July 25, 2003

Big Tats Nyet!: Zero Goth Tolerance in Today's Action Army


Unlikely to be leading troops into battle

Donald Sensing's fascinating One Hand Clapping boasts an item that will bring grief to the hearts of Goths across America. Tattoos will get you barred or bounced from the Army.

I previously related that my eldest son was nearing a decision to enlist in the Army or the Marine Corps. In a conversation with the Marine recruiter, he said that they can get waivers to approve enlistment if a prospect has used narcotics or smoked marijuana, has a record of repeated arrests, or, in one approved waiver, had one leg literally pinned together with steel rods.But absolutely no waivers whatsoever are granted for a prospect who has more than six tattoos or has any tattoo that cannot be covered by the recruiter's hand. Period. It doesn't matter what the tattoo depicts - gang related, drug related, or a full-color American flag, doesn't matter.
If I were a member of the Tattoo Lobby, I'd be begging for the draft to come back.

Posted by Vanderleun at July 25, 2003 12:03 PM
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"It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood." -- Karl Popper N.B.: Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately. Comments that exceed the obscenity or stupidity limits will be either edited or expunged.

Heh. :)

Posted by: Michael J. Totten at July 25, 2003 1:11 PM

It's funny, yeah.

But - like the much publicized booting of translators with rare (in the US) languages - it tends to send the message that the armed forces aren't hurting for personnel. "See, we're drowning in recruits! We have so much manpower that we can afford to lose good people to arbitrary and capricious rules! No strength problems here!" And I suspect that, as with the translators, this will turn out not to be the case, and the arrogance and heedlessness of such rules will come back to bite the institution in its tattoo-free ass.

Posted by: jeanne a e devoto at July 26, 2003 8:22 AM

By that time there *will* be a draft. Perhaps the Army could offer laser tattoo removal as an inducement.

Posted by: Van der Leun at July 26, 2003 3:32 PM

I am trying to go back into the Corps. I have passed every test, physical, hundreds of pages of paperwork, and it looks like I'm going to be denied because I have a tattoo on my back that is a dragon with a flag behind it(it's a cover-up) and on the flag is an eagle with 2 sideways L's (like bars) coming off the sides. They said it looks to much like a partial swastika and they are DQing me. All I want to do is be a Marine and fight the war with my brothers, and I get the red light over something like that. God Bless the Government!!!!!!

Posted by: Nicholas at October 24, 2005 7:54 AM