A year after tightening its policy on tattoos, the U.S. Army has nimbly backtracked. Soldiers are still prohibited from having tattoos above the neckline, but there will be no limit to the number or size of tattoos hidden by a uniform.
As an estimated 40 percent of young people have tattoos, the change should immediately help with recruiting and retention — and that’s a good thing. It also shows Army leaders to be responsive to complaints in the ranks.
In April 2014, the Army adopted a policy that banned “full-sleeve” tattoos, the elaborate designs that run the length of an arm. Further, it said that new recruits could have no more than four tattoos up to the size of their hand. Soldiers who already had tattoos in violation of the policy could keep them, but they had to be documented with photographs to ensure they didn’t obtain others.
Soldiers, officers and recruiters protested. Tattoos, long a part of military culture, have become increasingly mainstream. A Wall Street Journal/NBC poll last year showed the number of households in which at least one person had a tattoo doubled since 1999. And since the Department of Defense estimates that 70 percent of young people don’t qualify for military service, for reasons ranging from obesity to lack of a high school diploma, the restrictions meant even more people were rejected.
The new policy still prohibits tattoos with racist or vulgar art. But size will no longer matter, and a single ring tattoo is allowed on the hand. “Society is changing its view of tattoos, and I think we need to change along with it,” Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno said at a news conference last week.
But don’t stop for doughnuts after getting fresh ink. The Army’s fitness standards, for now, will remain the same.
Editorial by The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
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