{"id":19906,"date":"2017-01-22T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-01-22T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2017\/01\/22\/new-tattoo-recruiting-rules-are-smart-moves-for-the-air-force\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T20:29:58","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:29:58","slug":"new-tattoo-recruiting-rules-are-smart-moves-for-the-air-force","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/opinion\/2017\/01\/22\/new-tattoo-recruiting-rules-are-smart-moves-for-the-air-force\/","title":{"rendered":"New tattoo, recruiting rules are smart moves for the Air Force"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><div>  The Air Force announced on Jan. 10\u00a0that it is killing its 25 percent tattoo rule\u00a0and easing some of its recruiting restrictions\u00a0for common medical conditions.  <br\/> <br\/> <\/div> <div>  Those decisions \u2014 made after a force-wide\u00a0review and feedback from Air Force\u00a0recruiters across the country \u2014 are the\u00a0right way to go, especially as the Air\u00a0Force plans to grow by 4,000 airmen this\u00a0fiscal year alone.  <br\/> <br\/> <\/div> <div>  The Air Force already competes with\u00a0the Army, Navy and Marine Corps for a\u00a0shrinking pool of qualified and interested\u00a018- to 24-year-olds. Military officials have\u00a0long complained that only one in three\u00a0young people in that age group can meet\u00a0the physical, academic and behavioral\u00a0requirements to wear the uniform.\u00a0 <\/div> <div> <br\/>The\u00a0services also struggle with a decreasing\u00a0propensity or interest to serve in the\u00a0armed forces.\u00a0  <br\/> <br\/>As the service looks to the future, it\u00a0must evolve and keep up with society so\u00a0that it can continue to attract the best\u00a0and brightest.\u00a0  <br\/> <br\/>Under the 25 percent rule, airmen were\u00a0not allowed to have tattoos on the chest,\u00a0back, arms and legs that were larger than\u00a025 percent of the exposed body part.\u00a0Feedback from Air Force recruiters\u00a0showed that almost half of the contacts,\u00a0applicants and recruits they talk to every\u00a0day have tattoos.\u00a0What&#8217;s more, one in five of them have\u00a0tattoos that require a review or could\u00a0disqualify them from service all together. <\/div> <div> <br\/>By eliminating the 25 percent rule\u00a0effective Feb. 1, the Air Force opens\u00a0itself to a larger population of potential\u00a0recruits. <\/div> <div> <br\/>It also stops the service from disqualifying\u00a0candidates based solely on ink\u00a0embedded in their skin and a seemingly\u00a0arbitrary rule.  <br\/> <br\/> <\/div><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As tattoos become more common and\u00a0accepted in society, it doesn&#8217;t make\u00a0sense for the Air Force to deny someone\u00a0the opportunity to serve \u2014 especially if\u00a0they&#8217;re a much-needed cyber expert or\u00a0talented intelligence analyst or have the\u00a0potential to excel in one of the ultra-demanding,\u00a0much-needed battlefield airmen\u00a0career fields \u2014 just because of some\u00a0extra ink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And because the new rules essentially\u00a0mean airmen&#8217;s tattoos will be concealed\u00a0while they&#8217;re in their dress uniform, the\u00a0Air Force&#8217;s new policy strikes a good balance\u00a0between recruiting new and more\u00a0diverse talent and maintaining a professional\u00a0appearance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br\/>In addition to tattoos, the Air Force\u00a0also updated its standards for medical\u00a0accessions, making it easier for recruits\u00a0with eczema, asthma and attention deficit\u00a0hyperactivity disorder to get a waiver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br\/>Again, listening to its recruiters, the Air\u00a0Force found that those three conditions\u00a0made up the largest number of waiver\u00a0requests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br\/>The Air Force also is doing away with\u00a0its old policy on pre-service marijuana\u00a0use. As more and more states legalize the\u00a0use of marijuana, whether for medical\u00a0or recreational purposes, the Air Force\u00a0rightly now will not hold against potential\u00a0recruits any past pot use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br\/>These changes should help the Air\u00a0Force grow its ranks after a steep drawdown\u00a0and years of budget uncertainty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br\/>And if qualified recruits decide they\u00a0want to serve, something as superficial as\u00a0tattoos or past pot use shouldn&#8217;t stand in\u00a0their way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Air Force announced on Jan. 10 that it is killing its 25 percent tattoo rule and easing some of its recruiting restrictions for common medical conditions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":28414,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":18,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[16,18,67],"tags":[],"coauthors":[2756],"class_list":["post-19906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-opinion","category-your-air-force"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"ZXMBC2G43BBYLFART5I3CC225I","arc_canonical_url":"\/opinion\/2017\/01\/22\/new-tattoo-recruiting-rules-are-smart-moves-for-the-air-force\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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