Proposed Revisions To the Army Tattoo Policy

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Recommended: Tattoos a form of self expression and individual identity

For the last few months there has been an ongoing debate about whether troops with tattoos should have to get them removed or exit the military. Sgt. Maj. Raymond Chandler states that the new policy will not allow troops to have tattoos that are racist, extremist, and or sexist .Also under the new policy recruits cannot have tattoos below the knee and elbow and above the neckline (Stars and Stripes). Why is this just limited to the new recruits? As Chandler also stated the older troops that have tattoos will have to go through a grandfathering process for their, but they still cannot have a one that falls in the category of being vulgar(Stars and Stripes). No matter what their classification is they will have to meet with an army counselor to self-identify the meaning and discuss what will happen if they have to get it removed. While it is true that a person’s tattoos can tell a story about them, it does not necessarily dictate how well a person can perform their assigned job. It is now a heated discussion amongst the soldiers about whether it is fair or not for them to have to go through this. I firmly support troops not having to get their tattoo removed.

Why the Army thinks this Change is important.
As the late 90’s early 2000’s came in we were bombarded with war activity and were in high demand for troops. So as a result, the army loosened up on its requirements for enlistees. They overlooked weight standards, behavioral issues, felony charges, non- high school graduates and many more issues. While time went on they enlisted more troops than they needed, which gave them an all-time high of roughly 570,000 troops (Breaking Defense). Why is it such a big deal now that people have tattoos? Chandler states that the army wa...

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...eb. 23 Oct. 2013.
Geete, Stephanie Van, Staff Sgt. Www.army.mil. United States Army, 19 Sept. 2009. Web. 23 Oct. 424222013.
Dallet, Lydia. "Army Tattoo Regulations Are Set To Change, And Soldiers Aren't Happy."Business 00101Insider. N.p., 26 Sept. 2013. Web. 24 Oct. 2013.
"Troops Voice Anger over New Grooming Rules." Army Times. N.p., 19 May 2012. Web. 24 Oct. 2013.
Freedberg, Sydney J., Jr. "Breaking Defense." Breaking Defense. N.p., 25 Sept. 2013. Web. 24 Oct. 11111112013.
Quillin, Martha. "With Stricter Army Rules Coming, Tattoos Are a Priority." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 17 Oct. 2013. Web. 24 Oct. 2013
Reuters. "U.S. Army Weighs New Tattoo Policy." Chicago Tribune. N.p., 25 Sept. 2013. Web. 24 Oct. 2013
Web. 08 Nov. 2013."The Story of One Soldier Challenging Military Uniforms - The Takeaway." Takeaway. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2013.
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