Keynote
Why not both?
Faith and service in the American military: what one accommodation taught the Army, the Marines and a federal court about standards, identity and the strength of a diverse force.
Speaking
A soldier’s story, told by the soldier.
Dr. Kamal S. Kalsi, D.O., is an Army physician, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, the founder of the Sikh American Veterans Alliance and the subject of the documentary Colonel Kalsi: Beyond the Call. He tells the story of the fight to serve with turban and beard on stage and on camera.
The story, in one arc
From a great-grandfather’s turban to a federal courtroom.
Every beat below is documented: in the record, in the film, or in Dr. Kalsi’s own telling.
- 1900s
Before him.
His great-grandfather wore his turban in the British Indian Army more than a century ago. Sikh regiments marched through France in 1915.
- 2009–10
The ask.
A young Army captain asks to keep his turban and beard. The general in charge of basic training says there is no way, then calls it a no-brainer. For the first time in 23 years, Sikh soldiers keep their articles of faith. He is one of three.
- 2011
Afghanistan.
Hundreds of combat casualties at a forward aid station. A Bronze Star, which he calls a team effort.
- 2017
The policy.
The Army lets soldiers keep their articles of faith for a whole career. The door opens for other Americans who wear religious head coverings.
- 2021
The patient.
Ten years to the date after Afghanistan, a cancer diagnosis. Two children, 12 and 13, and a promise to tell them the truth. The doctor becomes the patient.
- 2022
Beyond the call.
The year of the film, and of the Marine Corps case: three Sikh recruits take “shave, or go home” to a federal appeals court, SAVA files in support, and the court opens boot camp to them.
- 2026
Not finished.
Army Directive 2026-09 puts existing accommodations under review. The fight he thought was won has a next chapter.
- Next
Your room.
A stage, a classroom, a screening.
Book Dr. Kalsi →
Talks
Four talks, one voice.
Keynotes, fireside conversations, panels, and screenings of the film with a conversation after. For military, campus, corporate and community audiences, in person or on camera.
Keynote
A century in uniform.
The Sikh soldiers history almost forgot, from the Union line in 1864 and the trenches of 1915 to a veteran’s 18-year road to citizenship, and why their story is America’s.
Fireside · Screening
Beyond the call.
The documentary, and the conversation after it: the recruiter who warned him, the general who changed his mind, and the price of serving as yourself.
Keynote · Medicine
The doctor at the aid station.
Leadership under fire, and what a physician learned on the other side of the chart: how to tell the truth to the people who depend on you.
Fees, travel and availability on request.
See him speak
Three minutes is enough.
Three of the stories, and the trailer. The full library is on the Stories page; more of his storytelling is on Instagram at @armykalsi.
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2:44
“There’s no way.” An hour later, he called back.
The general who ran basic training tells the 2010 story.
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2:06
Afghanistan, 2011.
The aid station, the Bronze Star, and what came ten years later.
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2:18
Someone has to stick up like a nail.
Bhagat Singh Thind, 1918, and the uniform they shared a century apart.
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1:55
The trailer.
Colonel Kalsi: Beyond the Call, captioned.
Bring the story to your room.
Speaking and screenings: one address. Please say who the audience is and when.