Soldiers will be allowed to have tattoos on their arms, forearms, back of hands and neck. Photo credit: Freepik.
Prague, Feb 4 (CTK) – People with visible tattoos will be allowed to join the Czech military, following the signing by Chief of Staff Karel Rehka of the respective regulation yesterday. The move was announced on Facebook by chief warrant officer Peter Smik.
Soldiers will be allowed to have tattoos on their arms, forearms, back of hands and neck. However, facial tattoos will remain banned, according to reports on the server iROZHLAS.cz.
Rehka previously announced the loosening of rules regarding tattoos as part of efforts to make the recruitment of new soldiers easier.
“The times when only criminals had tattoos are over. Nowadays, it is normal among young people,” Rehka told CTK.
He also talked about the change in the respective regulation during his visit to Czech troops in the Baltics on Wednesday and Thursday.
Smik commented on the change with similar words.
“We are keeping up with the times, and above all, we have stopped bossing around people nonsensically over something that is now completely normal. I believe this will help recruitment as well,” he said.
It will be up to doctors to assess possibly objectionable tattoos during medical check-ups, such as extremist symbols. In case of any doubts, the decision will be made by experts.
Aside from this, the military police and intelligence are continuously monitoring expressions of extremism in the army.
iROZHLAS.cz reported that Smik has been striving for a change in the regulation of tattoos for two years. He estimates, on the basis of a questionnaire among soldiers, that one quarter of them have some kind of tattoo, and that the military has turned down about one-tenth of applicants due to their visible tattoos.
The Czech professional military should have 30,000 soldiers by 2030, according to its strategic documents, up from 22,866 at the beginning of this year. This is why the military command and the Ministry of Defence are seeking ways to speed up recruitment.
