Tattoos In The Military

Hello again, everyone!

Let's talk about tattoos. They're pretty awesome. I have two, myself. But, they can be disqualifying if you want to join the military. From what I gather, the Air Force and the Marines are the strictest with their tattoo policies. Which seems to be the case for everything haha!

So, you have a couple of tattoos, you're worried. I get it. I had no idea that it could affect anything! When I initially called my recruiter (all recruiters do this), he did a mini-interview. He asked basically if I was in good health, married, kids, and tattoos. They just want to make sure you meet the basic requirements before wasting their time, and yours. I actually was able to meet up with him about 2 hours later, where I showed him my ink, and marked it on a chart. It's the standard anatomy picture, where I drew X's on where my tattoos are (left shoulder, right shoulder blade). I think drew a picture of them, explained what they meant, and what they meant to me. It generally takes at least a week for them to be approved, or denied, but it only took mine 2 days. The main reason they take so long/want to know all this info on them, is to make sure they're not gang-related, terroristic, etc. They also need to know where they're located at, because it could present an issue for wearing the uniform (ABU's or Blues). Some things aren't appropriate to see while in uniform, while other things don't cause worry. Here's the official AF policy on tattoos. Just scroll down to the table of contents, then click on the tattoos section. Easy peasy.

Anyway, there's the regulations for tattoos in general, but now, what about getting more? While you're in the DEP you cannot get a new tattoo. This includes a touch-up, or fill-in. Tattoos are considered open wounds for a year, so that'll get you DQ'd real quick. Wait until Tech School or after before you get another one. You'll probably have more money then, anyway! The MEPS personnel go over your tattoos again when you head back there the day you ship out. So, there's no way possible that you can get away with hiding it or anything. You're in your skivvies, remember?

If you have any more information, specific information, that is, related to this, please feel free to share!! =]