Tattoos.

[iamarepublican]

I have been told by two recruiters that the tattoos on my arm need to be removed.
but one tells me that I only need the ones on my hand removed
and the other tells me I need all of them gone.
does anyone know what I should
I have put money down on removing them, and I need to know what I need to remove.
thanks, sorry if this is a dumb question.

[rvillac2]

I'm pretty sure the one on your hand has to go.
Your recruiters are the best ones to answer these questions.
They have seen the tatttoos and are the ones that will have to submit the waiver paperwork.

[egbutler1]

The ones on your hand have to go thats for sure. When I was active duty you could get tatts all the way to your wrist and anywhere else as long as they could not be seen in long sleeve uniform. Now I'm think you cant have one below your short sleeve or on your legs. The thing is that is if you are a Marine already you can get waivers for other tatts. As long as they arn't racist, gang realated, or anything crazy like that. Talk to your recruiter some more, do what he says.

[Banshee]

Even though the regs say that you can't have them, we had females with tatoos on their hands and the back of their neck. somehow they got in with waivers.

[iamarepublican]

I am just going to get them all removed so I have to worry about them.
are scars a big issue?
I am not getting them removed with a laser, its called dermabrasion.
The doctors freeze the area and take a "palm sander" and abrade it off.
It will leave some scaring.

[Scottie0417]

Even though the regs say that you can't have them, we had females with tatoos on their hands and the back of their neck. somehow they got in with waivers.

I went through boot with several guys that had tattoos on their hands and wrists. Even though sleeve tattoos are against regs I saw tons of recruits there with full sleeves.

[iamarepublican]

Really?
Well, I'll probably just remove it all, just to be careful.
sound good?
or should I should talk to some more Marines about it?

[Scottie0417]

I'd talk to your recruiter a little more...maybe see if you can get a waiver for them. Where exactly are the ones on your arm? I have one on my right forearm and I got a waiver for it no problem. You could get them removed to be safe but I'd make 100% sure if you need them removed before you do it, no sense in spending money on something you don't need to have removed.

[iamarepublican]

The tattoos are on my hand, knuckles, and lower arm.
they are all home made and not too terribly deep, so they are removable if need be.

[DD88]

Remove the one you have on your hand and talk a little more with your recruiter for the other tattoos.

[iamarepublican]

Alright, Thanks a lot Marines!
I'll Call up Sgt. Shaw tomorrow after school.
I appreciate it!

[BR34]

I am just going to get them all removed so I have to worry about them.
are scars a big issue?
I am not getting them removed with a laser, its called dermabrasion.
The doctors freeze the area and take a "palm sander" and abrade it off.
It will leave some scaring.

I had to have a tattoo removed from my neck so I could enlist. It didn't leave any scar, but I used a laser.

With dermabrasion you will SURELY have scaring. And you may need a waiver or be denied entry if the scaring is severe. Might not even be worth removing if you don't do it with a laser.

[iamarepublican]

Isn't that extremely expensive?

[Mindgame]

You can have visable tattos and still enlist. They just can't be on the hands, neck or head. However. Once you join, you cannot get tattos visable outside of Pt gear.

Even with that said. A recrutier can still get you in with a waiver. I had a guy in my platton with tats on his fingers.

[BR34]

Isn't that extremely expensive?

I got quoted 150 bucks a session to remove mine. I was quoted that price in 2003, and didn't start going till 2005. The doc still honored my 150 quote. It took me 6 or 7 sessions.

So, 5.5 years ago 150 a session...no telling how much it is now. Call around and find out. I'd bet your recruiter knows someone. My recruiter gave me my doc's name/number and she gave me a 10% military discount.

[iamarepublican]

Ok, Thanks, I will have to talk with my recruiter about it.
most of the time we usually dont talk about my tattoos.
Im an iron worker, and mostly i talk about what different fields of it are offered in the Marine Corps.
But thats not too expensive, at least i can afford it.
I am not in the military yet, so i don't I'll get a discount.

[BR34]

I wasn't in yet either. They gave me the discount just because I was using their services to join the military.

[iamarepublican]

I'll try that.
does it really hurt more then getting a tattoo?

[BR34]

Pain is relative. I can't tell you how much it will hurt. I'm a bad mutha****a. I don't feel pain!!!