Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Adrian Borunda | Army Staff Sgt. Michael Romero, a member of Joint Task Force Guantanamo, shows off his...... read more read more
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GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba - In early April, the U.S. Army published a revised version of the uniform policy that governs acceptable tattoos for Soldiers. The revision eliminates a change that Soldiers around the force strongly opposed.
This restriction prohibited Soldiers from having tattoos below the mid bicep or below the mid thigh. For those who already had tattoos in these areas, there were proper steps to being “grandfathered” into compliance.
From Soldiers from the most remote forward operating bases in Afghanistan to National Guardsmen across America, a resounding “what the ... ” could be heard.
Two of the Soldiers who were surprised by the 2014 change in policy are current members of Joint Task Force Guantanamo, and both have ink that made these otherwise exemplary Soldiers “out of regs.”
Staff Sgt. Michael Romero, originally from Fresno, California, was raised there and watched as family members set the example of service and patriotism.
“I grew up wanting to join the army. Four of my mom’s brothers were in the military, three Army, one Marine.” Romero said. “Ever since middle school, I wanted to join the military. I joined in 2008.”
It was after completing Basic that Romero completed the unofficial rite of passage known to most Soldiers.
“I got my first tattoo right after basic training. It was the one with the praying hands,” Romero said. “It symbolized my faith in God, and the dog tags symbolize my service.”
Those dog tags, now in an area free for him to add on to, was, for a moment, to remain unchanged, unless he wanted to face the Uniform Code of Military Justice for violating the 2014 policy.
“I was pretty shocked that they were getting that strict,” Romero said. “I didn’t fall into compliance, so I had to get my tattoos documented.”
Now, as the repeal of that policy, Soldiers should wait until the revision is published and official before they go out and get new ink. Seeking advice from your chain of command is still encouraged.
“With the new change coming, I feel that they are understanding Soldiers better, listening to them rather than just making policy,” Romero said. “They understand and they are adapting to the change in culture of the Soldiers and today’s environment by allowing the tattoos.”
Sgt. Lacey Bretado joined the post Iraq-surge Army already heavily tattooed.
“My first big tattoo that I got was a ¾ sleeve, with a mother Mary and a baby, it represents when my son passed away,” Bretado said. “It helped me through my grieving process when he passed away.”
After the announcement of the 2014 policy, Bretado felt like this was an avenue for discrimination for Soldiers who chose tattoos as their form of expression.
“At that point, I felt like it was getting to a point where I couldn’t better myself, learn as an individual and progress professionally because of the way I looked. I was definitely scared,” She said.
The elimination of the 2014 policy lifts some of the stereotype that Bretado felt when it was announced. She is, after all, an NCO and felt the policy was not fair.
“In today’s Army, we are the professionals; this is the new face of the Army,” Bretado said.
“My goal, probably for the rest of my life, will be to help ... the Army society [understand] that a person who is heavily tattooed doesn’t have to be defined by their ink,” Bretado said.
Tattoos mean a lot of different things to different people, but for Soldiers it is a part of the culture.
As to how big the tattoo culture is in his unit, Romero said, “I think the real question is how many Soldiers don’t have tattoos now.”
| Date Taken: | 05.01.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 05.01.2015 10:52 |
| Story ID: | 161926 |
| Location: | GUANTANAMO BAY, CU |
| Hometown: | FRESNO, CA, US |
| Hometown: | LAKE HAVASU CITY, AZ, US |
| Web Views: | 637 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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