In 1st, Sikh man graduates from Marine boot camp with turban, beard
By Irene Loewenson
Aug 15, 09:46 AM
Each morning at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, Jaskirat Singh and his fellow male recruits would stand in front of the mirror in the bathrooms, joking around and getting themselves ready for the day.
The only difference, according to Singh? While the other recruits were shaving their faces, he was tying his turban and grooming his beard.
Now a private first class, Singh, 21, has become the first Marine known to have made it through boot camp with his Sikh articles of faith, including unshorn hair and a turban, beard and steel bracelet.
He graduated from the recruit depot Friday, following a legal win in December 2022 in which a federal appeals court agreed that the Corps’ refusal to grant accommodations to him and two other Sikh men violated their rights to religious liberty.
https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2023/08/15/in-1st-sikh-man-graduates-from-marine-boot-camp-with-turban-beard/
