News: United States Army Revises Tattoo Policy - AGAIN

If you haven't been keeping up with this whole crazy story, here’s the breakdown. In July of 2004, a young man named Cory Davidson, met with an Army recruiter and was told he would not be allowed to join the Army because of his neck tattoo. At the time, visible tattoos were not allowed and he was denied.

On January 23, 2006, he received a call informing him that the Army had revised its policy on tattoos and they had decided to allow him to join after all.

On February 21, 2006, it was reported that another recruit, Charles Keller, was denied entry on the basis of a neck tattoo, which violated Army regulation. Apparently they had again changed their policy to being that “any tattoo on the neck in front of the ear is not permitted.”

Well, once again, the Army has revisited its position on tattoos. The Army Regulation book has been updated with new wording which states, “Tattoos that are not extremist, indecent, sexist or racist are allowed on the hands and neck. Initial entry determinations will be made according to current guidance.” It should be noted that neck tattoos still need to be on the back of the neck, and determining whether a tattoo is in the “back” is done by drawing an imaginary line down the back of the ear and behind the jaw line. As long as the tattoo is behind this line, it is considered the “back” of the neck.

Is this the end of the Army Vs. Tattoos debate? It’s hard to say, but you know if anything changes you’ll be able to find out about it here.