Old 02-16-2009, 21:35   #1
Karthas
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Forearm Tattoos

I have a tattoo on each forearm, one the image of a turntable, the other a Latin phrase: "Memento mori et memento amor" (Remember death and remember love, or as I choose to translate it, disregarding the literal interpretation for the sake of expediency in relating the meaning of the tattoo, "remember you are mortal and remember that there is love"). The point being that when I acquired these tattoos, I had no intention of involvement in the special operations community. I was informed by my platoon sergeant in AIT that so long as they could not be seen while I wear my class As, there would be no problem. However, as I am now very interested in a potential future in the Special Forces, my concern is that these tattoos could pose as something of an obstacle for me. Does the tattoo policy for SF (explicitly stated or otherwise) differ from that of the regular Army, or am I simply being paranoid. Thank you.

~Karthas

Last edited by Karthas; 02-17-2009 at 11:47.
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Old 02-16-2009, 22:00   #2
Surgicalcric
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The subject of tattoos and how they are viewed has been discussed here before. The search button is located in the upper right hand corner of the screen you are presently viewing. Start there.

Welcome to PS.com BTW.

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Old 02-16-2009, 22:27   #3
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Originally Posted by Surgicalcric View Post
The subject of tattoos and how they are viewed has been discussed here before. The search button is located in the upper right hand corner of the screen you are presently viewing. Start there.
Forgive me if I overlooked a thread, but the only posts that I could find prior to posting a thread of my own (through the "show threads" or "show posts" search using the sole keyword of "tattoo") were those of individuals with potential tattoos or from those who are already SF and received lectures regarding tattoos that they acquired during their time in that particular service (ie SRGross' response), not from conceivable SFAS candidates. If I was ignorant enough to overlook a prior post, I apologize, but looking through the search results once more, I haven't been able to find any posts that address this particular question. Thanks again.

~Karthas

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Old 02-16-2009, 22:49   #4
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That was the thread I was referring to.

The young man in question asked our opinions about him getting ink and its possible influence on him becoming an SF soldier in the future, somewhat like your question. Several SF soldiers gave their opinions about having one but at no time did anyone tell him that having one would disqualify him from becoming an SF soldier. If having tatt's was going to be a disqualification he would have been told as much...

Given this, the answer to your question is no; the SF policy is the same as Mother Army and having them will not keep you from entering or completing training or being on an ODA. That said having them could very well limit some assignment options.

Hope this covers your question.

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Last edited by Surgicalcric; 02-16-2009 at 22:53.
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Old 02-16-2009, 23:02   #5
Karthas
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It does, and I appreciate the response. Having read through that thread prior to my initial post, the advice given to Atilla seemed to pertain to individuals with tattoos denoting service in the United States military and I was simply looking for further clarity regarding my particular circumstances. Thanks once more.

~Karthas

Last edited by Karthas; 02-16-2009 at 23:38.
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Old 02-20-2009, 18:19   #6
vampire03
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Hopefully I'm not outta my lane here, but being downrange several different times and working around and sometimes with "Group", I've seen alot of full sleeves and just your average ink work on forearms and wrist area and no one on their teams seemed to mind.

Of course never seen a turntable on any of those guys, but hey to each his own. I've got a pretty big web in the bend of my right arm and had it when I went to Selection the first time in Feb. 07 and nothing was said about it then.

Unless it's percieved as gang related I don't really see anyone saying anything.
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Old 03-10-2009, 08:13   #7
RT AXE 10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Karthas View Post
I have a tattoo on each forearm, one the image of a turntable, the other a Latin phrase: "Memento mori et memento amor" (Remember death and remember love, or as I choose to translate it, disregarding the literal interpretation for the sake of expediency in relating the meaning of the tattoo, "remember you are mortal and remember that there is love"). The point being that when I acquired these tattoos, I had no intention of involvement in the special operations community. I was informed by my platoon sergeant in AIT that so long as they could not be seen while I wear my class As, there would be no problem. However, as I am now very interested in a potential future in the Special Forces, my concern is that these tattoos could pose as something of an obstacle for me. Does the tattoo policy for SF (explicitly stated or otherwise) differ from that of the regular Army, or am I simply being paranoid. Thank you.

~Karthas

Dear Paranoid, if your looking for an excuse to not join SF you've found one. If not then you have the following options.
Option 1, have the tattoos removed and join SF.
Option 2, Stay with the tattoos and still join SF.
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Old 03-11-2009, 03:59   #8
trent
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I thought a certain amount of body ink was required to make it past E-7 in SF, based on my experiences. lol.
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