A US court on Friday ordered the Navy to allow Sikh recruits to keep beards and turbans. The justices rejected the argument that allowing religious exemptions would undermine cohesion. The US Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard all already accommodate the religious beliefs of Sikhism.

Dispute over US Marine Corps rules, Sikh soldiers move court Refused to give exemption. On this the Sikh soldiers had approached the court. A three-judge bench of the US Court of Appeals in Washington disagreed, saying the Marines did not present any argument that the beard and turban would affect safety or physically disrupt training. 

The court said the Marines exempted men with razor bumps, a skin condition, from shaving, allowed women to retain their hairstyles and permitted large-scale tattoos. Which is the quintessential expression of personal identity. The court noted that the rules on beards only apply since 1976, not an issue with hirsute Marines from the Revolutionary War to modern times.