Army crackdown on tattoos

[oldcorpsdad]

The Army has instituted a crackdown on tattoos of all sorts. Google “Army Tattoos” and you will see the many related articles. When the Army couldn’t get enough troops, the standards were relaxed. Now they are headed back to where they used to be if not becoming even more stringent. Occasionally there are threads on here about the pros and cons and the acceptability of tattoos. Each candidate needs to make their own decision but realize that all tattoos will now be reviewed by the leadership. Be careful of placement on your body as well as the content. I suspect that in many units the scrutiny on officers will be even more stringent as no commander wants some soldier they are trying to separate to be able to say “Well LT xx has one just like it or worse.” The easiest way to avoid having to have your tattoos examined by the chain of command over and over is to not have any.

 

[BigNick]

We go through this discussion every year.

Bottom line - young people have one attitude on tattoos and many older people (who run the Army) have a more conservative view.

Do not get "hung-up" and indignant about your "rights" to have a tattoo. You are entering a conservative world that does not admire tattoos as much as some young people do.

In the military and at West Point THERE IS NO ADVANTAGE IN HAVING A TATOO BUT THERE ARE MANY POSSIBLE DISADVANTAGES TO HAVING A TATOO. CONCENTRATE ON EXPRESSING YOURSELF WITH YOUR CHARACTER, INTELLIGENCE, HARD WORK, INTEGRITY, AND ABILITY AND NOT WITH BODY DESIGNS.