If you are a lover of tattoos but are also serious about defending our country and you are in a branch of the military or you would like to join one of Americas great armed forces, you are in luck!

In recent years, the military has decided to be more lenient with recruits having and getting tattoos. The Marines do not allow full arm sleeves that could be shown while wearing their short-sleeved PT uniforms.

The Army on the other hand allows tattoos wherever they would like as long as they don’t have tattoos on their neck, face, or hands. The Navy has always been known to have sailors that sport tattoos, and much of the American tattoo culture derives from this.

The Navy is by far the most lenient with tattoos allowing the sailors to recently have tattoos on their necks, full arm sleeves, and even behind the ears.

The Air Force has been known to let their soldiers of flight get ink on their body. In the past, the Air Force would not allow tattoos that could be seen when wearing short sleeve shirts, this being so, many people of the Air Force would get the tattoos on their upper arms and chest.

As of 2017 however, they are now allowing the recruits to have full sleeve tattoos as a way to open the gate to others who are passionate about defending the country. As long as the tattoos on an individuals body does not represent gang status, or racial and derogative symbols or words, you should be good to enlist!

The Air Force as of February 1st, 2017 changed its tattoo policy. This new policy states that an individual is allowed to have full sleeve tattoos, chest, back, legs, and will not be restricted to size. Tattoos on the face, neck, or scalp are still not allowed. Branding and other body markings such as piercings on the tongue and anywhere else are also still prohibited. The tattoos on the arms must stop at the wrist, no hand tattoos. You are now allowed to have one finger out of all 10 of your fingers, inked up, more than one finger is not allowed.