Army says religious head coverings are fine in JROTC
Published: December 23, 2011
The Army has decided religious head coverings fit in with Defense Department standards on religious practice – at least at the high school level.
The decision follows a controversy that developed after a student in Tennessee was barred from marching with her peers in a Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps parade because she wore the hijab, a traditional headcovering worn by many Muslim women. The policy change covers other religious groups' headcoverings as well, such as the turbans worn by Sikh men.
"Cadet Command is currently reviewing the JROTC religious head dress policy to develop appropriate procedures to provide cadets the opportunity to request the wear of religious head dress," Army spokeswoman Lt. Col. Amy Hannah said.
In a Dec. 19 letter to the Council or American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, which raised the issue, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army Larry Stubblefield said the student would be invited back into her school's JROTC program.
“The Army prides itself in being a diverse organization, comprised of individuals from many faiths and relgions,” he wrote.
Each service sets its own rules for religious attire, guided by overall Defense Department policy, which states: “Members of the military services may wear items of religious apparel while in uniform except when the items would interfere with the performance of military duties or the item is not neat or conservative.”
Hannah said requests to wear religious head coverings in ROTC, at the university level, and in the active-duty Army would continue to be addressed on a case-by-case basis through the soldier's chain of command.
"Exceptions are based on the mission of the unit and the safety and health of the soldiers," she said.
A member of another religious group recently won a similar battle. Earlier this month, the Army relented in its fight to keep an Orthodox Jewish rabbi who said his religion forbade him to shave his beard from being allowed to join the Army as a chaplain.
CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad welcomed the Army's openness to traditional headcoverings in a press release from the organization.
"We welcome the fact that Muslim and Sikh students nationwide will now be able to participate fully in JROTC leadership activities while maintaining their religious beliefs and practices,” he said.
