Tattoo

[phrogdriver]

Well, I'm not visiting New Zealand to get the Maori tribesman to hook me up anytime soon. I think a skilled artist here with a tattoo gun will do a fine job, provided you don't ask him to do anything stupid.

Do we really need to rehash this question over and over? Follow the regs. If you stay within those, you've met the baseline. If you don't want to comply with those, then don't get them, or don't join--your choice. If you stay within the regs, but still get one that people can see in official functions of some sort, then be prepared for some people, some of whom will outrank you, to form opinions about you based on that. Some of those opinions may be negative. Maybe that's not how it SHOULD be, but that's how it IS.

Don't bitch to the world about how unfair that is.

 

[villanelle]

...I was inferring that a. I'm not going to cheat on my boyfriend & b. I'm not a dogtag chaser.
I'm not sure what you thought I meant...

Where on earth did you get that anyone was accusing you of being a "dog tag chaser"?

I've seen plenty of O's with tattoos. I sleep with one on a regular basis in fact, though not as regular as I'd like. And I've seen O's with military tattoos as well.

 

[kylie]

And the important part is what is underneath the tattoo.

So true.

 

[Old R.O.]

Well, as Jimmy Buffett said in the song from the 1999 CD "Beach House on the Moon":

"It's a permanent reminder of a temporary feeling."

 

[A4sForever]

Well, as Jimmy Buffett said ... "It's a permanent reminder of a temporary feeling."

Good advice. A tat on an Officer used to be the rough equivalent of having VD in your medical record.

 

[ryan1234]

"It's a permanent reminder of a temporary feeling."

Wait.... so this was a bad idea?

 

[SynixMan]

Two of the best nuggets my dad dropped on me before he died: 1) Women are like buses, wait a while and another will come by and 2) If you really want to get something permanently put on your body, wait 6 months. If you still feel that strongly about it, I'll drive you myself.

I'll try to pass those along to my troops and eventually kids when I get the chance.

 

[Praying4OCS]

Good advice. A tat on an Officer "used to be" the rough equivalent of having VD in your medical record.

Key words right there.

 

[A4sForever]

Key words right there.

Doesn't make a bit of fucking difference ... right is right ... correct is correct ... and wrong is wrong. OR ... if you prefer to substitute "I want to look like trailer-park-trash" ... please feel free ... it's YOUR life.

I mean ... Tat parlors are really, really nice places, right ??? HEY !!! Let's take the kids ... get a tat or two ... and then go get pizza !!!

Some of you guys are so desperate to 'be cool' ... you'll do anything to try to achieve that goal (in your mind). Sad, indeed ....

And you're not gonna' change my mind on this , so save yourself the effort of trying ... 'cause I KNOW the score.

 

[statesman]

Without attempting to change your mind A4s...

Cultures change with time. And sure in Western culture for the past several hundred years tattooing has been a mark of the lower classes, going all the way back to Rome and Julius Caesars observations of barbarians in Gaul... and sure the officer corps has its roots in the gentry, the upper classes... going all the way back to when hierarchical structures of class and breeding were embraced, even in the New World.

But the fact of the matter is that Western culture has changed, continually over its history, and especially in the United States where social mobility has become easier and easier starting in the 18th century and continuing today. With that ease of mobility there is going to be a mixing of traditions. Things that were once looked at as lower class become acceptable among the more educated and privileged, just as things once reserved for higher class citizens become more accessible to the lower classes.

The point of all this being that, you are certainly entitled to your opinion, but the changing nature of what is taboo is just reality.

I mean hell just a few years ago people were being told be be cautious of Facebook, not to have a blog, even being "advised" not to even sign up for social networking sites... Now the CoJCS has a twitter account. Sometimes the more things change, the more they change.

 

[Acart]

I am curious as far as a tattoo not showing while in short sleeve uniform. What about tattoos on inner biceps? Small enough to be covered by ones index,middle,and ring finger( I read that was some measuring standard somewhere). It shows a little when the is lifted such as doing pull ups in a t-shirt.

 

[statesman]

Previous artwork wont be an issue as long as it's not offensive / racial / gang related.

 

[Acart]

It is the Greek lettering Alpha and Omega....as far as I know there is nothing offensive, racial or gang related to it....most people think its for a frat witch it isn't.

 

[Praying4OCS]

Doesn't make a bit of fucking difference ... right is right ... correct is correct ... and wrong is wrong. OR ... if you prefer to substitute "I want to look like trailer-park-trash" ... please feel free ... it's YOUR life............

A4s, I respect your experience, your knowledge and your opinon, but "looking like trailer-park-trash" is your opinion, just as I have mine. We're not talking about the regs of tattoos which can easily be found with a little google-fu.....we're talking about how it is perceived. Im not as "salty" as you, but my 12 years in the Navy has helped me form mine. The perception of tattoos has changed in society and i have known/know a lot of O's with tattoos. Im not talking about the ones trying to join or the ones fresh out of boot. Im not trying to change your opinon on this topic, because I can tell your as stuck in your ways as my Dad is when it comes to "technology" Lol. So, pop a midol, wash it down with an ensure and try to keep your blood pressure to a minimum during this conversation....with all due respect, of course.

And....as far as being cool. I think I stopped trying to be cool after my second daughter was born, realizing that there are a lot better things to strive for.

 

[bert]

A4s, I....with all due respect, of course.

...

See you in 7 days.

That's a shame. A smiley would really have brought the whole thing together.