“Army is in your blood”, says young Sikh American who joins US army

By West Point Center for Oral History | UNITED STATES |

Gurjiwan Singh Chahal was born in Canada, but grew up primarily in Sterling Heights, Michigan, with his older sister. His family hailed from India, and his grandfather had served in the British Army during World War I.

Gurjiwan’s father had immigrated to Canada in the 1980s during the anti-Sikh riots (or Sikh massacre). When the family settled in Michigan, Gurjiwan developed an interest in both soccer and the Army.

After receiving an acceptance letter from West Point, he was still unsure if he would attend the Academy until he received an accommodation to keep his long hair and beard and wear a turban in accordance with his Sikh faith.

After initially picking Mechanical Engineering, he transitioned to majoring in Social Sciences, calling it his best decision.

GURJIWAN SPEAKS AT LENGTH ON HIS FAMILY AND HIMSELF. HE SPEAKS VERY WELL! CLICK HERE

“I love the army. I love reading about it, watching movies, playing Legos making tanks and stuff…That’s the first moment I realise this is what I want to do when I grew up. Beyond that, I love soccer.”

“I face, honestly, little to no problem. I saw shocked. Beard and turban has always been the low hanging fruit for bullies, low hanging fruit for people to pick on. I faced a little bit in high school, middle school. I never really allowed it to bother me. I never really let it get to me. And, honestly, I had a good support group of friends, family and teachers that who were very intolerant of people who picked on others for their faith.

“When I came here…I can’t say that I faced any discrimination because of my beard or turban. And that’s something, while some may consider to be the bare minimum, it makes me proud that I’m part of an academy where so many people – 4,000 people from all walks of life – walk in. Instead of looking at me and saying some sort of negative comment or epithets, they’re curious. They comes up and say: ‘Hey, tell me about your faith.”

“That’s what makes West Point stand out from other places that I’ve been, schools I’ve been to. It’s the fact that whether it be cadet faculty or staff that work here, people are curious, and its genuine curiosity, from my experience. It’s something I’m appreciative of, really appreciative of.” – Gurjiwan Singh Chahal (born 1999) in the in interview

Throughout his Cadet career, he has participated in Crew and Sandhurst, completed Air Assault training, and helped with high school outreach through the LEADS program (Leadership, Ethics, and Diversity in STEM). In this interview, he describes some of the tenets of his Sikh faith. After graduating, Gurjiwan will branch Infantry.

(“Army Is In Your Blood”: Fighting For An Accommodation To Serve His Country While Practicing His Faith, West Point Center for Oral History May 2021) See here for the original entry.

RELATED STORY:

Rising Sikh star in Malaysian army (Asia Samachar, 20 April 2021)