Time running out for new ink
Remember when the threat of new gun control laws cleared off shelves of firearms and ammunition earlier this year? Well, the same principle applies to new Army regulations forbidding certain tattoos according to The (Raleigh) News & Observer as soldiers line up to get their “grandfathered” ink before the new Army regulations kick in in the next few weeks.
Somehow, the impending restriction is related to the supposed end of the wars in the Middle East;
With that war over and cuts in troop strength expected as the United States withdraws from Afghanistan next year, Sgt. Maj. of the Army Raymond Chandler said last month a new, stricter policy is in the works and could take effect in 30 to 60 days.
Current soldiers who have tattoos that violate the new regulations would be “grandfathered,” but new recruits would have to remove skin art that stretches onto the extremities before they would be allowed to join.
The changes have created a tick in business at some of the two dozen or so tattoo shops in Fayetteville whose customers include soldiers at Fort Bragg.
I guess people with tattoos can’t kick doors down and can’t hump their rucks up and down the gently rolling terrain of Fort Bragg. They probably can’t shoot straight either. Or pick up pine cones. So, CSA SMA Chandler is doing the same thing for the tattoo business surrounding military communities that the gun control people did for the firearm business.
Category: Big Army
I would bet there’s a lot more brave men with tattoos buried in Section 60 than walking the halls of the Pentagon right now.
I just have to SMH at the lunacy of the military leadership. I don’t know if these regs are just plain stupid or crazy!
But tattoos are tribal art. Everyone knows that. It’s part of the ritual. You do the mung bean dance with drumming, drink a lot and get a tattoo down at Belmont and Clark.
What’s wrong with these peoples in charges that they fail to recognize long-standing tribal customs?
“I guess people with tattoos can’t kick doors down and can’t hump their rucks up and down the gently rolling terrain of Fort Bragg. They probably can’t shoot straight either. Or pick up pine cones.”
Not in the drawn down, peacetime Army they can’t.
You know the deal; when they want to reduce the size of the military, and attrition alone won’t get them to their goal, they start picking fly shit out of pepper.
These are the same people who prescribe regs stating that someone can gain 5 lbs and overnight go from “super soldier” to “worthless fatass” deserving of being kicked out, Ex-PH2. Common sense and logic has nothing to do with it. It’s all about appearances.
Just like much of the rest of American culture.
A French author, Jean Lartéguy, probably summed up the underlying issue best:
“I’d like to have two armies: one for display with lovely guns, tanks, little soldiers, staffs, distinguished and doddering Generals, and dear little regimental officers who would be deeply concerned over their General’s bowel movements or their Colonel’s piles, an army that would be shown for a modest fee on every fairground in the country. The other would be the real one, composed entirely of young enthusiasts in camouflage uniforms, who would not be put on display, but from whom impossible efforts would be demanded and to whom all sorts of tricks would be taught. That’s the army in which I should like to fight.”
Lartéguy had the background to be taken seriously. He fought in World War II with the Free French as an officer in their 1st Commando Group. He later served as a Reserve Officer with the French Army during peacetime before becoming a journalist and author.
Another thought on this: In peacetime; you want to do as Hondo pointed out in his above post i.e. have your showcase army that looks good for the public. But when the fur starts flying, I want the scariest, meanest looking bastards on the face of the earth to be front and center, so you can use a little psyops from the front lines. Remember how everyone was wetting their diapers over the French troop that was shown wearing a skeleton mask during battle? They were all upset because he looked scary and they didn’t like it. I say the whole fricken unit should have had those masks on. Scare the crap out of the enemy.
Just remember, even SECArmy’s top priorities have nothing to do with Training, taking care of personnel, etc.
Because when you get to Echelons Above Reality (EAR), you lose sight of what’s significant at the ground-level.
When I was an instructor, my students would write issues in their course critiques about the lack of current equipment, computers to write their reports, not enough training time, being critically short of instructors, etc. Then we’d get a phone call because the Group Commander would want to know, “Why don’t you guys let your students drink soda in the classroom?” Because a small handful of students would add that to their critique.
Yes, REALLY.
By the way, “So, CSA Chandler is doing the same thing for the tattoo business surrounding military communities that the gun control people did for the firearm business.”
CSA Chandler? Cynicism, Typo, or both?
Obumbles and his minions have decreed that the army has to get rid of people. This dirty job will be done by lap dog, lackey, political apparatchnicks such as Chandler, Dempsey and Odierno. Those that are more interested in their career and holding on to what power they have than protecting the troops. I saw this when I was in the army in the 1990s. The REMFs and POGs took over. There will be collateral damage, good soldiers will get screwed over, or simply leave in disgust. This process happens after every war and we never seem to learn from the mistakes we make.
Well, in regard to tattoos, which I do think are tribal art, I’ve found that the people who wear them don’t fall into categories of any sort.
But frankly, I’d rather have the guy or gal with an angry demeanor and maybe an “Iron Butterfly” tatt somewhere, or the guy with the skeleton mask, on my side than someone who thinks it’s all about spit and polish.
Trapperfrank, you’re right on the money! I originally enlisted in 1991, and the Army I ETS’ed from in 1994 was so “pogued out”, it wasn’t even funny! I remember being in formations while being lectured that we weren’t allowed to play tackle football in our spare time because of the safety risk, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg! Any Wartime Vet with a brain knows that you can’t train personnel to fight a war and expect them to settle for milk, cookies, and games of Tiddlywinks in their spare time! But alas, the salad-heads are running the show now, and many a fighting Man and Woman is about to get screwed!! As for me, I’d rather deploy alongside some tattooed meanass that might have had an Article 15 for brawling, because he’s much more likely to fight when the shit hits the fan! But alas, someone like that could do something politically incorrect, like *GASP!* kill enemies in Combat!!
Shit, here I go again, preaching to the choir!
Why doesn’t CSA Chandler go after the enlisted personnel that never deployed(regardless of time in service), and the sad sacks(plenty of them deployed, but never left the wire, damn Fobbits).
Probably because they’re the “pretty Troops” with perpetually clean uniforms that he wants to keep!
Wow, between worrying about tattoos and developing “effective energy solutions”, it’s great to see that the “leadership” of the Army has their heads screwed on straight and they’re concerned about the important things. Glad that the Regime is concentrating on the important shit.
I admit I have been contemplating getting a tattoo while there’s still time.
I’ve stated my views before on neck tattoos and such. That said, sleeves and other tats which can be covered by long sleeves really don’t detract from anything, besides maybe some distraction during PT hours. PH-2’s comment made me think of this, but we had guys with full sleeves in The Old Guard; the most “spit and polish” unit in the Army. During rehearsals in Class B’s the guys’ tattoos were visible. During ceremonies honoring dignitaries or funerals honoring the fallen, no one knew the difference.
I was talking with the CPT I work with yesterday. He got an email explaining that reduction boards would soon start, and has turned from looking forward to continued service to exploring other options. He said it well: earlier in his career he thought he was special and had something unique to offer, now he realizes he’s like most officers–expendable–and doesn’t want to play the game of trying to survive 2-3 reduction boards a year.
Please do not think I’m critical of spit and polish, any of you. I’m not.
I’m only critical of those who think that it’s more important than performance.
The Norks regularly display missiles and stuff and put their troops on parade, and it’s all very pretty. Those Nork guys can really kick a strut, can’t they?
But the missiles are wooden fakes, and there is no way to tell whether or not the troops on parade could hold their own against tried-and-tested combat troops from anywhere.
#17,
I didn’t take it that way at all. Today more than ever, TOG is full of NCOs and officers who are combat proven. I pointed out the propensity for some to get heavily tattooed because they (TOG) are the face of the Army and stand tall for our misdirected SECARMY, CSA, and SMA countless times each year.
I do think that some Soldiers may be jumping the gun by getting visible tattoos based solely on their desire to be grandfathered in. One of my former peers from TOG posted a pic of his first tattoo on Facebook, a rather large forearm tattoo.
@#17. The guys who are on TV, strutting their stuff in the Square in Pyongyang are the ones that have been promised food, other than grass and tree bark.
UPNorth, I know. 😉
The Marine Corps is getting to be the way you all describe the Army. Gen Amos and SgtMaj Barrett are ruining the fabric of that branch of service as well, and a lot of us saw it coming.
In fact, some of us saw it coming soon enough were lucky enough to retire just in time.
It’s saddening and disheartening to see how hollow the military is becoming these days.
Sounds like the same thing we went through with the post-Cold War drawdown in the 90’s. I saw a lot of good guys get booted because they were 5-10lbs overweight, even though every one of them could pass a PT test with flying colors. Now they’re going to use everything they can to reduce the size of the force. Overweight, DUI, permanent profile? polish your resume.
What, no tit-for-tat jokes?
So, let’s run this down….
Open combat arms MOSs for women….check
Special rights and privileges for transgendered soldiers….check
Sexual predators as senior officers receiving slap on the wrists and allowed to retire….check
Raise the rates of insurance for all military retirees….check
Kick out all of the current soldiers who have tattoos for no reason other than the tattoos….check
Explain to a high school student that serving your nation results in the nation fucking you at every turn….check
Vacate two theaters of operation after significant investment in human casualties and national wealth without achieving a measurable result towards regional stability or islamic terrorist operational capacity….check
So far the last 12 years have been a classic example of how poorly a nation can function when sh1tty leaders are allowed to maintain power. Well done voters, a couple of more election cycles like this and we can just embrace our sharia law masters as we fold under pressure.