God Bless the Navy, someone’s gotta heal Marines and give us a ride to where we need to go! 
My old team leader was stuck in DEP for almost 1.5 years waiting to get a tattoo removed from the back of his neck, and this was '98.
Jay
Getting a tattoo in a highly visible place at a young age is a big mistake in my opinion. You never know where life will lead you or what path your career may take, and a tattoo that say’s “Fuck the Man” on your forearm will probably close some doors for you.
That being said I got a “regrettable” tattoo when I was 19 but it was on my upper arm and easily concealed. I’m currently getting it covered with a complete japanese style half sleeve :D. Having just turned 40 maybe it’s a mid-life thing but I’ve always wanted to do it and am in a place where I’m old enough not to give a shit what other people think about it, and I’m settled in my career.
The Navy still requires wavers for ink below the T-shirt level.
The military is free to choose whatever they want to do. I think ASVAB scores, psych profiles, and PT evaluations are more indicative of a soldier’s performance than appearance, but I don’t make the rules.
Anyway, barred from reenlistment in '01 and '03. Multiple recruiters informed me that regardless of concealment, Army policy at those times wouldn’t allow any tattoos depicting…firearms. :rolleyes:
right now I’m working towards the Navy in the DEP program. I have one large tattoo that covers the elbow side of my left forearm, one tattoo over the right bicep from top of shoulder to just above the elbow, one on the back and one on the right inside wrist, which is slightly visible when in long shirt.
The Marine Corps recruiter had to go through all sorts of trouble to get my tattoos approved, the Navy recruiter looked at me with one eyebrow raised and said “you’re fine”!
i can understand if the tattoo is in some way profound, but that kids tattoo was in no way profound.
Also to do this to him the DAY before shipping out is just plain wrong. Apparently the AF is doing this to all recruits, whether they have their contract or not?
They MUST not forget that the contract goes both ways! If the AF approves your tattoo and gives you a contract, they shouldn’t be able to completely do a 180 and revoke it or pull it back.
plain stupid IMO.
Dunno if it actually was true but a Salt dog told me about some punk Marine who was clearly a bad egg, got “F*** You” tattoo’d on the ridge of his hand, so everytime he would salute an officer his tattoo would do the greeting. Then again this could of been just some scuttlebutt
I heard about “a guy” with the same tattoo when I was in the Army.
I’m calling shenanigans.
It would be pretty ridiculous if someone had that
I think its something most of us enlisted guys wanted to say at one point or another in our career, and that tattoo would have fit the bill to a T.
How much hell would I have gotten in basic for a peace sign on my arm (not visible with a t-shirt)?
I think as much as Tats are very mainstream in our society, the military has always been more, if not extremely conservative to some if not all visible Tats, depending on your individual era. When I was in the 82d Abn Div, it was quite common to see Soldiers with AIRBORNE or SGT ROCK tats on there shoulders and forearms. In some HS/LD units, it could, and can be, a disqualifies and exclusion from certain classified missions. They are probably getting more and more recruits with Tats, and some higher ups are becoming preoccupied with what they would consider an unmilitary and undisciplined look. With the economy the way it is, and people climbing the fence to get a steady paycheck, they can afford to be more selective for the sake of that branch’s image.