Tattoos are no longer taboo in the Air Force. Soon, recruits with near-full-body tattoos will be allowed to serve in the military’s air division.
Beginning Feb. 1, the Air Force will no longer enforce its 25 percent tattoo rule, the service announced Tuesday.
Airmen were previously not allowed to have tattoos on the chest, back, arms and legs that were larger than 25 percent of the exposed body part. Now, they could have full tattoo sleeves on their arms or large back pieces if they so choose.
Tattoos, body markings or brands on the head, neck, face, tongue, lips and/or scalp are still prohibited, according to an Air Force news release. Tattoos on the hands will be limited to one single-band ring tattoo, on one finger. Airmen who already have hand tattoos that were already authorized will be grandfathered in, according to the release.
The changes result from a tattoo policy review the Air Force began conducting earlier this year.
This means that a recruit with tattoos that cover everything but his hands and face will be allowed into the Air Force — drastically upping the previous 25% rule to something closer to 90%.
A new #Tattoo policy is here! We are also taking other steps to continue to allow the best to become #Airmen. https://t.co/XP9z0ABK4f pic.twitter.com/byicmZxKfz
— U.S. Air Force (@usairforce) January 10, 2017
But that’s not all. Policy on prior marijuana usage is also being loosed up:
The Air Force also is updating its policy about marijuana use before joining the service. The change removes the numerical limitations on a potential recruit’s prior use of marijuana. This means a potential recruit will not be disqualified for service based on how much marijuana he or she smoked in the past.
The old policy was found to not reflect current legalization of marijuana in numerous states, according to the release. Airmen still won’t be allowed to currently use it, but they won’t be asked how many times they had used it in the past.
“We are always looking at our policies and, when appropriate, adjusting them to ensure a broad scope of individuals are eligible to serve. These changes allow the Air Force to aggressively recruit talented and capable Americans who until now might not have been able to serve our country in uniform,” Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force James A. Cody said in the release.
Source: Air Force Times
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Big mistake
I agree. Big mistake. It’s probably pretty difficult to pilot an aircraft with a back tattoo or a full sleeve on both arms. Ink makes the arms too heavy to reach the controls.
So it’s okay for a mentally ill transgender to be in the military but tattoos is a problem ? I see if a man wants to be tatted out who cares. I understand the none on the face or the hands other than that let him go. Cool.