Navy approves military's loosest tattoo policy

The Navy is easing its tattoo policy in a bid to recruit and retain more sailors from the millennial generation, of whom more than 1 in 3 sport body art.

Sailors will be allowed to have neck tattoos, sleeves and even markings behind their ears under the new policy, the most lenient of any military service. Only their heads are off limits under the new policy, which the Navy's top sailor has called a reality check on the permanent art favored by sailors.

“We just got to the point where we realized we needed to be honest with ourselves and put something in place that was going to reflect the realities of our country and the needs of our Navy,” Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Mike Stevens said Wednesday. “We need to make sure that we’re not missing any opportunities to recruit and retain the best and the brightest because of our policies.”

Marines' new tattoo policy will be more flexible

The new rules, announced Thursday and taking effect April 30, will allow sailors to:

• Have multiple or large tattoos below the elbow or knee, including the wrists and hands, effectively allowing sleeve tattoos that can be seen even while wearing short sleeve uniforms.

• Have one tattoo on their neck, which includes behind the ear, and it may not exceed 1 inch in length or height in either or both directions.

• Sailors with visible tattoos will now be eligible for recruiting duty or leading recruits at boot camp in Great Lakes, Ill. These tough assignments often give sailors a leg up to make rank.

The rules do not change the Navy’s content guidelines that apply to body art “anywhere on the body,” the policy says.

The service reiterated these in the updated policy, banning “tattoos that are obscene, sexually explicit, and or advocate discrimination based on sex, race, religion, ethnicity, or national origin."

“In addition, tattoos that symbolize affiliation with gangs, supremacist or extremist groups, or advocate illegal drug use are prohibited — waivers will not be given for tattoos with prohibited content,” the service said.

The updated tattoo policy does not apply to Marines, even ones serving at Navy commands, according to a spokesman for Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Robert Neller. The Marines are easing their tattoo rules but do not allow sleeves, which would be visible with short-sleeved uniforms such as physical training uniforms.

In 2015, the Army updated its rules to allow sleeve tattoos, but it does not permit soldiers to have ink on their necks or hands, which would be visible in the Army Service Uniform.

It's official: Army issues new tattoo rules

Sailors' tattoos must be documented in the administrative remarks section of their service record.

Sailors found to have tattoos with prohibited content could face disciplinary action and even involuntary discharge. It’s left up to commanding officers to decide what crosses the line. Typically, sailors are allowed to have tattoos removed or modified to eliminate any banned content before they are disciplined.

Beyond what’s stated in the policy, don’t expect a laundry list of do's and don'ts.

“There are just so many variables when you look at tattoo language and tattoo art that it’s just not reasonable to try and identify a set list of what is and what isn’t acceptable,” Stevens said. “This is one of those areas where we trust this senior leadership, our triads, to be able to look at something in its context, using the chain of command and having discussions amongst themselves as to whether something is appropriate or not.”

Stevens said the changes came from sailors' feedback, with many complaining that their body art unfairly barred them from jobs such as recruit division commanders that can help them get advanced.

Army eases rules on soldiers' ink

Stevens said he believes that society is more accepting of tattoos, with some estimates that as much as nearly half of the demographic the military recruits from has tattoos.

"This isn’t official, but in my research, I saw estimates that the percentage of people with tattoos in the 18 to 25 age group as being between 37(%) and 40%," he said. "That's not an insignificant number."

That age group encompasses the majority of sailors in the fleet, Stevens said, and made the Navy's leadership realize a policy change was needed from the tougher rules enacted 13 years ago.

"It’s a tough recruiting environment out there already and when you start putting up barriers that don’t have any true rationale behind them, you create problems for yourself into the future," he said. "We’ve met (recruiting) goal for 105 straight months and our recruiting is strong, but you never want to get behind."

Contributing: Jeff Schogol, Military Times. Follow Mark Faram on Twitter: @scribe4squids