1. The first paragraph of a news article should answer the questions who, what, where and when. List the who, what, where and when of this news item. (NOTE: The remainder of a news article provides details on the why and/or how.)

2. Which groups are expected to be affected by the Army’s policy that was approved in January?

3. Under the new policy, when would it be a problem for soldiers to dress according to their religious custom?

4. Under the new policy, what type of religious accommodations are local commanders able to approve and which requests need to be authorized by a senior officer?

5. How many waivers to its uniform policy has the Army granted since 2012?

6. Define accommodation.

7. How far is too far in religious accommodation? Consider the following:
-it is voluntary to join the U.S. military
-is it fair to exempt some devoutly religious soldiers but not others?
-is not allowing a person to wear special clothes, hair or tattoos discriminatory?
-should a devoutly religious soldier be exempt from working on his/her religious holy day? (Christians worship on Sundays, Jewish soldiers on Saturdays and Muslims on Fridays)
-is it ok just to make exceptions for Sikhs, who cannot be devout without their beard and turban? What about Muslim women who wear the full burqa (niqab) with only their eyes showing? is just a head scarf ok with face showing?
-if a Muslim soldier wants to wear a burqa to have freedom of religion, should she be permitted to do so?
What about Orthodox Jewish men with side curls, hats and religious fringe?
Amish men’s beards?

8. a) What do you think: is the military being unfair/unjust in its uniform policies? Explain your answer.
b) They say the issue of wearing a beard will prevent a gas mask from being effective. If gas masks worked 100% of the time with beards, or if it never worked with a beard, would that change your opinion of military uniform policy? Explain your answer.
c) Should there be uniform standards in the military? Why or why not?
d) Should soldiers who are deployed to hostile territories be granted these exceptions?

9. Is the military prohibiting some people from joining the military by implementing uniform policies?
What about combat policies: is the military prohibiting people who are pacifists from having the opportunity to serve in the military?