Amid recruiting crunch, Army approves small hand, ear and neck tattoos for soldiers

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - U.S. Army Secretary Christine Wormuth on Thursday issued a new policy allowing soldiers to have small tattoos on their hands, ears and necks.

The Army Times reports the U.S. military is struggling to find recruits right now. With three months remaining in fiscal 2022, the U.S. Army has only attained 40 percent of its enlisted recruiting goal.

The following tattoos are now authorized for Army soldiers:

One visible tattoo on each hand smaller than one inch in measurement. This tattoo cannot be on the fingers, though one ring tattoo per hand is okay, as are “an unlimited number of tattoos between the fingers, as long as they are not visible when the fingers are closed.”
One tattoo on the back of a soldier’s neck, less than two inches in measurement.
One tattoo behind each ear, no larger than one inch in measurement and not extending beyond the ear lobe.

READ THE U.S. ARMY’S MEMORANDUM ON SOLDIER TATTOOS: