Sikh-American becomes first Air Force member allowed to wear turban and beard on active duty

'Today, I feel that my country has embraced my Sikh heritage, and I will be forever grateful for this opportunity'

The United States Air Force has given religious accommodation. (American Civil Liberties Union)

The United States Air Force has for the first time allowed a Sikh airman to serve with a beard, turban and unshorn hair as part of a given religious accommodation.

Airman Harpreetinder Singh Bajwa is the first active duty airman allowed to wear his articles of faith, the Sikh American Legal Defence and Education Fund (SALDEF) said in a statement.

“Today, I feel that my country has embraced my Sikh heritage, and I will be forever grateful for this opportunity,” Mr Bajwa, who joined the Air Force in 2017, said.

Heather Lynn Weaver, a senior staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), an advocacy organisation that represented Mr Bajwa, said on Twitter that she was “thrilled”.

“We are working to ensure that every branch of the military provides similar religious accommodations,” she said.

In the UK last year, a Sikh Coldstream Guards soldier became the first to wear a turban during the Trooping the Colour parade, during which more than 1,000 soldiers took part in a ceremony to mark the Queen’s official 92nd birthday.

Guardsman Charanpreet Singh Lall said he hoped it would seen as “a new change in history”.

"I hope that more people like me, not just Sikhs but from other religions and different backgrounds, that they will be encouraged to join the Army," the 22-year-old from Leicester, who joined the British Army in 2016, said before the parade last June.

The turban he wore during Trooping the Colour was black and featured the ceremonial cap star to match the bearskin hats worn by the other soldiers.