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thedrifter
12-11-05, 06:34 AM
Military edict draws a fine line on tattoos
- Katie Zezima, New York Times
Sunday, December 11, 2005

An inch of skin on the back of Jeremy Griffy's neck is keeping him out of the Coast Guard.

That area displays the uppermost part of a large, intricate tattoo that Griffy, 22, got on his back three years ago. Because the black ink spills out past the collar of the Coast Guard uniform, it violates a new policy that bars recruits who have tattoos that are visible or that cover more than 25 percent of a limb. Not until such a tattoo is removed can an applicant join the Coast Guard.

Joining is "definitely something I really want to do," said Griffy, a former Marine from Wilmington, N.C. He was turned away in October, and will try to remove enough of his tattoo -- which depicts a Cadillac emblem fashioned into a family crest -- with a cream his mother ordered on the Internet.

The Coast Guard is hardly alone in its new policy. In recent years, the Army, the Navy and the Marines have begun forbidding new recruits to have tattoos on their neck, face, head or scalp. And unlike those services, the Air Force does not "grandfather": It requires everyone, regardless of length of service, to cover all visible tattoos with a uniform or have them removed. In addition, all the services forbid offensive, racist or gang tattoos.

Policy and fashion trends are combining to turn the stereotype of the tattooed sailor on its head: Even as the military cracks down, tattoos have become commonplace among civilians. According to a 2003 survey by the online market research company Harris Interactive, 1 in 6 adults has a tattoo. But military officials say their policies help maintain a professional appearance.

"We are not the general public," said Cmdr. Wayne Muilenburg, a Coast Guard spokesman. "We hold ourselves to a professional military law enforcement standard, and we want our representatives to do the same."

A number of police departments have also drawn a line. The Kentucky state police reject applicants who have tattoos that would be visible while they are in uniform or that could be construed as offensive, while the San Diego and Houston police departments require officers to cover arm tattoos with their shirt sleeves, regardless of the weather. (No such covering is required by the New York City police.)

"Police organizations have a vested interest in their public appearance," said Chief Bill McSweeney of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, whose officers must cover tattoos starting March 1. "We got a little crazy and let popular culture sneak up on us. We allowed tattoos to populate our work force for a while, and we realized that it was becoming a bit of an image problem."

The Coast Guard's policy took effect June 17 and does not apply to those who were in the service before then. Master Chief Petty Officer Buck Ward, a Coast Guardsman for 40 years, has four visible tattoos, most of them homages to military and country.

"It is uncomfortable sometimes," Ward said of having to lecture subordinates about tattoos that can be deemed offensive, which are barred for everyone. "But now we've gotten to the point where people have flames and skulls with snakes coming out of their eyes. That just gives a negative view of the service and that person wearing the uniform."

Recruiters said gang-related tattoos were also becoming more common among applicants. "You've got to watch out for gang-related tattoos and swastikas," said Chief Petty Officer Bill Charest, a Coast Guard recruiter in Chula Vista (San Diego County).

Muilenburg said the new policy had had only a "nominal" effect on recruiting, with 40 or so applicants turned away nationally.

Some are disturbed by having to cover up. A Houston police supervisor, who spoke only anonymously because officers are prohibited from making unauthorized public statements, said the department should focus on a manpower shortage and rising crime.

"It's all about freedom of expression," said the officer, who has five tattoos. "I wear the uniform and I love my job, but it's not all that I am."

Other officers share that view.

"It's just the uniqueness of it, how it's something that will be with you forever and no one can take it away from you," said Kristen Adams, a San Diego police officer who has dozens of tattoos, from his neck to his feet.

The policies have survived at least one court challenge. In April a Connecticut judge ruled that the Hartford police chief acted within his authority when he ordered a group of officers to cover up their elbows, which bore spider webs, a symbol of white supremacy among some racist groups.

Plastic surgeons are meeting the demand for the removal of tattoos.

Dr. Alex Kaplan, who opened a tattoo removal clinic, Tattoo MD, in Santa Monica in April, is working with the military and police departments.

"There really is quite a need, and we do see a lot of people coming in from the military," Kaplan said. "I don't know that it's necessarily a reactionary thing. I think it's more that borders are being defined. No one cares if you have a tattoo on your butt, but you don't want one on your face."

Ellie