Sikhs fight Army over bans on turbans, uncut hair

I was surprised to see this story on CNN earlier today.

In this age of low enrollment, both for enlisted and officers in the Army, this story recounts the travails of two Sikhs who are going to be compelled to shed both their turbans and facial hair which they wear for religious reasons, in order to report to duty.

Years ago while serving as an Army wife, I learned of the "profile" that African American soldiers were able to use in order to wear beards due to having hyper sensitive skin - that is, skin that would break out in a rash if they shaved. They wore neatly trimmed beards instead of being closely shaven.

That is what is known as a "reasonable accomodation". I wonder why the U.S. Army, defender of religion, civil rights and all that is good and decent (for the most part) is not going to bat for these soldiers.

Methinks that the ACLU will become involved in this fray - it is just the sort of thing that the organization is there for.

Here is the link to the article - I am curious to see the feedback: http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/04/15/us.sikhs.military/index.html