Major Rattan is one of only four Sikhs who have received hard-won accommodations in the last decade to serve in the U.S. military full time with their turbans and beards. Major Tejdeep Singh Rattan immigrated from India to New York as a teenager, and always wanted to serve in the military as a way to […]
Major Rattan is one of only four Sikhs who have received hard-won accommodations in the last decade to serve in the U.S. military full time with their turbans and beards.
Major Tejdeep Singh Rattan immigrated from India to New York as a teenager, and always wanted to serve in the military as a way to thank the United States for the opportunities it has given him. In March 2010, Major Rattan graduated from Officer Basic Training at Fort Sam Houston, making him the first Sikh soldier to do so in decades. After graduating, he completed his residency at Fort Bragg.
He began his service in 2010 as an Army dentist at Fort Drum, but was deployed to Afghanistan in March 2011 through October 2011, where he served in the southern part of the country, most notably at the Forward Operating Base. In recognition of Major Rattan’s superior service to the United States in Afghanistan, he was awarded the Army Commendation Medal and the NATO Medal.
Following his return from deployment in Afghanistan, Major Rattan was re-stationed at Fort Drum, NY, where he currently continues to serve as a general dentist at the Stone Dental Clinic.
Major Rattan’s meritorious service reinforces the fact that Sikhs can and do successfully serve with their articles of faith intact. His success adds weight to our campaign of ending religious discrimination by the U.S. military, which enforces a presumptive ban on observant Sikhs.
Source- SikhCoalition.org
Congratulations to Major Tejdeep Singh Rattan on his promotion from captain to major!
