Advice/Help: I want in the Marine Corps

[stayfrosty]

Let me start by telling you the background of my situation. I live in Michigan, and decided since nothing else seems to be working out for me why not join the Military. I've got plenty of friends that are Marines, and in the Army. I went straight to a Marine recruiter as I would much rather have the privledge and honor of being a Marine. 2 months into the paper work, and I get a call stating i've been denied due to my tattoo. My tattoo per the Marine Corps orders tattoo policy is well within the policy. It is on my chest and says "Est. 1986". I do have a criminal background of 2 O.W.I's and 1 posession charge from about 6 years ago. The last O.W.I charge was almost 2 years ago. They claim that the tattoo was the deal breaker as the new "general" wants to keep all tattoos out of sight, or non at all. If it can be seen in a charlie uniform or v-neck shirt then it hurts your chances. Is there anything I can do to get around this, or anything I can do to help my chances to try again? I've been to 3 different recruiters in 3 different states. If that doesnt say motivation, commitment, and dedication then I dont know what is. Any help would be great, and I thank you all in advance.

[kmarier2001]

All I can say is, if at first you don't succeed, try try again. I know it probably gets kind of aggravating to keep trying, but hopefully if you do, sooner or later you'll wear them down. Request your area Recruiter to try to get you in under a waiver, considering the tattoo is not visible with uniforms. Or even ask him what you would need to do, to be able to get into training. Good Luck to you and welcome aboard the Hangout, by the way!

[lovemymarine]

hmm, interesting. i'm honestly not totally sold on the tattoo bit. my boyfriend has two on his back, 2 on his left shoulder, 1 on the right shoulder and one on his chest...though he didnt get any of them until after boot camp so i'm not sure thats the reasoning behind them being okay now. i know he wanted one before hand but decided against it because of regs but he had wanted one on his forearm and that was a no-go. i dont see why a covered tattoo in uniform would be problem. hopefully one of the guys can help ya on this one...have you aked the recruiters what exactly these regulations are???

and good choice on joining the Marines over the Army!

[stayfrosty]

The recruiters told me that the new general has stated that he/she does not want any tattoo that can be seen in charlie uniform or v-neck. Which is not in the Marine Corps Orders on the tattoo policy. I've got to ask my recruiter what would happen if I got it removed.

[lovemymarine]

if it's on your chest, you cant see it in a charlie or a v-neck, right? next time i talk to my boyfriend, i'll ask him if he knows anything that can help you out...he's down in NC right now so I don't talk to him everyday but I will definitely ask him about it.

[LcplSampson]

Are they back to Vneck shirts again? Gads I hated those.. All 3 of my chest hairs hanging out and all......

[gunga55]

The Vneck sucked

I would get the tattoo removed I can't think of the remover off hand.
Tiger Balm is all that I can think and we all know that is not it.

[stayfrosty]

Yea I talked to my recruiter the other day about getting it removed. He told me it's not going to change anything since they already know about it. My recruiters advice was to study for the asvab, find a place to take it, and score over a 50, and then he'll re-submit my paperwork.

[DOCWILLEY]

OK guess Im gonna have to be the devils advocate.I dont really buy into the tattoo being the issue.Are you not sure it may because of your prior convictions.
There is total tattoo removal by laser .Not sure of the expense and Im not trying to question your word,but Maybe somebody is not telling you the entire story.Ive contacted some friends of mine and Im gonna see if they have some kind of tattoo ban now.Keep us posted???

[stayfrosty]

How it was explained to me was like this. The USMC has what's called red weights, and green weights. I have a lot more on the red side, then on the green side. The tattoo was just the deciding factor. They could waive my prior convictions, but the tattoo is going to be the deciding factor that kind of puts me over the edge. I've contacted a few friends that are in right now as well, and they seem to think that my recruiter is being lazy. That's why I went to 2 other recruiters in different states while out of town, and was pretty much told the same thing about the tattoo.