The five branches of American military (Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Navy and Marine Corps) have various rules and regulations. Some are uniform and relate equally to all branches, while others are specific codes of conduct for a particular branch. One thing all five have in common is regulations against visible tattoos.

The Marines require visible tattoos be smaller than a fist. The Navy expects exposed tattoos to be smaller than an extended hand. Air Force regulations state that visible tattoos can’t dominate more than 25 percent of a body part, like a forearm or calf.

The Army has taken their regulations to new heights of restriction by banning all tattoos below the elbows and knees. All enlisted men and women who have tattoos that violate this new regulation are exempt, but if you have tattoos below the elbow and/or knee and are trying to enlist, you will not be able to. At least not in the Army.

“The appearance of tattoos detracts from a uniformed service,” said Raymond Chandler,Sergeant Major of the Army. Chandler went on to say that soldiers in the Army were “…part of something bigger,” and that “ink” drew attention to the individual. So if my interpretation of Sgt. Major Chandler’s statements are correct, if you see yourself as an individual there’s no place for you in the modern Army.

I am a heavily tattooed man, with extensive tattoos passing both my elbows and my knees. I come from a military family. I toyed with the thought of enlisting when I graduated high school, prior to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and I support the men and women who fight for this country on a day to day basis.

I find it asinine, to put it bluntly, that there is now a regulation making it impossible for American’s to enlist if they happen to have a tattoo on their forearm or shin. How does this detract from the glory and honor of the Army? I’ve had the privilege and honor of knowing veterans from World War II and the Vietnam War who have tattoos on their forearms. Does this make their sacrifices less valid?

Have they sullied the glory of the Army with their tattoos? While I do not agree with regulations or limitations of this sort, I can see the need for them, but the outright banning of individuals for enlistment, simply because they may have a tattoo below a certain point is, in all honesty, one of the dumbest things I have ever heard of.