Saturday, September 06, 2008 - VANCOUVER - As the first member of the Canadian Air Force to wear a turban, 2nd Lieut. Jasbir Singh Tatla figures he's a good role model to issue a call to arms to his fellow Sikhs.
And if you want to honour the Sikh tradition of being warriors, Tatla says, don't get involved in gangs and criminal activity.
Instead, he says, sign up with the Canadian Forces, where you can make a real difference and fight - for your country.
"It's a great honour to be the first member of the Air Force to wear a turban," said Tatla, 35, of Surrey, B.C.
"It is something that is hard to express in words, but it gives me a chance to set an example for my community.
"When I see in the newspaper (Indo-Canadian) people killing each other, they are going in the wrong way. They could join the military and be proud of their culture - be a warrior and serve your country."
Tatla came to Canada from his village of Dhothar, India, in 1999. in Ludhiana where the residents are rejoicing in the achievement of one of their youngsters, who has done all of them proud by becoming the first ever turbaned Sikh commissioned to join the Royal Canadian Air Force.
Thirty five-year-old Jasbir Singh Tatla, a native of Ludhiana's Dhothar Village, arrived in Canada in 1999 after completing his post graduation in engineering from Punjab Agriculture University. He did his Bachelors of Engineering from G.N.E. Engineering.
The civil engineer's family has a long history of serving in the Indian army, so he said it was likely inevitable when, last March, he joined the Canadian Forces.
"My whole family background is army," said Tatla, who is married with two sons, aged three and eight.
He said the physical rigours of basic training at CFB Esquimault were a challenge - he had to shed 30 pounds in order to meet the guidelines to graduate last July 12.
"I lost close to 28 or 30 pounds just by running - I'm not used to that," said Tatla.
"I am a vegetarian but they (military cooks) tried their best. The emotional barriers were hard to overcome - I have never been away from my family even for a single day, so I was homesick."
Tatla said his fellow recruits helped him graduate.
"They were really supportive," he said.
"Most of them wanted to know what is underneath my turban and how I tie my hair and stuff like that. My turban is a big part of my religion."
Tatla wears a special light-blue turban when in his dress uniform, and doesn't carry a kirpan, or ceremonial dagger.
Wearing a helmet proves a challenge but a manageable one.
"I wear a small turban on my head and tie my hair around my head instead of in the centre," said Tatla.
"It is a little uncomfortable, but there is no option."
Tatla said he plans to spend the next two years getting training - his first posting is to an advanced weapons training course at CFB Gagetown in New Brunswick, on Sept. 29.
Then it's back to Esquimalt to learn French to go along with the five languages he already knows - English, Punjabi, Hindi, Sanskrit and Urdu.
"I want to learn French, because it makes your chances for promotion greater," Tatla said.
Tatla said he hopes to get his first post-training posting by April 2010.
