Tag: tattoos

I have met people of Maori descent who serve in the US military.  I wonder what the Pentagon’s reaction would be to someone of Maori heritage wanting a facial tattoo for cultural reasons?:

After serving 20 years in the Navy a combat specialist has become the first to be allowed a full facial Maori tattoo.

Rawiri Barriball was granted clearance in December to wear the moko after having to apply for it under navy law, NZME reported.

“I’ve always felt I was gonna get it, I just wanted to achieve a few things first and one of them was doing 20 years’ [service],” he told NewsHub.  [Stuff.co.nz]

You can read more at the link, but I have spent quite a bit of time in New Zealand and it is not uncommon to see Maori with a facial tattoo.  However, I saw very few Maori have facial tattoos as large as Mr. Barriball.

His jail sentence was suspended which means his plan to dodge mandatory service did in fact work:

A man has been given a jail term for having his body covered with tattoos to avoid mandatory military service.

Under the conscription law, men with “excessive” tattoos on their bodies are immune from duty for fear that they could upset other soldiers.

The man, 20, was sentenced to one year in prison with the term suspended for two years, the court in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, revealed Monday. [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

This has to be the fastest revision of AR 670-1 ever:

The Army dialed back some controversial rules on tattoos and women’s hairstyles in an update on Tuesday to the regulation governing appearance and uniform wear.

In March, the Army issued a heavily revised Army Regulation 670-1, a move that spurred grumbling in the ranks and a protest on Capitol Hill with newly restrictive language about a number of appearance issues.

The more stringent tattoo policy issued in March remains largely unchanged, retaining the limits on the size, number and location of tattoos. Full sleeve tattoos are still banned, for instance, and no more than four small tattoos can be visible on lower arms and legs. The rules were meant, the Army said in press release Tuesday, “to maintain the professional appearance of the force.”

While tattoos in violation of rules issued in March could be grandfathered, soldiers with grandfathered tattoos couldn’t seek a commission or appointment without receiving a special exception. That changed Tuesday.

“The updated regulation takes into account that previously authorized tattoos should not prevent a soldier from becoming an officer, but that candidates are to be evaluated based on the whole soldier concept, or all characteristics of a soldier,” the Army said. [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more about the changes to hairstyles as well at the link.