In a
historical moment for Sikhs round the world, Lt.-Col. Harjit Singh Sajjan has
become the first Canadian Sikh to assume command of a Canadian army regiment.
In a ceremony, a change of command in the British Columbia Regiment (Duke of
Connaught’s Own) took place on September 11, 2011, at the Beatty Street
Armoury in Vancouver,British Columbia, Canada.
Lt.-Col. Harjit Singh joined the British Columbia Regiment as a Trooper in
1989 and was commissioned in the Regiment in 1991. He was promoted to Captain
in 1995 and to Major in 2005. He has served in Bosnia-Herzegovina as well as
three deployments to Afghanistan.
Singh has been Mentioned-in-Dispatch and has two Chief of Defence Staff
Commendations. He is also the recipient of the Commander-in-Chief’s
Commendation and the Deputy Minister of National Defence Award for recruiting
in the Sikh community.
Prior to joining army Singh was a police officer for 11 years with the
Vancouver Police Department. He completed his last assignment as a Detective
specializing in organized crime in the Gang Crime Unit. He also spent five
years as a certified Technical Search Specialist with Vancouver’s Heavy Urban
Search and Rescue Team.
Lieutenant-Colonel Singh is a Security Consultant lecturing to a wide
audience, including specialised briefings on Counter-Insurgency Operations to
both Canadian and US government agencies.
Singh is married to Kuljit Kaur, a medical physician and they reside in
Vancouver with their daughter, Jeevut, and son Arjun.