The Missing Link

“Before, tattoos were the province of biker gangs and longshoremen. Then, one day, they went big. Now, they could even be considered mainstream, with 23 percent of all Americans and 38 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds having at least one tattoo, according to a 2010 Pew Research poll.” New York Times, April 19^th. Today, experts feel that this number has increased to a more likely 50% in that 18- to 29-year-old segment. OK, so what?

So…  as elderly Department of Defense senior leaders and our most senior military commanders contemplate what they think the image of a U.S. soldier should be, particularly as our troops increasingly interface with local civilians with cultural sensitivities all over the world, the issue of tattoos leaps to the fore. “The United States Army will soon implement a new rule barring soldiers from sporting tattoos below the elbows and knees or above the neckline.

“The forthcoming ban on tattoos, filed under Army Regulation 670-1, won’t affect current soldiers who will have existing tatts ‘grandfathered in’ — unless the tattoos are ‘racist, sexist, or extremist.’ Any of those will have to be removed — no matter where they are on the body — at the soldier’s expense. Ouch.

“Newcomers must be free of visible ink. Staff Sergeant Robert Black, the assistant commander of the Norfolk Army Recruiting Center, admits it will ‘affect some individuals from entering the Army.’” PacificPalisades.Patch.com, November 15^th. Ya think?

“The logic is obvious. It’s difficult to embody professional uniformity when soldiers’ limbs are covered with personal abstractions. If you need to express yourself to everyone who sees you, maybe the armed forces aren’t a fit for you.

“But it seems somehow wrong to separate soldiers and tattoos. In an affectionate blog post on the Army’s own Web site, Staff Sargent Stephanie van Greete rhapsodized about the love affair between soldiers and their tattoos: ‘Tattoos and the military have a long and colorful history. The rise of the tattoo in popular culture started with floods of inked veterans — especially from World War II —returning home with them.’” The Patch.

Over there! Over here? Everywhere! Society changes, even as old-line employers – including the U.S. military – continue to look down on those with tattoos, particular big and obvious ones in a nation where its youth wear these markings with neo-tribalist pride. Is this a realistic rule? Is it implementable in today’s world? What’s your opinion?

I’m Peter Dekom wondering if this is a rational regulation or just another way of abusing our privates!