Seriously, the Sikhs are bad ass with a capital bad and a capital ass all in bold face. They have to study martial arts, learn to use a sword, and a carry a dagger as a REQUIRMENT of their faith and they have to help anyone who’s getting a beat down near them! They’re freakin’ Batman in a turban! Does your minister carry a mini-scimitar and is he ready to use it if a bystander gets mugged? I doubt it. Our saints usually earn their stripes by getting hacked to pieces or burned at the stake or some similar bad ending at the hands of some other religion or government official. Sikh saints earn their stripes by slicing through their would-be oppressors like bearded food processors. Their men have been known to fight even after their heads get lopped off and the ones that aren’t as manly risk getting bitch slapped by the feistier Sikh women.
Despite all of this knack for bringing the pain, Sikhs are usually really peaceful and hell bent on harmonious co-existence. They’re basically the religious equivalent of the ideal American: peaceful and just in peace… your worst nightmare if you’re trying to break bad. So, maybe it is time we changed the rules a little. Maybe I was wrong. I don’t know the best way to go about it and I don’t know what kind of ramifications there might be, but I do think this issue should be looked at more closely.
Yeah, I think right about now we could use some more soldier saints.
Tags: badass, badasses, beards, daggers, Religion, Sikh, Sikhs, swords
Nah… When it comes to our military the rules need very much to apply equally. On that you were not wrong.
Now, I'd be cheering on bringing Sikhs on board as separate units in one form or another. Since you're examining history look up the 'yards in VN.
There's precedence galore.
One or two SF advisers to point them in the right direction, and turn 'em loose.
OTOH… in today's world… who knows?
Good, you came to the same conclusion I did.
Screw the masks. No one will use em anyway.
Yeah, I have mixed feelings on this one. Separate section for them might be right. They are some scary guys.
Maybe I can convince my church to take the same stance? "We all have to carry a sword and a gun at all times."
A specialized Sikh unit with modified grooming standards would be okay. They'll need a lot more than 2 guys though.
We had a Sikh in my first SF company. He even had an extra small camouflage-pattern turban that would fit under his helmet for jumps and he'd wear it in the field.
At the time there were something four or five Sikhs in the entire Army. Probably none now since the Army ruled that they had to shave so that protective masks would seal.