(August 8, 2006) — In the face of protests on behalf of a chasidic Jew in Rockland County, the Coast Guard has changed its uniform policy to allow service members to wear yarmulkes while on duty.

A tire technician and pilot from Spring Valley, Jack Rosenberg, 35, tried to sign up with a Coast Guard Auxiliary unit in New Jersey last year but was stymied after he told superiors that his religion requires him to wear a yarmulke.

After receiving complaints from Senator Kerry, a Democrat of Massachusetts, and Assemblyman Dov Hikind, a Democrat of Brooklyn, the Coast Guard relented. The commandant of the Coast Guard, Admiral Thad Allen, sent a letter to Mr. Kerry last month outlining a more permissive policy. The admiral said the changes were the result of “a thorough review” his agency conducted.

Mr. Hikind said the would-be Coast Guard search-and-rescue pilot was delighted by the agency’s change of heart. “He is extremely, extremely happy,” Mr. Hikind said. “This is a guy who’s very determined, very nationalistic, very strong in his feelings about America. He felt, ‘Hey, I want to serve my country but I’m also a religious Jew.'”