Appeal to the Commandant of the USMC: How did tattoo regulations impact your career?

I'm a prior service 0311 currently in IRR. I got out of the Corps in 2017 with the goal in mind of taking care of my struggling family. It was something that distracted me for over half my enlistment, often impacting my performance.

When I got my DD214 and took that flight home, I never thought getting in again would be an option. I saw the challenges ahead as long-term. I knew I couldn't focus on being in the Corps and taking care of dire family issues at the same time.

Quite recently, working in partnership with my other family members, I was able to resolve those problems. We're stronger than ever and I've become a much more mature person for it.

When I realized this, knowing also that I was still within a grace period where I could get back in the fight, I realized that I didn't want my time in the Corps to come to an end. I had made too many mistakes. I hadn't lived up to my potential. That's a terrible legacy to leave. I want a chance to amend that.

I'm a person that people look to at my civilian work, I'm still in good shape (can still get a first class PFT), and have an eye towards leadership that I never had before I made my way over this hill in the past few years.

Unfortunately, back in early 2018, I had a tattoo done on my left arm. This tattoo is perfectly within the regulations that were established in 2016 except for literally several centimeters in a few spots.

Tattoos have long been a huge career barrier for both civilians seeking entrance as well as Marines already pounding the dirt.

I remember very clearly walking into my RSS back in 2012, completely unannounced and lucky enough to have found a recruiter that was without appointments. I met with him for a short time, he had me show him I could do minimums for the PFT, had me do a practice ASVAB, and then scheduled a time for me to bring him some papers.

I left that day and then returned several days later, knowing the path I wanted to take. We sat and talked for a while before a young lady walked into the RSS. She said that she wanted what I did. She told my recruiter that she was looking to make a difference and believed that there was no better organization to do that. However, my recruiter sent her packing to the Army RSS next door less than two minutes later.

She had a short sleeved shirt on, making a half-sleeved tattoo very visible on her right forearm. He let her finish what she had to say, then immediately replied, "Unfortunately, I don't think you have much of a chance, ma'am. Those tattoos are completely out of the regulations set. We could go through the process and try to get a waiver, but I've honestly never seen anything that big get passed". That was the end of her journey with the Corps.

Later on in early 2013, I was on a van either going to or from MEPS (I can't exactly remember the circumstances, but I believe we were getting shipped to a hotel awaiting boot camp). While aboard the van, I met a young man.

We talked for a while while we rode. He told me that he was around my age, had completed some college, and was joining the Army. I told him (very proud of myself) that I was joining the Corps.

It was at that time that he divulged that he was joining the Army because the Marine Corps wouldn't take him. I was very confused. He was much larger than me, had a slightly higher GT score, and seemed much more confident. I asked him why they had turned him away. He simply pulled his right sleeve up, revealing a full arm of art, and quickly replied, "Tattoos". That art meant he never had a chance.

In I believe late 2015, there was a screener for MSG in my unit. SSGT asked who wanted to be a part of the screener. A Marine in 3rd Squad was one of the guys to raise hand. This guy had a tattoo of a (as I recall) rabbit foot on his forearm.

He was later told that he shouldn't bother. Evidently it was very unlikely that he would get accepted due to the tattoo. A tattoo that would only show in Charlies, by the way.

These people were no less fit for these positions than I. A lot of Marines and aspiring civilians were much more qualified than I was.

The difference? Ink. This is an even more terrifying implication as it applies to potentially otherwise overqualified Officers and Warrant Officers.

I had two tattoos done while I was in. One on each shoulder. The fact that they were not visible in my Chucks literally made no difference in my ability to shoot, move, and communicate in the same way people with their ink visible were not worse than I.

Tattoos are not debilitating illnesses nor are they disabilities, yet the Marine Corps has been treating them as such, turning its nose up at people that otherwise would be a great assets, were it not for the Corps own insistence on, "form over function" in this area.

Now, the request.

I want to organize testimonies of Reservists, Active Duty Marines, and civilians alike. I want to gather stories of people who either aspired to be in the Corps and were snubbed for having tattoos as well as testimony from Marines who were unable to fulfill their potential due to the same reason.

I want this so I can deliver it to Lt. Gen. Berger as soon as he hits the position of commandant. I've read a lot of first hand accounts that this man cares deeply about Marines at every level, and I hope that we can appeal to him as a unit.

I would like to see people's stories here. If you feel so inclined, you can also share this to Facebook and ask other Marines how the regulations impacted them. If anyone wishes to reach me, my Facebook can be found here: https://m.facebook.com/cameron.canon?ref=bookmarks

I ripped most of this message off from an email to Maximilian Uriarte (the Creator of Terminal Lance), hoping that I could get the word out for this endeavor.

My hope is to submit this to the (currently) Lt Gen to supply him with testimony at the lowest level in hopes it may help him make an informed decision on the matter.

So as always, stay respectful and classy. This community always is.