( CNN ) -- The U.S Army has granted a member of a religious minority permission to keep his turban , beard and uncut hair while he serves in the military , the Pentagon and a group representing him said . Capt . Kamaljit Singh Kalsi , a doctor , is a Sikh , a faith that calls on its adherents not to shave or cut their hair . Kalsi filed a request in the spring for an accommodation to follow the principles of his religion . This month the Army granted his request , the Sikh Coalition told CNN . The Pentagon public affairs office later confirmed that Kalsi would be allowed to keep his turban , beard and uncut hair . The civil rights group hailed the move as `` a major step toward ending a 23-year-old policy that excludes Sikhs from service . '' Kalsi said he was `` overjoyed . '' `` Like the many Sikhs who fought before me , I know I will serve America with honor and excellence , '' he said in a written statement . But the Sikh Coalition provided what it said was a copy of the letter from the Army . Maj. Gen. Gina Farrisee said in the letter that Kalsi 's `` beard , uncut hair , and turban will be neat and well maintained at all times . '' She said her ruling applies only to Kalsi 's case , and is not a change of Army policy . `` This accommodation is based solely on the facts and circumstances of your case , '' the letter said . `` This accommodation does not constitute a blanket accommodation for any other individual . '' She said the exception could be revoked `` due to changed conditions . '' Her letter was dated October 22 and released by the Sikh Coalition the next day . Kalsi is not the only Sikh asking permission to keep his hair , beard and turban while serving in the Army . Capt . Tejdeep Singh Rattan , a dentist , applied at the same time as Kalsi . His case has been deferred until he receives the results of his dental board examinations , the Sikh Coalition told CNN . Both were scheduled to report for active duty in July . The Sikh Coalition said Kalsi and Rattan had been assured when they were recruited to join the Army 's Health Professions Scholarship that their unshorn hair and turbans `` would not be a problem . '' `` Both are concluding their training and are slated to begin active duty in July 2009 . However , the U.S. Army is now disputing their ability to serve with their Sikh identity intact , '' the Sikh Coalition said in an April 14 letter addressed to Defense Secretary Robert Gates . `` It does n't make sense to me , especially in these hard times , '' Kalsi told CNN at the time . `` The military is hurting for professionals . They need doctors , they need nurses . '' Amardeep Singh , the head of the Sikh Coalition , told CNN in the spring that the issue affects observant Sikhs , not those Sikh-Americans who entered the military after removing their turbans and shaving their beards and hair . The issue is important for the roughly 500,000-strong American Sikh community , Singh said . Sikhs faced hostility after the September 11 , 2001 , attacks , when people associated them with al Qaeda terrorists because their turbans and beards resembled the militants ' appearance . The Sikh religion was founded in India . `` The perception is still there , '' Singh said . `` We 're sort of still feeling it . '' He said surveys chronicle the problems Sikhs face . Among them is one conducted in the Queens borough of New York City recently in which children reported being on the receiving end of verbal and physical abuse , he said . `` These kids are being harassed in New York . It 's Queens , the most diverse county in the United States . If this is happening in Queens , it 's happening in other parts of the country . '' So , he said , the opportunity to serve in the U.S. Army sends the opposite message -- `` that we are part and parcel of the fabric of this country . '' CNN 's Joe Sterling in Atlanta , Georgia , contributed to this report .
Capt . Kamaljit Singh the U.S. Army is a doctor in Kalsi , practicing Amardeep Singh . Kalsi has granted his request for an accommodation to follow the principles of his religion . Kalsi has letter saying ruling applies only to Kalsi 's , not a change of Army policy .