Marines battle back on Confederate flag tattoos

U.S. Marine hoists Confederate flag during World War II (photo: WWII in Color)

A tattoo of a widely regarded Southern symbol of pride and states' rights – a Confederate battle flag – is not an automatic bar to enlistment in the U.S. Marine Corps, according to a Marine Corps spokesman.

However, those seeking to join the Marine Corps must acquire a special waiver from the regional commanding general if they have a Confederate-flag tattoo – or they will be prohibited from enlisting.

Staff Sgt. Andrew Hurt, public affairs representative for Marine Corps Recruiting Station Nashville, told WND, "We're not saying that a Confederate flag tattoo is racist, but it could potentially be. So we call that an 'exception-to-policy' tattoo. 'Exception-to-policy' tattoos have to be reviewed by a general."

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Current Marine Corps tattoo policy states:

Tattoos/brands that are sexist (express nudity), racist, eccentric or offensive in nature, express an association with conduct or substances prohibited by the Marine Corps drug policy and the Uniform Code of Military Justice, to include tattoos associated with illegal drugs, drug usage or paraphernalia, are prohibited. Tattoos/brands that depict vulgar or anti-American content, bring possible discredit to the Marine Corps, or associate the applicant/Marine with any extremist group or organization are prohibited.

Hurt said "exception-to-policy" tattoos also include profane markings, tattoos of nude people and art that can be construed as violent.

He added, "It's the same as if someone came in and said they were on heroin. Hard-drug waivers would have to be approved high up the chain as well. There's a myriad of [commanding general] waivers."

Hurt said other tattoos – such as a "smiley face" on a person's forearm that is small enough to be covered with a hand – may be approved at the recruiting-station level.

Asked whether the same waiver policy would apply if a homosexual activist sought to join with a rainbow-flag tattoo or if someone had markings appearing to be gang-related, Hurt replied, "Now we're speaking hypothetically. I'm not a recruiter, so I can't say exactly what they deal with on a case-by-case basis."

VIetnam war heroes hoist Confederate flag (photo: Tears of 'Nam)

As WND reported, a Marine sergeant at a Tennessee recruiting station explained only two weeks ago that a Confederate battle flag tattoo is an automatic bar to enlistment.

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"The policy is if a tattoo can be construed by anyone as being gang-related or racially biased, then we can't accept them," the recruiter told WND.

Asked whether an exception might be made for a Marine recruit who could provide a full explanation on the meaning of his tattoo as an expression of Southern pride, the recruiter explained, "At this point in time, no. If it can be construed by anyone as being racially biased, then right now it's a flat-out denial."

He acknowledged that the tattoo is quite popular in the South and that recruitment has been impacted by the ban on Confederate-flag tattoos, but he explained that the policy has been set by Headquarters Marine Corps.

Headquarters Marine Corps has not responded to WND's requests for clarification of the policy.

(Photo: The Florida Patriot)

"It's kind of a hot topic for us right now," the Tennessee Marine recruiter said of the purported Marine Corps policy. "Personally, I don't have any problems with it. I have friends, both white and black, who don't have any problems with it. But there are also those out there who do see it as being racially biased."

The statement was in response to a story about a young man who was rejected by the recruiting station just before his scheduled departure to boot camp.

Former Marine 1st Lt. Gene Andrews, a friend of the man and veteran who served in Vietnam from 1968 through 1971, counseled the young man when he decided to become a Marine. When the young recruit didn't go to boot camp, Andrews told WND he learned of his rejection based on his tattoo of the Confederate battle flag on his shoulder.

Andrews said he walked into the local Marine recruiting station in Madison, Tenn., that had turned the recruit away. He said he met a staff sergeant who told him a Confederate-flag tattoo is cause for rejection.

"I had thought about it, and the more I thought about it, the more I felt like this is just not right," Andrews said. "I thought, if we just sit here, we're going to be slapped around and stepped on forever."

In a commentary posted on numerous blogs, Andrews recounted his experience:

"I informed the young sergeant that my family had defended the state of Tennessee (also his home state) against a sadistic invasion under that flag and to call our sacred flag of honor a 'hate symbol' was an insult to all southerners, but especially to those southerners who had risked or even given their lives in service to the Marine Corps. Southerners had served at Belleau Woods, at Tarawa and Iwo Jima, at Inchon and the Chosin Reservoir, and at Khe Sanh and Hue City, but now we are no longer wanted in the politically correct, don't-offend-any-minorities military?"

However, Hurt told WND, the Marine recruit had signed a waiver stating that he would not get a tattoo before shipping to boot camp and had violated that agreement. He said the man was also rejected for reasons unrelated to his tattoo, including an unacceptable attendance record at unit functions.

"Even if he had gotten one that said 'USMC,' it would be ill-advised," Hurt said.

Cemetery in Lewisburg, Pa., with graves of Union soldiers marked with U.S. flag and grave of Confederate soldier with Confederate flag. (photo: Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs)

As WND reported, other service members and recruits have dealt with similar issues concerning Confederate flag tattoos and military policy.

The Southern Legal Resource Center, or SLRC, is a nonprofit legal foundation that has handled a variety of legal cases involving the Confederate battle flag.

"We've seen this before," SLRC Chief Trial Counsel Kirk Lyons told WND. "This is not a unique situation. We have had instances where people have called who were hassled by Marine military police for having a small Confederate battle flag sticker on their vehicle. We had a Navy recruit who was turned away for having a Confederate battle flag tattoo on his forearm. There was one more incident a couple of years ago where another Marine recruit was refused enlistment because of a battle-flag tattoo."

Lyons said the case of the Marine with a Confederate flag bumper sticker was resolved without legal action because the base commander decided to leave it alone. However, he said most enlistees and recruits don't pursue legal action or complaints, so the policy is never challenged.

"If a family is not willing to make an issue of it and push it, there's really nothing we can do because we have to have standing," he explained.

On the other hand, enlistees often cooperate so their careers don't suffer, Lyons said.

"They've got to keep their mouths shut because they're very career-oriented," he said. "You either get with the program, or you're going to destroy your career. The military is going to fight it tooth and nail. In a lot of cases like this, there's nobody to support these guys. They're on their own."

However, Hurt maintains that the Marine recruiter at the Madison office misunderstood Marine Corps policy when he said a Confederate-flag tattoo means a "flat-out denial."

"The command group here at Recruiting Station Nashville is fully aware of the recruiter's erroneous statement," he said. "Unfortunately, the recruiter who made the erroneous statement regarding Confederate-flag tattoos had an unclear understanding of the policy at the time of questioning. This issue has been specifically addressed with the recruiter."

He added, "The most important issue is that Marine Corps Recruiting Command is constantly seeking America's best and brightest youth to serve in our ranks. We have a systematic process in place to ensure all applicants are mentally, morally and physically qualified to take the challenge of becoming a United States Marine."