Military Tattoos

In the world of tattoos one of the long standing of traditions has been for warriors to tattoo themselves either as a way of frightening their opponents or to protect them from evil magic. That tradition has been passed on from generation to generation and can still be found in the modern world on a lot of individuals who are part of the armed forces, however with certain updates from the ancient meanings of the first warrior tattoos.

Nowadays military tattoos are meant to act as a constant reminder to the wearer of the unit they belonged to but most military tattoos are much more than that, they also represent one’s loyalty to his or her country that’s why usually the wearer’s country flag or flag colors will find their way into military design tattoos.

Army tattoos or military tattoos in general tend to either to give of a historic feel or a modern one. This means that historic military tattoos will be images that reproduce famous fighting personalities, various well known logos or well known mottos in the style of Italian tattoos. Modern military tattoo ideas tend to focus on the badges or logos of certain divisions or units that the wearers are part of. When it comes to modern military tattoos it is worth to mention the fact that most armed forces across the globe have very strict guidelines when it comes to the ability of an enlisted man or woman to tattoo him or herself. Some forbid it completely, some have some very clear guidelines as to how much of which parts of the body can be tattooed, and with what images they can and cannot tattoo.

This usually means that tattoos don’t have to be anywhere that they can be seen while in full PT gear, which means t-shirt and shirts. This includes even small tattoos the kinds that sometime make up wrist tattoos; most individuals who want to get tattooed during their military service will usually choose the upper shoulder where it would be easily hidden by the sleeve of a t-shirt during training.

Even so, there are many who will get their military tattoos done after they finish their contract with the military when they’re not under those restrictions anymore just as a reminder of the time they served their country. Generally the tattoos will be strongly linked to the part of the armed forces that the wearer was part of, if he or she was a sailor then anchors are the most common tattoo motifs, on the other hand if they were a pilot any number of specific birds or just flight wings may adorn their bodies.

A different type of military tattoo is the tattoo that remembers a fallen comrade or is meant to remind the wearer of a particular battle or place in time and space that they should never forget. In these cases depending on the person’s belief system military tattoos can be merged with cross tattoos or in some cases angel tattoos, some military men and women tattooing themselves with the angel of Death as a constant reminder of either a close friend that died or just the fact that the angel is always ready and willing to take them if they’re not careful.