NAVY: TATTOOS NOW TABOO
Like tomato sauce and pasta, like the Lone Ranger and Tonto, like J. Lo and that big ol’ ass, sailors and their tattoos have long seemed like one of nature’s unalterable combinations.
But now, the U.S. Navy is putting the brakes on some tattoos and ornamentation, according to Stars and Stripes.
“Tattoos/body art/brands that are excessive, obscene, sexually explicit or advocate or symbolize sex, gender, racial, religious, ethnic or national origin discrimination are all out. So are forked tongues. So is branding, or “scarification.“
The other armed services also have limits on “ink.” In the Air Force, taboo tattoos are ones that exceed one-fourth of the exposed body part. Marines can’t have body art on the head or neck. Nor are they allowed “objects, articles, jewelry or ornamentation through their skin, tongue or any other body part.e
“Mom” or “Semper Fi,” written across the shoulder, are, presumably, still allowed.
NAVY: TATTOOS NOW TABOO
Previous post: PILOTS’ UNREAL WORLD
Next post: DRONE VIDEO ONLINE
{ 32 comments… read them below or add one }
Dear Sir (or Ma’am), I’m an italian american, former DT3 of the US Navy. I think that nobody around this world dislike american sailors because they have tattoos. In Italy, nowadays, even young girls have tattoos. Of course, exagerations may become ridiculous, common sense, but something showing on your arm or neck or wherever is fine, as long as we are nice to people, and plitically correct. Did you know that the sailors of the dutch Navy,(Holland, where Amsterdam is),are allowed to wear ear ring in uniform? And nobody dislike them. America is beautiful because a free country. Please let us not become a bunch of bigots. Please. I love you, God bless America and their friends.
As a former sailor for 15 yrs and a disabled vet. I am sickened by the stance of the military on tattoos. This is part of the Naval heritage and I think that with the loss of free will of the sailor goes the loss of pride to be one!! I was more old school than even my close friends in the Navy and bucked authority whenever possible and tried to get a tattoo in every port regardless of the consequence. Proud Sailor
sir,
ya i can't believe the way the navy is going now a days. tattooing is a big part of navy heritage. it goes along with getting your liberty cuffs in your blues. a proud tradition but now the navy is cracking down and forcing people to get out of the military or get the tattoos removed. i've recently been put into this catagory. A close friend and fellow sailor passed away last year and i got a cross with wings tattoo on my forearm and now i have to get it removed because its 1" to big on both sides. my hand doesn't fully cover it up and my C.O didn't sign off on the waiver i had to apply for. everyone else did in my chain of command but my skipper didn't bottom line it. so now i have to remove it or get involuntary seperated from the navy. i just don't see how its gotten to this point. tattoos symbolizes a sailor.
Although I am new to the Navy I have 3 tatoos already soon to be 6. I got all of them with in the 1st year I was in the Navy. I think it is B/S what they are doing to tattoo policy!
My husband currently serves in the Navy …he was once a boiler tech now he has gone engineman …he followed regs per his command to get a tattoo on his hand of the boiler tech and the engineman cog …his command said no cuz the boiler tech rate is no longer …even though he still works on boilers …but there are guys on his boat that have tattoos on their necks that are very visible in uniform …this new policy sucks
Here is what pisses me off. I am getting marriedthe 17 of august and my brother and fiance and I are a really tight nit group. We all believe in mostly the same things. so as a wedding gift my brother was going to take us out and we were all going to get tattoos. well I go to bootcamp in sept. and so i thought i would be kinda smart and call my recruiter and ask if I should wait and he told me if i got the tatto I would be kicked out of bootcamp and the navy altogether. Now normally I could handle this but the fact that it was to be a wedding gift is like a slap in the fae to me because it was something we all were looking forward to. but hey i guess it will all workout for the better,thats what i keep telling myself anyway
Still a proud sailor though
I have 10 years in and I have had my tattoos for 20 years now the Navy said I must go because they are dis tastfull They should have told me before I joined
I’ve been in the navy for 2 years now. the navy’s stance on tattoo’s have changed so many times that no one really understands them, as well with the higher ups. i’ve gotten many tattoo’s on my biceps and forearms without too many questions… just keep posted on the current regs. work with the chain of command, keep them tasteful and you shall not have any problems if you still wish to get tattoos in the navy.
I it seems to me we have our interest in the wrong direction, huh on tattoos in the Navy,there is more issues that are more important. ALL Of my (8)uncles and my-self(CORPSMAN/FMF/8404/DV where in Navy. it is a tradtions,,, to many poltics huh… GOD SPEED…..
I believe that….If the tatoo you recieve is not “ANTI” anything then it should be favored within the service that protects us “free” Americans. We are not to be “ANTI” anything but share our love FIRST to the US, THEN the world. If the US has it backwards, well then I am sorry, I will say try to keep the faith in God above who will NOT look at your tatoos, but your heart for an entrance to peace forever. Should we represent? The US gov’t WILL NOT buy you a ticket to heaven for sure. OR, maybe we should start praying in the schools for added support from above??
By taking away the personal freedom of a tattoo is like taking away your religous rights. Just another example of where or country could head if things don’t change.
the thing i hated about being in the Navy is different peoples interpretation of rules and regs. you might be in one command and they be ok with the tattoo you got but when you get to your next command they may see it differently and all hell breaks loose. then your a shitbag and forget about evals. one outstanding sailor can go to shit in a blink of an eye just because someone decides to interpret rules and regs their own way. they were made to do that. there is so much leway that everyone gets confused and nothing but bad comes of it.
The nice thing is, all you have to do is “lose” your medical record, blame it on whichever corpsman did your audio gram or whatever, and now you have been grandfathered in. I did this like three times, both my arms are sleeved and so is one calf, also have a cog on my right hand thumb/ index webbing. Yeah, my chief bitched, but at my next command I just told them I’d had them for years and they dropped it. Hasn’t affected my evals or advancement so far.
EN2(sw)
To all of you who keep talking about God and heaven and tattoos in the same sentences need to reread Leviticus 19:28. “Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD” KJV.
I just wanted to comment Levitius 19:28 Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you.
shall I point out the dead for the dead you shall not make any cuttings …dont do those rituals of man to false gods by marking their bodies by cutting themselves.again i say this is not speaking of tatoo’s.
I wonder what that Leviticus passage really meant in the original tongue and how it has been distorted by poor translations and interpretations? Maybe someone needs have a coke and a smile and just relax.
i have to say that i was quite apalled to discover that the navy is dening people entry due to tattoos. what does the tattoo have to do with how well you are able to defend our country's freedom? we need to reevealute why this was made a rule because it has nothing to do with tattoos affecting the ability of our officers to serve it came from ignorance in a time that we are preaching acceptance.
O M G I HAVE BEEN SAYING THE SAME DAMNED THING. I hope me comment gets read because I’m sick and tired of america having to kiss every *** in the world. Don’t ask us to defened the your crappy *** coutry and dictate the terms on whitch I’m allowed to do so.
Yeah but Rachele said it four years ago.
yeah the Navy is getting tough about tattoos. I was in great lakes for navy boot camp in january and one of the guys in my division got kicked out for having a tattoo on his arm, he was kicked out. the only way he can return is if he covers it up or gets it removed.
Headline: Navy Spells Out Policy on Tattoos, Body Art, Piercings
I was very disturbed to find my son who really loves the Navy may be being put out because of a minor problem with a ship mate where no one got hurt. But then the Tattoos came into it.
My son is second generation Navy, he has completed 3 pretty tough schools, and now he is CWIS Tech with a NEC. My son let me know after the first week on his ship that retention and moral was bad and I even witnessed this when I visited the ship on more than one occasion.
The Navy has spent well over 20,000 to train this young man so I cannot believe tattoos, which were a part of Maritime life for centuries are a good reason to lose this time a money invested.
I worked as a Gunners mate in and out of the Navy for 16 years I love the Navy as corny as it sounds. I need to hear exactly what happened but this has taken the “wind out of my sails”
Well as always god bless America and have a fine Navy day
This policy is about keeping up appearances for the Navy. Like it or not many people associate tattoos with gangs and negative things like that; whether or not they actually have something or that nature incorporated into them. Tattoos are a permanent choice that will affect both you both socially and in the work force, this was something that should’ve been considered before getting one thats always visible or that has something distinctly controversial.
It all comes down to this: Being in the service is not the same as being a regular person outside the service who has rights and can do whatever they want cause its a free country. When your in the service or trying to get in the service, you now have to follow their rules and regs. And your owned by the government. So, you do what they want and follow what they say like it or not. Remember, the price of freedom is not cheap. This should help clear up some confusion. This is there way of weeding out the bad and getting the good. They have always wanted clean cut individuals. So, they can have a good image with the world. Times have changed though and the government doesn’t follow the times. We all know that. And yes, I served in the Navy and didn’t have any tattoos at the time. I wasn’t against them though. Just didn’t care for them. Now, I have several. And they won’t let me in the reserves. I have an anchor with a skull on my arm and they say that regs state you can’t have any showing. Well, I turned around and walked away in disappointment. They just want the good again. That’s life.
I have been in the Navy for eight years, and four years before the in the Army. I myself have four tattoos, two large and two mid size, the only one that can be seen in my summer whites is the Navy tattoo on my arm, and the one on my calf when I wear the PT uniform, (yes we now have a PT uniform blah). I have read most of what you all have written, and I would like to add to it. As a Sailor I have heard time and time and time again how as Sailors we should be proud of the Navy’s history, and our heritage, well like it or not, the Navy also should realize that Tattoo’s are part of our heritage, in the 1800′s Sailors would get tattoo’s to show others where they had been around the world, i.e. a shell back tattoo was to show other sailors that he had crossed the line, an anchor would show that he had sailed the Atlantic. So like it or not the Navy can not and should not choose what part of OUR history and heritage to keep and what to get rid of. Now some of you may disagree with me on this next part, I do agree with the Navy’s policy that no tattoos should be above the neck and on the face, we do have to look somewhat clean cut, and younger kids do look up to us. But for the most part the Navy spends time and money on uniform boards, and sending out surveys to see what we as sailors want, maybe they need to send out a few about the current tattoo policy.
V/R,
A fellow shipmate.
You can be too concerned about the injury and will be bogged down in these, only see weak, you can keep playing their first game mentality, the game itself is in order to play. You wanted to earn Hellgate London gold, you can go to earn, if you want not, you can too. Play game you must be very happy, if you angry, in real life has a lot of experience, so why should their spare time to relax, no one knows how the real you, so you can even have their own game of life, would not mind other people said. I think games like reality, life is your own visited, good or bad, people can not participate in.
I think wonderful.
I was just rejected from the US Navy because I have a tattoo on my neck. I hold a 4 year degree in science- a clean cut- good kid (25). I scored a 47 on my ASTB an was going to go enlisted for the college benefits. Today I spoke with an enlisted recruiter and he said ‘sorry I can’t help you’
All because of a tattoo- a tattoo I’m very proud of- it’s a shame. I can’t serve my country because of a tattoo but our presidents can’ smoke pot, get busted with cocain- and be a commander and chief of the military- but I can’t serve my free country because of a tattoo- that says NYS- proud to be born and raised in NYS. I’m really let down by the US. I tried to do everything right and it’s all dead ends- 86k in college debt, can’t get a job that pays enough to cover rent-and my student loans. Now I can’t even join te Navy- only the Army-
that’s a slap in the face- bigtime
This doesn't make sense to me, unless of course they are extreme like a nazi logo or large penis on the forehead. Piercings can be rectified pretty easy but, lazer tattoo removal is expensive and will leave a scar.
Just what we need, more people out of work and for ridiculous reasons!!!
I was / am / and always will be PROUD to have been a US NAVY CORPSMAN, during the VIETNAM ERA. What I saw there, as did all the other young kids that our country sent over there to FIGHT, KILL, and DIE … could not even come close to the WORST TATOO that you have ever seen. Why are "THEY" even worring about such crazyness, There are far more important things to be dealt with, like Homeless Vets, Jobless Vets, Disabled Vets, etc. I have noticed more people nowdays with tatoos, who could not have even been in the SERVICE as yet due to their age.
I FOUGHT FOR FREEDOM … I THINK I'LL JUST GO OUT AND GET ME A TATOO….
IT WILL SAY …. " GOD BLESS THE U.S.A."
When Mullen leaves things may resume as normal once again, but I doubt it.
I am a marine I always will be first annd foremost. As such I fought for freedom when and where I was asked by my country. I did not ask what freedoms I fight for nor did I choose those witch I would.
I hate racism but when I fought for freedom I fought for the right the klan the black panthers the skinheads and all other racist orgs to exist. With this I also fought for the right for you an individule the right to have a tat if you choose and not according to weather or not I like it.
It seems to me more and more are being ask to defened the rights of others in places we should not be. Some of whitch we are forced to defened the right for them to destroy us. Never once do remember any of these coutries asking not one American fighting man /woman do you have a tattoo we don’t like or agree with. They didn’t care, they didn’t even care that my brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers died defending to the death their right to hate us. Yet we are told we can jailed or treated like an enemy and shuned if we get a tattoo that someone else gets offende by.
Child molesters offend me but I see them getting a slap on the hand for destroying the life of a child, yet I can’t get a tatto because I may offened some *******. We are asked to fight a war to deffend a coutry where the exepted religion not only says you can’t worship your god here but also openly states how they want to destroy you. Yet I can’t have any religouse art on my body.
I’m affraid our country has been laid to rest in its ruins. *** kissing political parties deny the very rights they enjoy to those who fight for them.
If you shoot a piece of **** for shooting and killing your combat brothers and and drops his weapon its murder according tk the ***** in washington. But the very polititions that call it murder can have an individual murdererd to protect their illegal cash flow and its hardly even investigated.
I think if our forefathers could see this country today they would be ashamed of what has become of it. But then again I wouldn’t doubt it that they would be put to death for speaking out.
In short ill wear what ever tatt I ******* choose and if it offends you then go to ****. I DONT CARE! !!!!!
They can still draft you if you have a tatoo. You just can't join the service willingly. This is out of control.