With the increased acceptance of tattoos in society, what are your thoughts on Marines not being allowed to be recruiters with sleeve tats?

Back in the day, we were not allowed to get tattoos that would show when you were wearing a short sleeve "Charlie" dress shirt. We also could not get tattoos that had inappropriate messaging on them too. That could get a little slippery at time.

If everyone knows the rules going in, they need to follow them. One of the issues is the rules keep changing. If sleeves are okay, are tattoos up the neck or on the face? How about tattoos down the legs? I don't care what people do in a general sense but there is a level of professionalism that needs to be maintained. The Marine Corps is not a democracy or a biker club/gang or a performance art club.

Tattoo sleeves do not represent the professional image the Marines wish to present. I see zero problem for any service, especially the Marines, to be selective in who they want to represent them in dealing with fresh recruits.

When I was seeking admission to the Naval Academy, the question of tattoos came up. We had to declare ANY "permanent, artificial, markings or scars of the skin." My Blue and Gold Officer emphasized this repeatedly. In 7th grade G-shop we had those pencil sharpeners that gave drafting pencils incredibly sharp points. One kid was a real jackass and went around poking people with his sharpened pencil and it left marks. I have 4 different small "point tattoos" on my left knee. The jackass sat to my right. (after the fourth time I tattoo his eye temporarily black and swollen shut). I had to submit a photograph of my knee with my application package. I caught crap for my "tattoos" all plebe year.