- The Washington Times - Wednesday, October 27, 2021

The Marine Corps is weighing a move to ease the service’s restrictive tattoo policy, but officials are warning troops to wait until any new policy is formally announced before getting more ink done.

An email with details about the possible changes was posted to an unofficial Marine Corps Reddit page, which has since been deleted.

“The Marine Corps is currently considering making changes to its tattoo policy,” said Maj. Jim Stenger, a Marine Corps spokesman at the Pentagon. “We will publish an update if and when the policy is complete. The update will come via official correspondence.”

Maj. Stenger said it appears the email on the Reddit page was part of a discussion from senior leaders, which made its way to social media. 

“I have not seen the policy revisions so I cannot specifically refute the information in the screenshot I saw,” he said.

Under the policy that went into effect in 2016, tattoos aren’t allowed above the collar bone or to fall within two inches above or one inch below the elbow. Officers are limited to no more than four tattoos visible while wearing a standard PT uniform.

On Wednesday, Maj. Stenger said Marine Corps officials have not made any decision about possible tattoo policy changes, and the discussions were still evolving.

“Something that might be in a policy draft today could very well be taken out tomorrow,” he said.

• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.

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