Compendium of Standards, Good Practices and Recommendations Box 9.7: Religious dress in the United Kingdom Armed Forces358 All service personnel in the United Kingdom Armed Forces are required to wear standard military uniforms and adhere to clothing policy and instructions. However, the Armed Forces recognize the specific codes of dress of particular religious beliefs. For operational and health and safety reasons, service personnel are asked to be flexible in some circumstances. Guidance on religious clothing is provided for the major religions practised in the United Kingdom. Sikhs Sikhs are able to adhere to the 5Ks: Kara (iron or steel bangle), Kesh (uncut hair), Kanga (small comb), Kachera (special design knee length underwear) and Kirpan (small sword). Sikh men can also wear a turban. However, some constraints regarding the wearing of a turban and keeping facial hair uncut do exist: Some trades require specialist headgear to be worn, especially in operational circumstances, such as combat helmets, breathing apparatus for firefighters and flying helmets for aircrew in some types of aircraft. Muslim and Sikh men Muslim men may wear neatly trimmed beards. Sikh men can wear their beards and their hair long, in the Sikh tradition. They are also required to keep their beards neat. Fully practising Sikhs may keep their uncut beard folded and tied under the chin. Aircrew: Muslim personnel may modify their beards as necessary. Sikh Service personnel may wear a patka (small turban) underneath their headgear, except where this is not possible for certain trades. Respirator: Where a respirator is worn, an effective seal is necessary in order to meet health and safety requirements. Muslim women Muslim women are allowed to wear uniform trousers in place of a skirt and may wear a hijab (headscarf), except when operational or health and safety considerations dictate otherwise. Long-sleeve shirts are also available with most forms of service dress. Tracksuit bottoms may be worn for sport. The Armed Forces require all service personnel to achieve a basic swimming standard as part of their training. Although efforts are made to ensure that such tests take place in an all-women environment, Muslim women applicants are informed that this will not always be possible. 358 See: “Guide on Religion and Belief in the Armed Forces”, United Kingdom Ministry of Defence, 2011, p. 12, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/28127/ guide_religion_belief.pdf. 155