November

U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel | Fort Dix, NJ Lieutenant Colonel Kamal Singh Kalsi is the first Sikh American to be granted a religious accommodation to serve in the U.S. military with his articles of faith since the exclusionary ban was enacted in 1981, He deployed to Afghanistan and treated hundreds of combat casualties on the front lines of war; he was awarded a Bronze Star Medal for his service.

Today a presumptive ban still stands in the way of Sikh Americans who wish to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces. Lieutenant Colonel Kalsi continues to dedicate much of his life towards working to end religious discrimination in our military. Lieutenant Colonel Kalsi was born at Kanpur Air Force base, India.

His parents are the children of refugees from India’s partition, and they immigrated to the United States when he was only two years old. Lieutenant Colonel Kalsi is committed to serving his country, but he refuses to sacrifice his Sikh faith.