I wanna find away around something so i can join.

[wannabesoldier]

Ok I'm a 23 year old and more than anything I wanna join however I have a tattoo on the back of my neck. All the recruiters said I can't do anything else. I wanna join so if someone can help I would appreaciate it.

[wackychick]

I've heard that tattoos are a big problem as well - I don't get that, but... I'm not sure of any way around it. You might just keep talking to recruiters (different ones in different areas) and see if you can get any other opinions or thoughts about it from them... It is a shame that individuals with real desire to enlist are turned down for this...

[wannabesoldier]

I've tried talking to all the recruiters i can find all of them say the same thing. I'm wondering if the military can help me pay for it to get removed??
Either that or the next level might be talking to someone from the White House. Can anyone give me info on how to get ahold of someone with higher rank that the recruiters??

[KGuest]

Now did your recruiter tell you that you couldn't join because your tattoo is visable, or simply because you have a tattoo? I am going to MEPs this week for the Air Force and have three tattoos. (a large one on my back and one on each bicep) My recruiter knows about them and has no problem with it. I also have a friend who is in the Army who has many visable tattoos, like one on his inner forearm and one on each lower leg. I would just suggest like wackychick said to keep talking to different recruiters.

[AF Recruiter]

The regulation states that any tattoos above the collar bone are now disqualifying. There is no way around it and NO, they will not pay for you to get it removed. It is being re-evaluated right now because this regulation was just changed about 3 months ago and has affected more applicants than they realized.

[wackychick]

Hey AFRecruiter thanks for that info! So if it is removed it becomes "acceptable" even though there is scar tissue there?

We need more recruiters like you to help us here on the forum! Thanks again for the input!

[armyrecruiter1]

You situation depends on what branch you are looking into. What is the tattoo of and how big is it.
Different branches have different regulations on the tat policy.