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GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba – One of the many good things about serving overseas or even at stateside locations in the military, is the local art scene. Service members sample the regions style by sometimes getting tattoos at the port of call or installation at which they are stationed.
At Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, personnel are limited to the confines of the base, so entertainment or art have to come here.
Morale, Welfare and Recreation sponsored ‘GTMO Ink.’ Tyler, Rich, Guapo, Dee, Miho, Shoe and Kevin, are a group of tattoo artists from Massachusetts and Colorado who get together once a year to provide tattoos to residents at Guantanamo Bay. The group has traveled to GTMO for seven years to tattoo personnel here.
“MWR has a contract with the tattoo artists to provide services here at GTMO through Oct. 1,” said Amiee Mac Donnell, the MWR community activities director.
Tyler Green and his brother, Rich, have become regular visitors to Guantanamo Bay. They provide their unique services to Troopers at GTMO in the hopes their services help relieve the stresses of service members’ jobs.
The tattoo artists arrived on island Sept. 19, and thus far have been working 15-hour days to accommodate as many customers as possible. “We have 12 working days on island,” Green said. “We start at 9 a.m. and work continuously to midnight. It’s tough but it’s what I can do to say thanks.”
Many of the JTF-GTMO service members visited the tattoo artists to have mementos of their time here permanently inked on their skin.
Patricia Farley, a Navy Legalman 1st Class attached to the Office of Military Commissions as a court reporter, visited GTMO Ink before leaving the island for another assignment. “I wanted something from Guantanamo Bay that I could keep forever,” she said.
The group is contracted to provide tattoos that meet Department of Defense military grooming standards. An excerpted copy of the grooming standards, pertaining specifically to tattoos, for each branch is on-site where the services are performed.
“I am very thorough about following the regulations. I’m briefed every time I come down here on what’s acceptable. The first time I came down here I was given a two-inch book to read, and I was only on island for three days.” Green said of his first visit. “Now, the regulations are condensed to one or two pages for every branch, and we keep a copy on-site all the time.”
Tattoos are regulated in the military; here are some examples of the following regulations: Naval Administrative Message 110/06 stipulates that any tattoo/body art/brand that is obscene, sexually explicit or advocates discrimination of any sort is prohibited. Administrative separation could result for personnel disregarding this guidance.
Army Regulation 670-1, Paragraph 1-8, section e, states that tattoos or brands on the head, face and neck are prohibited, as well as any indecent, racial extremism and ethnic hatred designs. This list is very extensive and well-defined as to what is permissible and what is not. The regulations for the other services can be found at Air Force Instruction 36-2903 and Marine Administrative Message 29/10.
Green went on to say that many times he unfortunately has to say no to a lot of people who come with tattoo ideas that he feels will cause a problem with regards to the regulations.
“I have a sense of responsibility to the commanding officers who allow this to happen, I don’t want to disrespect anybody … or prohibit someone from doing their job.”
| Date Taken: | 09.24.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 10.06.2010 09:54 |
| Story ID: | 57595 |
| Location: | U.S. NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, CU |
| Web Views: | 879 |
| Downloads: | 4 |
This work, GTMO Ink tattoos Troopers, by SGT Juanita Philip, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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