Marines change policy for recruit’s tattoo
Chip and Pat send us links to the Associated Press story that was started by Kate Pimental, a recruit who we discussed a few months ago who needed a crewneck T-shirt instead of the Corps’ V-neck T-shirt to cover her tattoo. Apparently, the Corps caved to the teen’s needs;
The Marines made the change Thursday after U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree complained that its dress policy unintentionally discriminated against female recruits. Men are allowed to wear crew-neck T-shirts.
Last month, the Democrat from Maine urged the Marine Corps to amend its rules and accept 20-year-old Kennebunk resident Kate Pimental. She has a tattoo just below her collarbone that says, “Let your smile change the world but never let the world change you.”
[…]
The altered dress code means Pimental can now cover her tattoo, which she got shortly after turning 18.
“There is nothing I want more than to be able to serve as a Marine,” she said.
Actually, there’s nothing more that she wanted than to have her tattoo, because she didn’t get it removed so she could join the Marines. The Corps had to adjust their policy so she could keep her tattoo and serve. I’m just helping her with the language.
Category: Marine Corps
Nothing a pearl necklace wouldnt cover,
ZZ Top video anybody?
Looky there, an exception for ONE special little snowflake, now she only needs to legitimately make it sans flunking out of training or going AWOL.
This is a rule that applies to all female Marines or potential recruits. Not just one “snowflake”. She was merely the one that brought the inadvertantly discriminatory policy to light..
She still didn’t qualify to become a Marine, thus I still say she pulled that publicity stunt just so she could feel like a special little snowflake.
It wouldn’t have been an issue if she’d been male, a male with that tattoo would have passed with no issue, thus it is/was discriminatory. And that’s the only reason why I’m ok with this.
The problem, Aysel, is that the tattoo had nothing to do with her not qualifying for the Marine Corps, just as it would pertain to males with collarbone tattoos who don’t qualify as well. The truth came out. Think she used that tattoo excuse as a “save face” to family and friends as well as saving her ego.
We’ll see if that is true if/when she decides she suddenly wants to go in some other direction with her life instead of military service.
Yep. Wonder how long SHE’S going to last in the “Corpse”?
I didn’t realize The Marines even allowed “V-neck” tees? I am sooo out of touch.
Ya Know, someone , somewhere caused that inflexability. Some tall DI or officer liked the idea of catching view of a firm nip during lowcrawl and range instruction.
Uniform policy changes. I know for a while in the 80s they allowed them because the Commandant forgot his T Shirt for a photo or some shit. Said he wore a V neck.
According to the Marine Corps Times about Pimental enlisting in the Marines:
“Marine officials contend, however, that there was more to the decision to bar Pimental from serving in the Corps than her tattoo — that she didn’t meet other requirements…”
“Applicants must meet a variety of prerequisites to enlist, including moral, mental and physical requirements,” said Capt. Gerard Farao, a spokesman for 1st Marine Corps District. “The tattoo is only a small piece of the ‘whole-person’ concept the Marine Corps looks at. When applying the ‘whole person’ concept to every applicant and after working with her recruiter, Ms. Pimental did not meet all the standards required for enlistment.”
Pimental could not be reached for comment.”
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story/military/2016/03/14/marines-new-t-shirt-policy-could-tied-tattoo-complaint/81779928/
Well, this “whole person” likes to smack people on the ass and post the video of such activity on a social network.
OK, I’ll be the contrarian. IMO, based on what AnotherPat says above the USMC got this exactly right – changed the policy, but still won’t let Pimental enlist because she fails to meet other requirements.
If a particular tattoo wouldn’t disqualify a male, then in my book it shouldn’t disqualify a female either. However, under the previous USMC uniform policy, it would – because male Marines apparently had a t-shirt option that female Marines did not.
The unintended result of that male-only uniform option was to allow men to enlist with tattoos what would disqualify a female. The policy change making the crew-neck t-shirt optional for both genders fixed that.
How about tattoos on the calf? On a male Marine in uniform, the tattoo would not be visible. A female wearing a skirt would have the tattoo visible. What is the solution in this case? Get rid of skirts? Make male Marines wear skirts and discharge any with a calf tattoo?
And as far as her still not being eligible to enlist, I think that I called it with her, and Confederate Flag Tattoo Boy that probably neither were MENTALLY, MORALLY AND PHYSICALLY QUALIFIED to enlist. Maybe the Marine Corps could change those standards too in order to be more inclusive.
Don’t female Marines have the option to wear trousers vice skirts with class A and dress blues?
Ya know, now that you mention it, I think it’s discriminatory that male Marines can’t wear skirts.
To quote Pingree, “I don’t think anybody wants to see what could be considered a minor issue be a point of discrimination between women and men.”
If we had a Kilt option for the dress uniform, I would be all over that option.
This was the right decision. I suspected it would be the end result. The policy did inadvertently discriminate.
The tattoo policy has always been a little problematic but when it allows men to have tattoos in places women cannot it becomes discriminatory.
So this is a just outcome.
And this is a your woman that wanted to serve her country. I do not think there should be negativity toward her attempt to challenge a rule that would not have prevented her from serving if she had been a man.
Tattoo or not, she FAILED to qualify for service in the USMC which further convinces me that it was just a “HEY, look at me!” publicity stunt on her part.
Source? I do not see that she failed to qualify beyond the tattoo.
Read the freaking Marine Corps Times article linked in the comments, Taylor. The comment containing the link has been posted for more than 12 hours – since before you posted your first comment to this article.
Lars, Hondo is right. Please read I cut and paste from the Marine Corps time that the source from the Marine Corps stated that her tattoo had nothing to do with her ineligibilty to join the Marine Corps. It is very obvious that Pimental did not tell “The Rest of the Story. ” The recruiter did the right thing. I would not one someone of Pimental’s calibur representing our Armed Forces, because if she pulled this stunt due to her own selfish reasons, then no telling what she would do if she had been allowed to join the Marines. She lied about the T-Shirt fiasco because of her “Look at Me” attitude.
You’re wasting your time, AnotherPat. Taylor appears unable or unwilling to do due anything approaching due diligence before commenting here. Apparently he considers that “not worth his time” and prefers to look foolish from time to time.
Thanks, Hondo. Wish the other sources of Pimental’s story would get it right, i.e. let the world know that her having a collarbone tattoo had nothing to do as to why she did not qualify to enlist in the Marine Corps. Wishful thinking on my part.
Knock it off. I read the article linked in the blogpost but did not read most of the comments. In fact I rarely read comments anymore.
And to act like I am “unwilling” to read the drivel you post is inaccurate. I wasted hundreds (thousands?) of hours wasting my time reading all the anti-liberal rhetoric, bluster, vitriol on the comment section. For every shred of information or insight I gained I had to sift through dozens of nonsense posts.
So now I just ignore them all unless something stands out in a quick glance of the page.
To translate your comment immediately above, short version: you elect to remain willfully ignorant because you don’t feel it’s worth your time to educate yourself on most subjects discussed here prior to running your yap.
It’s a free country. Suit yourself.
So I read the article. It is unclear why she was denied service. I do not buy that it was merely “poor” judgement evidenced by the accident. There is likely other issues that contributed or they are using the accident as a pretext.
Does not really matter whether she was disqualified for other reasons or not. The tattoo policy being AMONG the reasons and the policy being discriminatory was sufficient to justify the challenge and justify the rule change.
Which is why the Marines changed their policy despite the fact that she was otherwise still not qualified.
The rule needed to be changed.
Lars, the Marine Corps did not change the tattoo policy. They made a uniform change. The Marine Corps regulation never banned collarbone tattoos. Still think Pimental did not tell the truth as to why she was not accepted. The decision has been made about the Collared T-Shirt worn by both male and female. So sad that this was even an issue considering there are more important Military matters that need to be addressed. Pimental will not be a Marine which is interesting considering she is still convincing others via Facebook that she may still be eligible to join. What’s scary here is that she may try to join the other Services and try to change their policies as well all in her benefit. She does not come across as a team member which the Services need to win any battle.
The funniest part of this story is named Chellie. Chellie Pingree. She’s the vice something or other of the House’s Progressive Caucus. She used to fly around on a private jet belonging to her boyfriend. That didn’t go over too well. Then she married him and that didn’t go over too well either. After about four years of marital bliss, the two are separated, if not divorced by now. She’s 60. She lived with the rich guy for longer than they were married. That’s really bad decision making, absent a gold digger’s motive for the union. But she’s Maine’s problem, not mine.
WTF!
“An Army of one” belonged to us now its the Marine’s and they can have it.
p.s welcome back Lars.
p.p.s F the DRG.
If I am not mistaken, in the previous Blog, it was pointed out that she was involved in a car accident due to speed involved in icy conditions as well as not wearing a seatbelt.
Am speculating Pimental knew as to why she did not qualify for the Marine Corps (mentally, morally, i.e. poor judgment in handling an automobile in December in New Hampshire), but was either too embarrassed to tell family and friends the truth, thus the reason for the tattoo excuse.
Then again, she may not have qualified physically.
Agree with others that she wanted her 15 minute of fame, “look at me” moment. This may have backfired on her in case she tries to join the Sister Services.
And agree with Hack Stone. When is the line ever going to be drawn?
So I reckon when the next transgender Marine shows up wanting to wear a skirt, we’ll need to get Congress involved in that too??
What about my gnarly pork chops?
She should have had it done in Elfin. That way she could have told the Marines that it was her protection from the Orks and that her nips turned blue in the presence of them !!!
Funny.
Well, my buddy who is spending around $4,000 to get his tattoos removed, that are grandfathered, so he can apply for the CWO Gunner program is going to love this. Special snowflake wants to join, change the rules, but screw your 16 years of faithful and honorable service.
The rule was not the same for males. A male recruit would have had no problem joining the USMC with an identical tat. That was the “change” that happened. They cannot disqualify females for a tattoo that a male would not be disqualified for.
They did not change it for her, they changed it because it was a discriminatory rule.
She is still disqualified to Enlist for other reasons.
If that young lady will make a good Marine, I want her in the Marines — along with every other person capable of doing the job. In a job like this, beauty is as beauty does. That’s just my opinion, however; YMMV.
I honestly don’t see the problem as long as it dosent show in ASUs or in ACUs although I’m sure the Corps dosent call it ACUs or ASUs Haha but you get my point, same difference.
I’m not surprised she didn’t qualify regardless of the tattoo thing.
In my eyes, a young woman that gets such a showy, nasty tatt probably didn’t make too many bright choices in life overall.
Seems to me that a single standard would be easier for everyone.
But I’ve thought the uniform regs for male vs. female have been fucktarded since the beginning of time.