Fieldcraft fused with faith as Sikh soldiers get camo headdress for the first time

Sikh soldiers have been on the range wearing the patka – a headdress that's a bit like a bandana and is traditional to the Sikh faith.

But for the first time ever they're in Multi Terrain Pattern camouflage material.

"So we are going to tie the patka. It's called MTP patka for Sikhs," said Corporal Manpreet Singh Lally from the Royal Corps of Signals.

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Major Dal Singh Virdee, of HQ Field Army, explained how the camouflage version of the headdress came about.

"It was clear how we should dress in barracks and how we should have headdress equivalent to our colleagues," he said.

"[But] in the tactical environment... we weren't really issued a patka or a keski, which is a smaller turban, which fit in the environment we essentially work, which is the field environment.

"So we got together with our affiliated charity, the Sikh Military Foundation, and we produced these patkas and turbans [in] MTP material, the same cloth as our uniforms.

"And we issued them out today, and we'll be making them available for Sikhs across the UK MOD."

Cpl Lally said he approved of the new headdress in terms of both culture and comfort.

"I'm so glad our... high-ranking officers made this official," he said. "It doesn't feel like it's ripping your ears or anything.

"And the good thing is... you can put your helmet on as well."

Sikhs have served in the British military with distinction for hundreds of years.

And today their culture and the battlefield needs of the Army grow closer still.