Originally Posted By Labuda Ok, so - this came to my attention because an old friend of mine is the photographer (he posted a link to the story on his FB page). Anyhow, I think this a GREAT thing for the US that we're apparently starting to undo some of the bad done during the Reagan years. Yesterday, for the first time since 1984, a member of the Sikh religion graduated from Army officer training. This was down at Ft. Sam in San Antonio. I look at this as a sign that maybe, just maybe, our country is becoming a little less racist for sure. <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35994073/ns/us_news-military/" target="_blank">http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35...ilitary/</a>
Originally Posted By markymouse I didn't see a mention of the Sikh officer at that link, though I did find out the shocking truth about acia berries. What's up? Was there some sort of ban? A ban of Sikh headwear?
Originally Posted By Labuda marky, yes - it has to do with the fact that the Army has now granted tow exceptions to the rule that banned their beards and long hair. As far as the link - weird. Worked fine for me, man!
Originally Posted By Labuda ...which means they were excluded if they were actually practicing members of their religion.
Originally Posted By Mr X Well, to the point where religious garb interferes with training it's understandable that the military has a code of attire (note that he had to prove his beard wouldn't interfere with necessary equipment, a gas mask in this case...I would think many Hassidic Jews wouldn't qualify purely for safety reasons). If a religion is THAT extreme, you really can't fault the army for excluding "practicing" members. Would they allow a female recruit to don a full burka rather than her standard issued uniform?
Originally Posted By Labuda Good point, X. If she could still perform duties and make it through basic training, then yes, they should allow that.
Originally Posted By Mr X Read up on "Unit Cohesion" and get back to me, k? (in the case noted here, he was granted an EXCEPTION due to the fact that his requirements were fairly minimal...sorry, but they wouldn't let in a Catholic Bishop who insisted on always wearing the tall pointy hat either)
Originally Posted By alexbook I'm sitting here laughing at the image of a soldier running an obstacle course while wearing a pointy bishop's hat. Sounds like something out of Monty Python.
Originally Posted By markymouse It's all about being willing to make reasonable accommodations rather than using an inflexible policy to stifle cultural diversity. If a Muslim woman needed to wear a simple headcovering,a Jewish man needed to keep on a yamaka, or an Amish soldier needed to go out on patrols in a buggy, a diverse country's military ought to be able to work with that. Though I'm not sure what to do about our enemies smearing ice cream cones on our soldiers. Harrison Ford won't always be there.
Originally Posted By Mr X Are you sure you're okay with that third example? Seems to me that's one of the ones that WOULDN'T work out (the first two sound reasonably close to the original example...but again a simple headscarf is far from a complete religious getup in lieu of a standard uniform). Post 14 lmao.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo X - a Burka is not required by the Quaran, that is the mandate of some national cultures. The requirement is simply a head covering/scarf. The same is required of othodox jews and and greek orthodox, heck, it wasn't that long ago it was seen as respectful in the Vatican. In the UK, the British military have Sikh members in the ranks, though facial hair has always been allowed (with permission from an officer). And because of the colonial past, the hair length and head scarf has been permissable too.
Originally Posted By markymouse X - OK, maybe the armored buggy idea is ahead of its time. I was about to argue about it being better for the environment, but I guess horses put out greenhouse gases in their own way.
Originally Posted By alexbook <a href="http://media.photobucket.com/image/horse-drawn%20tank/Arbinnn/horsetank.jpg" target="_blank">http://media.photobucket.com/i...tank.jpg</a>
