The Journey of an American Sikh Warrior with US Army 1LT Kanwar Singh

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And I said, Sir, with all due respect, and I was standing in possession of attention, because I'm addressing my company commander. I said, Listen, sir, you know, we in the military have a heavy military uniform. I'm a Sikh warrior. And I have my own uniform, which includes my articles of faith. And throughout history, Sikhs have died when people try to force us to cut our hair and shave and remove our articles of faith and you will not do that. And I'm really proud of our heritage. And that's something that I want to keep, as long as I'm serving in the military, and I would not be willing to cut my hair and shave.

Thank you for joining us today. Today I'm going to be co hosting this episode of the morning formation with Avi. Hello, everybody. It's good to be here. We're joined today with the US Army Signal Corps commissioned officer. But unlike many military officers, our guest today is unique when our guest today is donning the United States Army uniform. Some have to do a double take because most serving in the military are clean shaven wearing their issued headgear. But unlike most our guest today, First Lieutenant Ken Marsing is a devout Sikh loves America sports a full beard with long hair neatly tucked under his turban in 2011. First Lieutenant Singh attended a speech where Senator John McCain encouraged attendees to serve their country through the military. Shortly thereafter, First Lieutenant Singh took the ASVAB scored within his top 1% and sought to somehow join the United States Army without breaking his deep religious belief in Sikhism. In today's episode, we're going to learn more about First Lieutenant Singh his journey, which ended up challenging a policy that was held in place since 1981. Against honoring his religious accommodation. Thank you for joining us today. First, Lieutenant Singh. It's a pleasure. Thanks for having me, KP. And Avi, the honor is all ours. And we're going to start out today with learning a little bit more about you. Can you tell us where you're from? And can you describe what your childhood was like? Absolutely. Look, I was actually born overseas, and I immigrated to the US at the age of 17. I lived in Virginia, shortly thereafter, did my undergrad there and then also worked for a few years, realized that I did not like living in a small city in Richmond, Virginia. So I sought out greater pastures by moving to Boston, Massachusetts. And then as you mentioned, in spring of 2014, I heard a speech by Senator John McCain, who came to my grad school and talked about his service to our nation and his time as a POW and encourage everyone in the audience to consider serving. And then right around that time was also the first anniversary of the Boston bombings. And then I knew the National Guard had played a pivotal role in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings. So I was inspired and moved in call to action. And I decided to join the military. You know, growing up in Asia and South Asia specifically, I certainly knew about the Sikh military history. Sikhs are warriors. Throughout our history, we were persecuted. There had been multiple genocides against us. And so our gurus encouraged us to pick up arms so we could defend ourselves and those around us. So that was always in the back of my mind. And then after I immigrated to the US, I suddenly remembered that and I wanted to continue my family history of military service. Yes, I understand that six hold military service as a very high priority and that your family in India also served in the British military. And prior to 2011. Had you ever imagined yourself joining the military? And what did your family think about your decision overall, when you told them what you plan to do? Yeah, absolutely. Look, I actually considered joining the military, even in 2007, when I first came to the country, and so there was an ROTC program on campus. And I had some very initial conversations with the folks there, but I knew that I have to give up on my, my religious beliefs for me to join the program. And so that's why I didn't think much about it. And so it was only about seven years later, in 2014, is when I started rethinking that desire to serve. I must mention, there was a pivotal moment that happened in 2012. in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, there was actually sadly an attack on the Sikh community. There is

A white supremacist actually attack our place of worship. And that actually was a wake up moment for a lot of Sikhs in America, including myself, by the way, because, you know, obviously, for something like that to happen, where someone came in and attacked a peace loving Sikh community, and their, you know, their excuse, well, well, somehow we are affiliated with al Qaeda and Taliban and other groups. You know, and so I think a lot of Sikhs felt that call to action. Now, not to say, you know, Sikhs have been actually on the receiving end, sadly, of hate crimes ever since 911 happened, in fact, as we're coming towards the 20th anniversary of 911, you know, a few days after one of the first mericans die was actually a Sikh American, who was misunderstood and so by abusing Saudi actually in Arizona, was shot dead, because the way he looked. So it was really critical and important for me as a Sikh American after Oak Creek, Wisconsin attack, and then also what I heard from Senator John McCain, and the Boston Marathon bombings to do my part, so I could serve in our nation's military, my family, you know, it was, I think they were not opposed to me joining the military, obviously, they were very supportive of continuing the military history and the legacy that we have a Sikh warriors. I think their bigger concern was the fact that I ended up having to sadly, file a lawsuit to join, because we were trying diplomatic ways and means to join and, you know, working with members of Congress, and we had bipartisan support by the you mentioned, Senator John McCain, who I will be forever grateful for his staff and his office was supporting me with working with Pentagon to get me a religious accommodation. And so were my congressional delegation, by the way, in Massachusetts, Senator Ed Markey and Senator Elizabeth Warren, and my Representative Mike appiano. So all these, you know, members of Congress, along with a bunch of others that I have not named, were very supportive of the Sikh service and and the rights and freedoms for other service members of different religious beliefs to be able to serve. And actually Sikhs have served in the US military for over 100 years. By the way, one of the first six serve was a gentleman by the name of Bhagat Singh PTIN, who fought wearing his turban and beard and long hair in World War One over 100 years ago, and so as you mentioned, the policy change in 1981, and that made it harder for new sex to be able to join with their articles of faith. Wow, that's absolutely amazing. I know a lot of people probably don't even realize that that all lead back to you know, that that time era, there were six that served in the United States military. And from my understanding, you enlisted in the National Guard in 2014. Right? That is correct. Yes. It's funny because I actually initially wanted to join the Air National Guard, and I call the Air National Guard recruiter, and we had a very pleasant conversation until he found out that I was sick, and I was going to need a religious accommodation. And so I basically got ghosted. There we got a phone call back from the guy.

He left you on he left you on red? Hmm. Yes, I was left on red.

So can we before we continue here, can you just explain to the audience what types of religious accommodations had to be made? Right? Absolutely. Look as six, we believe God's creation is perfect, and we believe I hear his gift from God. And that's why we don't cut our hair or shave. We also keep our hair covered by wearing turban, again, to show respect to God. And so as far as the articles of faith, we were requesting the Pentagon to allow me to keep an unshown beard and unshorn here and be able to wear my my turban in uniform. We also have other articles of faith. For example, you can see my collar, which is an article of faith a steel bracelet that I wear. On my right arm. We also have Kunga which keeps our hair clean, which is a small wooden comb that I keep in my hair. I also wear a Kucera which are underpants to control your carnal desires. And then finally, the fifth article of faith is a coupon it's a small sport to keep yourself and others protected and safe around you. But I think the Pentagon had the bigger issues with the the hair and the beard and the turban. They were okay with the other ones. But I think they had obviously issues with those the other the other ones

so, so the Senate saying you enlisted in the National Guard in 2014. And he scored extremely high on the map, which isn't a huge surprise seeing that you already had a business undergrad from Virginia Commonwealth University and you're at the time enrolled at Harvard University. What steps did you take after For the ASVAB Yeah, absolutely.

Look, first off, you know, scoring high on the ASP app in graduate school. It's not a good comparison, right, because it's primarily for high school students. And so I worked with my recruiter after the initial initial enlistment process, to request a religious accommodation. And it took us over a year for me to be able to even enlist in the Massachusetts National Guard. And in the meantime, I was working with members of Congress. We certainly mentioned Senator John McCain. And then I also had my congressional delegation and in Massachusetts, Senator Ed Markey and Senator Elizabeth Warren, and Representative Mike Capuano and a whole bunch of other people bipartisan support to ask a simple question, right, depending on why is it that six could not serve in the military? So the challenge was, you know, the Pentagon was figuring this out. And but even after, you know, the, let's say, allow me to enlist, the question was was the Pentagon do, because then they couldn't order me to cut my hair and shave after I signed the dotted line. And I knew I would not do that. But there was no process to request religious accommodation, under ar 670 dash one mission to find the grooming standards for those of us in the army. So it was a, it was a big bed that I was making. And luckily, I had other options, right. So I knew if this religious accommodation did not work out, I would probably leave the army and find other ways. And this is also one reason I joined the National Guard because I could not have taken the risk of joining active duty, because then you know, that's your career, that's your job. And it would be a lot more painful at that point to try to separate from the military. So it took me a year after going through the initial process, I finally enlisted in August 2015. And then I was segregated from my unit. So after I enlisted, they said, Hey, we cannot have you show up for your drill weekends with the rest of the enlistees who are preparing to go for basic training because you look different. And it felt pretty bad actually, at the time having been segregated and separated. So I would come in in the middle of the weekend trade paper and an office because they had no idea what to do with me. Right. And so I did that for about nine months or so. And then there was a meeting that I got pulled into my commander at the time, in April of 2016, which was, by the way, a month before I was supposed to ship off for basic training. And the the commander really, you know, an incredible person by respect and he said, listen, specialist sing because I had enlisted as a specialist I had a college degree. He said, I know the answer to this question. But I've been asked to ask you this question, which is, would you be willing to cut your hair and shave so we can send you to basic training? And I said, Sir, with all due respect, and I was standing in position of attention, because I'm addressing my company commander, I said, Listen, sir, you know, we in the military have a heavy military uniform, I'm a Sikh warrior. And I have my own uniform, which includes my articles of faith. And throughout history, Sikhs have died, when people try to force us to cut our hair and shave and remove our articles of faith. And we would not do that. And I'm really proud of our heritage. And that's something that I would want to keep, as long as I'm serving in the military, and I would not be willing to cut my hair and shave. So then I had, by that time assembled a, a legal and policy team. And then I let them know what had happened. And they asked me to visit them. And then I visited them a few days later. And then we had to end up you know, fight sadly filing a lawsuit because that was the only option left or else I could have been ordered to cut my hair and shave and that would be violating my religious beliefs.

Great story there. Kanwar. I really admire how even though you had all of these different challenges, you were still able to both enlist in the military and have your accommodations met.

Right. And when you're accepted into the officer candidate school otherwise known as OCS did the National Guard, again ask you to heed the grooming standards and what did you do to maintain your religious dignity?

Absolutely. So first off, I never had to give up on my religious beliefs. So what had happened is after we filed a lawsuit, within two weeks, the army actually backtracked and issued me a religious commendation, which was an interim religious accommodation. I got an email. I actually got a voicemail message. And I was working at the time I was teaching class. And so I did not take that phone call. But I got the voicemail message and I listened to it afterwards. It was actually from my lawyer. And she said, Hey, congrats. konwar your religious commendation has been issued. Make sure you're preparing for basic training. And that was the best news ever, right because I did not think that would be possible and And I was so grateful and happy. But that's when it, you know, hit me that oh my gosh, I'm going to basic training next month, I have no idea what to expect. And so right around that time, actually, I was about to graduate, I was working on two master's degrees at the time. So things were really busy school wise and career wise. But then obviously, being the National Guard, we have to transition from civilian life to military life, I probably was not very prepared to be very candid for basic training. But I went through basic training, I did okay in there. And then I came back. And then I was then sent to Officer Candidate School. The good thing is, my religious accommodation was made permanent in January of 2017. And so that allowed me to attend OCS, and my future army positions, without having to give up on my sincerely held religious beliefs.

So what type of backlash, prejudice or negativity Have you received? Since making your decision to join the United States military? What was basic training like for you? And how was officer training? Yeah,

look, I was treated just like any other soldier. So I was smoked, just like everyone else. I was one of the team, right?

I'm talking about.

And, and, you know, I have to admit, you know, basic training was rough, OCS was rough, because, you know, they really wanted to ensure that all of us are in the title of soldier, and then afterwards, officer, right. I wish I had done the ROTC program or I had gone through federal OCS, which are considered, you know, softer and lighter, and they don't smoke you as much, right? Or smoking is not the right term, corrective training, right? They don't give you as much corrective training. It's okay. So, I mean, I remember showing up for basic training, and again, I had no idea what to expect, right? So I'm showing up and I like to sleep a lot, right? I get to, I like to get it, you know, seven to eight hours of sleep a night and I show up, like, when are they gonna let us sleep? And I'm there and I'm hallucinating. And I'm like, What the heck, man, I haven't slept. And I'm falling asleep standing in line and Chow formation. And, I mean, it was bad, right? I mean, I was sick. You know, during the first three weeks of read phase in basic training, just because, you know, there were germs everywhere. And we were all like, you know, stressed and sleep deprived, I had never seen anything like that. And I must confess, you know, it, there were moments during basic training or OCS when I wanted to quit, right? And there were certainly people who around me who quit, you could simply, you know, ring the bell, or you can just raise your hand and say, Hey, I do not want to do this. And then all of that sleep deprivation and the physical pain would stop, right. But I realized that he has a Sikh warrior. This is what I signed up for. And as a Sikh warrior, we don't quit. So when it came to my graduation ceremony, both from basic training and also Officer Candidates School, I was emotional on both days, because I knew how hard I had to work to get to those points, right. You know, basic training, I remember I, I'm thinking man, it took me two years just to get here, right. Whereas for other recruits, it may have been just a matter of few weeks between when they sign the dotted line. And when they actually were able to complete basic training. Same thing at Officer Candidate School. I think we started with 35, Officer Candidate, officer candidates in our program. And I think 17 of us commissioned, and they were some, by the way, we had a Bronze Star recipient in our class, by the way who quit OCS. And I'm like, man, if guys like bees who are combat veterans are quitting. I mean, what's going to happen to me, but luckily, we had a good support system in our class, and we looked out for each other when I was down. Someone tried to cheer me up, if they were down. I tried to cheer them up. I mean, it was teamwork, right. And personally, I was committed because I knew how hard I had to personally work to get to that point. And I was going to be the last person to quit. I mean, they would have tried their hardest, and I still would not have given up because that's how much I wanted to commission and become an officer.

So I'll also ask you this. So where did you go to basic training?

I was at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, in summer of 2016. I have never been so hard in my life before.

So so did you. Did they have most Pitzer or sandpits?

Um, it's on the on the firing range?

No, for the for the smoke sessions.

Oh, the smoke sessions. I mean, I'm not sure like how they did you know, back in the day, but for us, they would just make us do push ups. Like I remember, day three after price, you know, all the inprocess and stuff happened. I mean, we had like multiple heat casualties. People were falling, and then I was scared of the real sword but I'm like, hey, my bad buddy just passed out. So I'm running their drill sergeants that trying to send a parade you know, rest and try to ask them Hey, drill sergeant. My buddy just collapsed. We need medical attention. And I thought they were gonna, you know, smoke me for coming in, you know, not doing pushups at that time, but I'm like, man, let's say this guy is gonna die if I don't get him some medical help. So

I remember, for me in basic training, I went to Fort Leonard Wood, and they had a big mulch pit behind our barracks. And I remember one time, they they're like, all right, the privates today we're gonna make granola bars. And they told us that at the beginning of the day, and by the end of the day, we had a long day at the range. It was sweaty, hot, you know, retired, like, alright, privates it's time to make granola bars. And so they took us they take us into this room, made us like PT do push ups and jumping jacks and everything else. And then they open up these doors that went to the, to the back of the barracks for that mosh pit was and they're like, Alright, get in the mosh pit and roll around and we rolled around and the mulch would stick to you. And they were making Coronavirus. It was, but it was it was so it was it was like, Oh, this sucks. But it was so funny. Like I was laughing while I was like really wreck. It's like these guys, these guys are something else. But

see, that's the thing, right? I mean, I agree with you. And it's it is funny valuing the woman but then you're like, why are they doing do to us? And then you see the next class come in. So you know, by the time you get to green phase or whatever, I mean, you're in the red phase, you see the other class coming in? And you know what I mean? These are games, right? They're trying to whittle out the the people that you actually make sense, because we are the military. I mean, you want the strongest people mentally and physically to complete these trainings. But yeah, I mean, it was funny, in hindsight. But in that moment, you're like, why are you Why is this happening? I mean, especially for me, I mean, who was not mentally ready for that kind of situation?

Right. Now, Kanwar, just want to say before this next question, every step of the journey that you've detailed to us so far has been a true testament to every inhibition obstacle and problem you've had to overcome just to serve America's military. And despite immigrating to America, and having your religious accommodations turned down after so many so many attempts, it is truly an inspiration to see how dedicated you were to serving the country despite all of these problems. And personally, I am in a tough situation here as well, because I am missing fingers on my left hand. I'm West Indian. And there are a couple other factors as well, that are all pushing me away from trying to get into the Air Force. But you were truly inspiring to me to help follow through with that ambition. So awesome anecdotes, but for any of the listeners out there who are not familiar with Sikhism, where does the religion originate? What are the basic beliefs? And can you talk about some of the additional points that many of us may not understand or be knowledgeable of?

Absolutely, first off, are we I would encourage you to keep doing going down this path of trying to serve I know, the military can be pretty rough, when it comes to, you know, medical waivers and things like that. But you know, if you keep crying if you're passionate about the path, and this is for anything in life, not just military, by the way, if you want something in life, go get it. I had never done a marathon in my life before. And then 2018 came around, and there was an opportunity to be part of the Boston Marathon and I'm like, hey, what, I'm gonna do this, and I was in a lot of pain afterwards. But if you are if you commit to something and you're passionate about it, you make it happen, right. But to answer your other question, are we you know, Sikhism originated in South Asia, what's present a, you know, Pakistan India region, it used to be one region, before it got split. And so our founder, Guru Nanak, Dev ji had a very simple mission in life. His goal was to bring people together to eliminate hate in our society, to get rid of the caste system that existed to get rid of the discrimination that existed in society where women didn't get equal rights as men. And so he spoke out against a lot of societal inequities. And him and subsequent Sikh gurus also put in place a practice of longer, where anyone can go to a sick place of worships Gurdwara, and they can get a free meal, no question asked. And that was one way of bringing about societal justice and equality by just ensuring that everyone regardless of your race, ethnicity, religion, color, gender, socioeconomic status, you could simply sit down at any point at a safe place of worship and eat. Right. So that was a very novel concept at the time, and still is actually and so sex we believe in equality of all people and giving back and serving during our course of history. We were also persecuted for our practicing our faith, and that's where the are gurus or leaders encouraged us to become warriors and learn martial arts and be able to defend ourselves and defend others around us. And so we've had a long history of military service, not just in South Asia, but their sex we're serving in, obviously the US military in Britain and Canada and France and Australia, New Zealand. I mean, wherever Sikhs are, we serve in overwhelming numbers, so we can be part of the nation's military and then be able to serve and defend our governments.

Again, truly inspiring words, and really showcases your dedication to both your religion and your goals. So amazing balance there. Now, are you aware of any other current Sikhs serving in the United States military?

Yeah, absolutely. Look, there are. So one of the things that I'm most grateful for. And then and this process, this fight to get religious accommodation was never about me. I knew that if the military could discriminate against six, you know, six, and other religious minorities could not get jobs with let's say, your local police and fire departments. The military is the largest employer in our nation. And then the other aspect is, if the military can discriminate other employees can do the same, right. And then the military is such a respected institution in our nation, if I can't serve and be part of our nation's military, you know, other Americans may consider me as a threat. Right? And that, you know, was part of the problem. And I think still is why we see so many hate crimes against the Sikh community, even to this day, because we are so misunderstood in America. But it's there are hundreds of Sikhs who are serving today, in the army, and Air Force did their articles of faith. Now there's other six who serve and other branches. But perhaps they don't have a process to get a religious accommodation. But I'm confident in the future, we probably see six in the Navy and in the Space Force and Marine Corps and the Coast Guard as well. But what's happened is the Army and the Air Force after my case happened, they looked at the religious accommodation process, in total. And then they said, Hey, why is it that we have a policy and process that prevents not just sex, but other religious groups from also serving. And so there are, you know, 1000s, if not more of service members, by the way, who are of not just sick, but Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Jan, Buddhist, pagan, and other religious beliefs that can now request a religious accommodation. Some of them only grow beards. Some of them keep long here, there was a woman at basic training, who was crying, and I went up to her and I said, Hey, why are you crying? And she's like, Listen, I'm a practicing Baptist, and we don't cut our hair. One of the first things that they did to me when I go out here was they cut my chop my hair. And so I explained to her how she could request a religious accommodation. And I haven't stayed in touch with her. But I hope that she has now been able to work with her chain of command and our chaplain to get his commendation shows so she can have long hair in uniform. And that was the whole thing is if we can serve and we can meet our military's high standard. Why is it that we have these antiquated grooming policies that don't impact the mission? Right? And that's what we encourage the military to think about one of the, you know, common, you know, frustration, or I guess the military's, you know, come back would be, oh, well, gas masks don't work with beards? Well, I'll tell you this. I've gone through the gas chamber multiple times with my standard M 50. Gas Mask, I have never had an issue, getting a perfect seal. And every other sick soldier that I know who's going through the gas chamber has never had any issues whatsoever with getting a perfect seal. So if there's no and by the way, growing a beard does not prevent your ability, it doesn't prevent you from shooting or running or doing other things that the military requires. So that's why I think it's kind of tough for that argument that, you know, we should just do things the way we've been doing it. And I try to, you know, remind folks that you have to change with the times. And by the way, today, there are 1000s of additional folks with religious backgrounds of all different backgrounds who are now serving our military, perhaps who would not have served had it not been for religious accommodations that allowed them to practice their faith without having to give up on them and still serve the country that we all love.

So LT I want to ask you, what advice would you have for someone else out there interested in joining the military, for both someone who thinks it might not be for them? Or another young, professional, sick thinking of following in your footsteps? Or

even if it's someone like me, who's trying to get into to a branch of the military, which is just is facing obstacles left, right and center?

Yeah, absolutely. Look, first off, I admire anyone who wants to serve in our military, right. It's not an easy job. As we were finding out the events that have happened recently, in the Middle East, you know, it's a dangerous job. And when each one of us signed the dotted line, we accept that risk. And the way I like to put it is each service member writes a blank check to the United States, that includes giving up everything, including their life, right, and I'm going to take a pause to honor and remember, the 13 servicemembers that just died in Cabo and the Marines. And then we had a soldier and a Navy corpsman, for their sacrifices and honorable service to our nation, we are free, we are the land of the free because of our military veterans, to include KP, who served honorably, in the military, before launching this podcast series, so that's why I think everyone should know what they're getting themselves in, I saw a lot of people, I'll share this quick, funny story, day one of basic training. And this guy, when, as you're being asked to push up, you know, do push ups, he stands up, and he's like, I'm not doing this anymore, because this is not like Call of Duty. And I'm looking at him, and I'm, like, man, just come down to push us because if you stand, and you stopped doing push ups, they're gonna make us do more push ups. So that was mad at him. But again, I just started laughing in that moment. I'm like, man, what did you think? I mean, did you actually think this is gonna be like Call of Duty, you know, you'll be playing video games all day long. But people should know why they're joining and make sure they're joined for the right reasons. And it's going to be hard work. I mean, it's going to be stressful, the training is stuff for a reason. And I think it shouldn't be tough. Just so that, you know, we have people who know what they're signing up for and can can get lived through the stress, if we are put in a stressful situation. But keep at it, you know, if this is something you're passionate about, I do not regret the decision to join the military, I have had, I've received fabulous leadership training through the military, and the ability to meet people from around the world. And, you know, I've learned so much, just by being in the military, that I think a lot of my friends who haven't served, haven't had those experiences. So there's a lot of, you know, benefits you get from the military and appreciation that you get from being part of the military, but you got to do it for the right reasons.

Most definitely agree. And I definitely also cherish and respect anyone willing to step up and sign on that on the dotted line to serve our country, because it's not an easy thing to do. So what are your ultimate goals? Do you plan to retire from the military? Or do you plan to go to active duty? Would you mind sharing some of those goals?

Yeah, well, I actually I do not know at this point. I really like my job as a signal officer in the Massachusetts Army National Guard, I'm also on the innovation team. So I can help out with some initial innovation initiatives and technology modernization efforts within the Army. And I love you know, leading soldiers. And so, you know, if I was younger, I'm in my early 30s. But maybe if I was younger, absolutely, I would have gone active duty. You know, it's got a tough when you settled in, and you have another civilian job, and but I that's what I love about, you know, being in the National Guard, and also for those who are in the reserves, because they can actually have civilian careers. In addition to, you know, being in the military, it's tough because you got to juggle them. But I do think there's a lot of value and benefit in being able to have a civilian job as well as a military career, if that's what you choose to do.

Definitely. Now, Kanwar, you're describing something that I plan on doing on in the Air Force, modernisation of technology. Do you work on the physical technologies in addition to software, or what is your area of expertise? Yeah,

my area of expertise is primarily software, although I have been getting interested in hardware recently, and but I'm not a subject matter expert. But I'm certainly fascinated with how we can let it better leverage technology to meet our military objectives. Right. You know, COVID-19 is a great example. You know, our military was activated, you know, a lot of units or the National Guard, specifically, those of the folks who were medics and doctors and nurses were called in for active duty and still are some actually some of them are still doing state active duty or federal active duty to help with the COVID-19 mission, but how can we leverage technology and data to better facilitate our mission, right. And then the same also applies for, you know, potential combat missions and And look, I think this is a struggle. And I'm not sharing anything that's classified because this is well known within the military. You know, we're sort of falling behind our adversaries, especially the near peer threats that exists. And I think this is why there's this massive race right now to get better that cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. So we can keep up. Because, quite frankly, and this is my opinion, and take it for what it's worth. I mean, I'm not convinced if you know, the next big war is going to be fought, you know, like the previous wars we've had, there's gonna be a huge cyber aspect to it, there's going to be a huge AI aspect to it. So I think the more we can train, and better understand that and advance ourselves in those domains, the better protected and defended, we will be.

Definitely now, Kanwar, I definitely have to connect with you, just to follow you on your journey. Now, for anyone out there who also wants to connect with you and follow you. Where can I reach out to you? What platforms are you on?

Yeah, absolutely. Well, they can reach out to me on Instagram. Certainly on there, you can look me up konwar Singh. My username is konwar 91. And I'm also lately I joined Tik Tok. And it's been a fun ride. I like the community there. I don't do it on official orders or official military status. Right? Because we know the DoD actually has been picked up, but I do it in my personal capacity. And my handle over there is sick soldier. So folks can reach out. I've had, you know, dozens of people who've reached out to me over the past few months. And I like helping people and answering questions that they may have about the military. You know, if they're trying to join or get religious accommodations, or be able to go through any challenges they have. So I love connecting. So feel free to reach out. I'm happy to connect

the tenant, I want to tell you, thank you for giving us your time today. And I want to congratulate you as well. I know you just recently achieved your MS and information technology. Right? Right. Absolutely. Congratulations on a on a huge achievement. And for anyone listening out there, I'll make sure that I put all of his contacts down in the show notes as well, if you would like to connect with him, you're certainly an inspiration. I'm so grateful and thankful that you agreed to come onto the show as well. But before we end as your final summary, or do you have any final thoughts that you'd like to share with everyone listening?

Yeah, absolutely. Look, you know, whatever you're doing in life, it's easy to quit. And it's easy to give up. And you know, times get tough. I know a lot of people are struggling right now, especially during this pandemic. And a lot of our veterans are also struggling with the events that have recently happened. You know, there are things there's some things we can control. And there's some things that we cannot control. I like to think a lot about sick warriors. And so there's a battle of surgery that happened in 1897. But this battle happened 21 Six, they were manning, a signaling Ford in the area of surgery, which is on the border of presently Pakistan and Afghanistan area. And it was a very critical post for the defense of the British forces in that region. And they were surrounded by 10,000 Afghan tribesmen just imagine being in that situation, right? There's 21 of you, and you have no reinforcements, you have limited ammo, and you have 10,000 Afghan tribesmen coming towards you, right? And then they make offers to you to quit to, you know, to give you bribes or to give you the ability to peacefully walk out and leave your post. But these 21 Six, did not surrender, they did not quit, they said we're going to fight until the end if we have it, right. And then that day, these 21, six, they ended up killing 600 Afghan tribesmen. Think about that. And not only that, when they ran out of ammo, they pulled out their pants, which is one of the articles of faith, and they got to do hand to hand combat with these African tribesmen. Well, and so the last person who was on the radio, he requested his colonel, to give up on the radio community on the signaling communication, and be able to fight because he did not want to be captured. And he's like, You know what, I'm going to die. But I'm requesting permission. So I can kill some of these people, right? So in that moment, these 21 seats, could have had a lot of things going on, right? And they may have just said, Hey, this is too hard and quit and go home and whatever, you know, surrender, but they said, No, we're going to focus on the task at hand. Because this is what we can control. This is what we cannot control. You got to remember what you're true to yourself. And once you know what you're true to yourself and your values, you go fight for those values. So that's the last thing I want to leave the audience with, regardless of the situation you're in, regardless of what you're going through. Always remember the things you think control. And there are things you cannot control. Focus on things you can control and everything else. If you believe in God, hopefully God will take care of it. If you don't believe in God, destiny will take care of it. All right,

absolutely fascinating. I love the warrior mentality that you bring to the table. I love how you coordinate a lot of the things from your own family history, to today's United States military, and definitely extremely fascinating. And that's why I wanted John on the show today. And I really appreciate your time. And Lt. I'm looking forward to following you and furthermore, into your journey. And as for the more information, thank you, everyone out there listening, I hope that you're intrigued by this and please follow Lieutenant Singh on his social platforms as well and reach out to him if you have any questions about anything. If you're at a spot in life where you're not sure if the military is for you, are you going through a hard time getting into the military, you know, listen to his story as as a means of inspiration. So, as for the morning formation podcast with Avi and Lieutenant sing. We're gonna call it a show for today. Thank you guys for tuning in.

Thank you so much. It's been a pleasure. And we're

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