The U.S. Army has changed its tattoo policy in an attempt to increase recruitment as well as retain enlisted men.

The new policy is the latest attempt by the Pentagon to encourage recruitment and keep the numbers of enlisted troops stable.

Last week the U.S. Army announced via news article that it would be modifying Army Regulation 670-1, which pertains to the "wear and appearance of Army uniforms and insignia." Last updated in September, Regulation 670-1 allowed for some tattoos to be grandfathered in but maintained the other restrictions.

However, the updated policy would have a more lenient view on tattoos with fewer restrictions. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno announced that the new policy would no longer limit the number or size of tattoos on the arms or legs. The policy's restrictions on tattoos above the neckline and on the face as well as prohibiting extremist, racist, and sexist tattoos will continue.

"We have listened to the Soldiers," Gen. Odierno said. "I've talked to our sergeants major and our non-commissioned officers and some of our officers and frankly, society is changing its view of tattoos, and I think we need to change along with it."

Sgt. Maj. of the Army Daniel A. Dailey said the decision makes sense as soldiers and American culture as a whole accept tattoos. He added that worry about tattoos had been something preventing some troops from reenlisting.

"I think this is a realization that we are in a different generation," he said. "Tattoos are more prevalent in young Americans than I think they have ever been throughout American history."

Speaking with Army Times, Sgt. Maj. Dailey explained the new policy is "the right decision." When travelling to Fort Bragg, North Carolina and Fort Benning, Georgia, he was surprised how many soldiers were concerned by the tattoo policy.

"This is very much a morale issue for the United States Army," he said.

"There is a large portion of the American society that has tattoos," Sgt. Maj. Dailey explained. "There was a population that we were disqualifying from military service because of this new regulation."

Recruitment has been on the Pentagon's mind for some time. In a speech on March 30, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said the military needed to recruit younger people as more leave the military. He told the high school student crowd at his alma mater, Abington Senior High School, that the military enact new strategies to bring in new recruits. He also talked up programs like the G.I. Bill, which helps veterans pay for college, as well as the R.O.T.C.

He said the G.I. Bill has helped pay for 1.3 million Americans to go to college in the past five and a half years.

He explained the military needs 250,000 new recruits a year to keep up and expressed concern about how only a third of the 21 million Americans aged 17 to 21 can be admitted to the armed forces, because either they do not pass the physical requirements or the entry exam.

The military, however, is not only looking for recent high school graduates but also college-educated recruits, especially in fields like technology information.

"But certainly specialty jobs, like cyber-security, we need to be looking at ways to bring in more qualified people, even if they're already in the middle of their career, rather than just starting out," Secretary Carter explained, hinting at the possibility of changing the current military rank structure.

The tattoo policy is one step how the military is changing to be more attractive to potential recruits. The policy will go into effect as soon as Regulation 670-1 is republished.

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