What is the Army’s Tattoo Policy?

13 April 2015 / By Beloved
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What is the Army's Tattoo Policy?

The US army updated its policy regarding tattoos in April 2015. This occurred after the earlier and more strict tattoo policy came under severe criticism. All serving personnel, as well as the recruits and applicants planning to enlist in the army, are required to comply with the new tattoo policy.
The new tattoo policy relaxes a number of previous rules regarding tattoos. However, tattoos on the face, neck, wrists and hands are still strictly prohibited. This means that tattoos above the t-shirt neck line are still not allowed. However, tattoos on the sleeves are allowed if they do not reach the wrists. The main criteria governing the location of tattoos under the 2015 policy is that the tattoos must not be visible while the soldier is wearing the army service uniform.

The new tattoo policy also prohibits offensive, sexist, racist or derogatory tattoos, regardless of the position or size of them. The scope regarding the vulgarity or offensiveness of the tattoos is quite broad and implies that the tattoos, especially the visible ones, must not be offensive to other cultures as army personnel are often deployed to other countries during their service.

The most significant change introduced with the new tattoo policy is that previous restrictions governing the size and number of tattoos have been removed. This essentially means that the soldiers can have any number of tattoos of any size of any size on their arms and legs.

If a person planning to enlist in the army has any tattoo that does not comply with the new tattoo policy, it is recommended that they have the tattoo removed because it can seriously jeopardize their chances of joining the army. Modern professional tattoo removal techniques use lasers to permanently remove the tattoos and offer quick and effective results.

Getting the non-complying tattoos promptly removed by a professional tattoo removal service is a highly recommended investment if you hope to enlist as it will remove a big obstacle that can prevent you from beginning an army career.