Forum

.
I thought this would be a good thing to bring up here.

The US military is changing their protocol regarding tattoos.

To oversimplify things, they are starting a new tattoo prohibition.
Now to elaborate;

If any serviceman hopes to become an officer in the forces, they cannot have any tattoos, anywhere. From what I've heard, new enlistees will have their applications denied if they have any tattoos. This is what is believed to be the actual motive for the policy change.

The servicemen and women that do have tattoos, will now have their tattoos documented (in complete detail) and placed on file. But not for identification purposes.

Tattooed Soldiers with existing contracts will be grandfathered into this new rule. But will be ineligible for internal promotions. I'd be willing to bet that future contract renewal will be off the table as well.

Tattoos and the Armed Service have gone together like peanut butter and jelly for a long, long time. So I see it as a shame that in this modern day and age, our military would choose to place these limitations on our tattooed soldiers. Not only is this going to hurt the men and women who serve. But it's going to hurt the tattoo industry as well.

I personally feel that any employer who states they will not discriminate based on the color of a persons skin, should be ready to accept that some peoples skin will be much more colorful than others.
If the US military sets the precedent that a qualified person can be refused employment, or denied advancement, solely based on the question of "do you have any tattoos?". Our society/workforce will be faced with a new kind of dilemma.

If anyone else cares to comment on this, please do so. My information is limited, but credible. I know there is little we can do to change the policy reform. At the very least, a tattoo shop should know this info, especially if their clientele are of the enlisted type.