear to me that our country had not fully healed from the violence of 9/11,” Kalsi describes. “As an American and as a Sikh, I felt a need to be proactive in fighting hatred and injustice, and my value systems teach me that the best way to do this is through service.”

After nearly two years of paperwork and support from both the White House and Congress, Major Kalsi was eventually accommodated in 2009 along with two other Sikh-Americans—Captain Tejdeep Singh Rattan and Corporal Simranpreet Singh Lamba.

Change

The changes create several new categories, besides clothing, of religion-based features that can be displayed by troops. These now include facial hair, such as beards, and religious tattoos and piercings. The Pentagon stressed that religious apparel that “impairs” the safe operation of weapons, poses a safety hazard to others, or interferes with special equipment like helmets and flak jackets will not be permitted.

Immediate commanders will be allowed to grant accommodations to service members in some cases; in others, these items will have to be approved at a higher level.

“By promulgating this new instruction, we believe that it will enhance commanders’ and supervisors’ ability to promote the climate necessary to maintain good order and discipline, and would reduce both the instances and perception of discrimination among those whose religious expressions are less familiar to the command,” Pentagon spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Nate Christensen said.

“The Department of Defense places a high value on the rights of members of the Military Services to observe the tenets of their respective religions and the rights of others to their own religious beliefs, including the right to hold no beliefs.”

The changes come after Major Kalsi, a Sikh American campaigned so that fellow Sikhs would be able to wear a turban or maintain a beard while in uniform. Until now, the Pentagon had no force-wide rules for how to handle requests for religious accommodation, making it unclear who should ultimately make those decisions and what force-wide standards to impose.

From now on, troops’ requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis and be denied only “if it is determined that the needs of mission accomplishment outweigh the needs of the Service member,” according to the new policy. Troops will have to reapply for exemptions every time they deploy or change jobs.

The Pentagon’s new policy was driven in part by pressure from Congress, advocacy groups such as the Sikh Coalition, and at least one lawsuit from a service member seeking an exemption.

Troops should expect an official response to a request within 30 days when stationed at home and 60 days when overseas, according to the policy.

In addition to grooming and uniform standards, troops can request special accommodation for:

Worship practices or special observances

Rations that comply with religious dietary restrictions

Waivers for some medical requirements

Requests will be denied if they:

Interfere with the safe operation of military weapons or equipment

Interfere with the proper use of safety or protective gear

Jeopardize the public health or safety of the unit

Effects

According to an NBC article, there are 3 Sikhs in the U.S. military, about 3,700 Muslims, 6,300 Buddhists and 1,500 Wiccans who would be effected by this change.