We’ve discussed before whether or not American military members should be allowed to wear turbans with their uniforms. It’s a polarizing debate that may be forced to reach a conclusion by a recent letter sent by several retired generals to Defense Secretary Ashton Carter.

The letter, signed by 27 Army and Air Force generals, asks Carter to allow Sikhs to join the U.S. military without making them shave off their beards, cut their hair or discard their turbans. In their argument, the general wrote that Carter would be continuing a tradition started by President Harry Truman, who desegregated the military in 1948.

“President Harry Truman promised ‘that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin,’ ” the group said. “We urge you to strengthen DoD Instruction 1300.17 and make this promise real for patriotic Sikh Americans who wish to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces.”

Here’s a tally of some of the veterans and generals who support this initiative:

The 27 general officers writing to Carter include retired Lt. Gen. Mark Phillip Hertling, former U.S. Army Europe commanding general; retired Air Force Brig. Gen. John Douglass, a former assistant secretary of the Navy; Army Lt. Gen. Claudia Kennedy, former deputy chief of staff for intelligence; and retired Army Maj. Gen. Tony Taguba, former commander of 2nd Brigade and former chief of staff for the Army Reserve Command.

Separately, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, sent his own letter to Carter seeking an end to the ban.

“While I appreciate the importance of military protocol and understand the importance of unit cohesion, I do not believe that any American should have to choose between his or her religion and service to country,” Kaine told Carter.

Sikhs technically are allowed to join the U.S. military, but they are required to act against their religion and shave their hair first. The official reasoning behind this policy is that military members with thick beards and hair won’t be able to fasten their helmets and gas masks as tightly. Since 2009, only three Sikhs have been admitted on a case-by-case basis to the Army without shaving their hair.

“All three of these service members wear turbans and maintain beards in a neat and conservative manner, and all of them can wear helmets and protective gas masks, in conformity with safety requirements,” the retired generals wrote. “Two of them deployed to Afghanistan, earning a Bronze Star Medal and MS [Meritorious Service] NATO Medal for their service.

“Given the success of these service members, we believe that Sikh Americans should be given an equal opportunity to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces without violating their religious obligations,” they said.

In other countries such as the United Kingdom, however, Sikhs are free to serve with their beards intact and their turbans on.

According to the Sikh Coalition, there are 500,000 Sikh American citizens.