User:Franco Cacciuttolo/The History of Tattooing

Article Body:
 United States 

 United States Air Force 

The United States Airforce used to enforce a strict policy regarding tattoos on airmen, stating that personnel were not allowed to have tattoos on their back, chest, and arms that covered 25 percent of said body part. A policy change to these rules was put into effect starting February 1st, 2017 that abolished the 25% rule, allowed personnel to get single-band ring tattoos on one hand, and permitted them to get tattoos on previously banned body parts. The previous rules about banning ethnic or racially offensive, gang-related, extremist, and sexist or racist tattoos remain in place. There are also rules regarding a personal review of certain tattoos that allow another officer to review a recruit's tattoo in order to determine if it is offensive or not.

The reason for said changes, as clarified by Secretary Deborah Lee James said, was in an, "...effort to attract and retain as many airmen as possible...". She further elaborated that, "In this instance, we identified specific changes we can make to allow more members of our nation to serve without compromising quality. As a next step in this evolution, we are opening the aperture on certain medical accession criteria and tattoos while taking into account our needs for worldwide deployability and our commitment to the profession of arms".

With the emergence of a more progressive world, policy changes for military personnel with tattoos are geared more toward sensibility, prioritizing the ability of the individual over markings on their skin.

 United States Navy 

Prior to April 2016, sailors were not permitted to have tattoos larger than the size of a fist. After that date, sailors were allowed to have tattoos whatever size they want, as long as their back tattoos weren't visible through white shirts. Sailors are also now permitted one tattoo on their neck or behind the ear as long as it remains within the confines of one square inch.

The reasoning for such a policy change was due to the collective realization that tattoos on Naval officers did not hinder their performance, the widespread complaints regarding such regulations, and the need for adaptation to new societal trains of thought.

Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, Mike Stevens, stated that, in regards to the new policy change, “It wasn't scientific research, but just out there on the web and the statistics were pretty significant…”The numbers of who has tattoos, especially in the primary category we recruit from, the 18 to 25-year category was over 40 percent already have a tattoo before they even join the Navy”.

References:
https://www.operationmilitarykids.org/air-force-tattoo-policy/

https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2017/01/10/air-force-loosens-tattoo-rules-recruiting-restrictions/

History of tattooing]

https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2016/05/08/the-u-s-navy-s-new-tattoo-rules-explained/