As Marines await tattoo policy updates expected to be finalized within weeks, the sergeant major of the Marine Corps said he just might consider getting some body art himself.
Sgt. Maj. Ronald Green told Marine Corps Times he has made it in the Corps for 32 years without getting a tattoo, but could be talked into getting one before he retires.
"It may very well be before I get out of the Marine Corps," he said earlier this week. "Hell, you all may just convince me."
Green said he has long had an idea for a tattoo that he'd like to get when he retires upon retirement: a simple image that includes his dates of service, and features a Marine Corps bulldog and the eagle, globe and anchor. That concept may evolve a bit though, he said, as he's now considering incorporating he acknowledged. He may forgo the dates to make the image more timeless or feature the iconic 1945 flag-raising on Iwo Jima in the image.
Green's Army counterpart, The sergeant major may be taking a page from Sgt. Maj. ergeant Major of the Army Dan Dailey, who announced in late June that he was considering a tattoo and solicited feedback from soldiers on what he should get.
"We're always trying to raise morale, so I said one day, 'let's set up a website and the soldiers get to pick my tattoo, they vote on it.' Could you imagine?" Dailey said, in an interview with Army Times.
But while Green said he is was open to hearing from Marines on whether he should get inked, it's a conversation that has yet to take place. While Marines frequently ask him Green about the Corps' tattoo regulations, but they are primarily interested in their own permanent ink choices, he said.
"Not one Marine has asked me if I have tattoos," he said, "Not one Marine; that's not the conversation we get."
If Green does opt for a tattoo before leaving the service, he promised to share photos of the body art with Marines would have pictures of the final art.
