Lt.-Col. Harjit Singh Sajjan has become the first Canadian Sikh to assume command of a Canadian army regiment.
On Sunday September 11, 2011, Sajjan was given his charge as the Commanding Officer (Designate) of the British Columbia Regiment in a ceremony held at the Beatty Street Armoury in Vancouver.He was preceded by Lt.-Col. Bruce Kadanoff  who served as commanding officer for the past three years.
Sajjan 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. Sajjan has served on tours in Bosnia-Herzegovina as wells as three deployments to Afghanistan, most recently in November 2010 when he was requested to serve as the Special Assistant to US Army Major-General James Terry, Commanding General of 10th Mountain Division and Commander of Regional Command South.
Sajjan 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.