Tattoo Policy Update: Apply Now with a CDR's Endorsement - Thoughts?

CPT Zachary Brooks, I am very impressed that higher is listening. I believe social media has a very strong influence. Leaders are more aware of the situation. What has impressed me is is that they did not change the rule in a hasty manner. Basically, they lets some time pass... analyzed the situation and then stated the reason for such changes.

Concur. The same thing can be said about any policy that leaves room for interpretation...which is dang near all of them. CAB's are a great example. There are people who have them who don't deserve them and there are people that deserve them who don't have them because their Commanders interpreted the regulations differently. The definition of being engaged by the enemy included mortars within 1K for some while it involved the need to be within killing distance for others, while it required some to be in a direct fire fight based off of the commander's interpretation. Always has been...always will be. Some people will end up with reduction to E1, getting 45 and 45 and losing a month's worth of pay for UCMJ while another gets a letter of reprimad in their local file. You know the deal. This policy is just the soup-du-jour.

Always be careful what you wish for. Yes, if we have crystal-clear guidance that gives no room for interpretation, we will have a black-and-white yes-no standard. But is that what we want for commanders? The American military has always prided itself on relying on the good judgement of LEADERS who can evaluate the situation and decide based upon all the factors. Yes, there will be those who interpret things too liberally or too loosely (the CAB and UCMJ examples LTC Halvorson gives are good ones), but the alternative is making things so cut-and-dried that there is no need for a leader to make a decision. We've all seen leaders who can't make a decision on their own and fall back on regulations as a crutch - and we've gladly followed those who interpret guidance and made decisions that accomplish the mission and take care of troops. I'd trade a 100 rule-following automatons for one damn good leader!

BG G E Sir, the last point you make is a great way to think about it. Working as a former Paralegal, I realized that a combination of leadership skills and use of the regulation are both important. If one were to just follow the book, you might as well put a computer in charge.

COL (Join to see), Sir I strongly agree with the grandfather portion. It just hurt those who have served, most likely deployed, and went to college during a time of war. As far as enforcing the current rule, it should not be a problem because personnel are aware of the rule.