At the end of May, the Navy adopted what is widely considered in the ranks to be the military's best tattoo rules.
The eased policy allows sailors to get inked on wear art more places on their bodies, an already popular move that’s sure to keep in many more motivated sailors in the ranks.
Navy leaders, including Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Mike Stevens, deserve credit for driving through this common-sense update. But the adoption of these rules must only be the start. Three steps to ensure the rules are followed and serve everyone's best interest:
- Provide more training. The new rules will be enforced by commanding officers, executive officers and command master chiefs at the Navy’s more than 1,500 commands. They and recruiters need to be provided get training on enforcing the revised rules, with a focus on location and context rules. Officials Leaders need to give them clear examples of offensive tattoos and placement that’s off limits, so they can evenly enforce the standards throughout the fleet.
- Establish an appeals process. Getting rid of a tattoo isn’t easy — or painless. In cases in which where a sailor strenuously objects to his their skipper's ruling on their body ink, he should have the option to appeal to a review. The Army, for example, allows soldiers to appeal their commander's decision to an O-6 in their chain of command. Another option would be an independent review that could be set up in fleet concentration areas and handle casesd in batches as need arises. These would also ensure fairness across commands and could provide guidance on send memos about best practices and alerts on, as well as concerning new tattoo trends. to look out for.
- Encourage sailors to be smart about tats. twice. Those in the chain of command must hen it comes to getting more body art, all sailors must ders must When it comes to body ink, recognize the difference between can and should. The new se rules give sailors leeway to get a tattoo in places that include like the arms, hands, neck — even behind the ear. Sailors need to consider: Any tattoos that are visible in work clothing — whether that be in the office or on the construction site — potentially can affect future employment, promotion opportunities and other aspects of civilian life. . And sailors must know that their tattoos could offend Sailors also need to be mindful of how these visible tattoos will be seen by other cultures, whose cultural norms may stigmatize body art.
It’s the job of everyone, from peers and leading petty officers to the wardroom, to make sure their shipmates think before they ink. don’t get ink art that they’ll soon regret.
