Big Tattoos Banned for Marines

April 1, 2007 — -- There are new orders for U.S. Marines today, but they have nothing to do with combat.

As of April 1, the Marine Corps is banning large tattoos. The corps says it's trying to maintain professional standards, and already bars tattoos deemed to be "sexist, racist, vulgar, anti-American, anti-social, gang related, or extremist."

But tattoos and Marines go back a long way; about as far back as the Marine Corps itself.

The tattoos on Marine Sgt. Tom Wagner are a roadmap of his past -- places he's served; a memorial to a friend who died in combat.

"I have a tattoo on my arm that everybody, like everybody, in my platoon got. I'm talking, everybody did," he said. "It's not just going out, getting ink and getting tattooed up and looking like an idiot. They mean something."

When the new rules go into effect, tattoos on the head and neck won't be allowed and any large tattoos that can be seen while wearing shorts and T-shirts will no longer meet Marine Corps standards.

But existing tattoos will be "grandfathered" in if marines got them prior to the April 1 deadline.

Several tattoo shops in southern California said Marines have flooded in ahead of the cutoff date.

"Literally, I had a line out the door all day long," said Drew Meier of About Fact Tattoos. "I had a number of maybe like 20 to 25 Marines in here at one time."

And though some marines aren't happy with the new policy, they also say this is just one more order they have to follow.

"They don't want any more people to get them," said Marine Jason Meier. "They're trying to keep a cleaner image."