tatoos

[stuart]

i was talking to my mam about getting a tatoo and she said she didnt think i would be let into the army or more importantly the SAS with it. will someone please tell me she is wrong and if it helps, the tatoo is an SAS trooper in the famous black clad outfit.

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'You are a time bomb, trooper, a time bomb just waiting to explode'.

[Skip]

Army regs say : You can have a Tat, but it must not be visible in shirt sleeves. Hence it could be on your upper arm etc.

However it wouldn't go down well with the boys. Rember discretion is what SF is about.

[zeroalpha]

A Mate of mine had a flag Tattoo on his arm, (The flag was from his counrty of origin)
He was then selected for an Int. job, with one priviso, he had to get the tattoo removed.

If you are looking at an attempt to join sqaudron, DO NOT GET A TATTOO OF ANYTHING.
(Although quite a few SAS members have tattoos) wait until your in, then get pissed one night with the boys and go into some hell hole, get laid and get a tattoo.

Tattoo's do not maketh the man.

(Oh, and Ive got a couple left myself)

Zero

[XS]

My old drill sergeant, and current SSM in the SASR had his blood group tattooed on his lower bicep, but that was it.

I agree on what the others have said. That particular tattoo will almost certainly go down badly.

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"The ground is my ocean, I am the shark and most people don't even know how to swim."

RCJ Machado

[ZeroG]

How about scars?

[Daredevil]

Whatever you do don't get an SAS tattoo without being in it yet. I've got friend in both the US Rangers and SEALs that they've seen volunteers report for training and they were presumptious enough to already have the unit tattoos on them. These applicants had an extremely tortuous hard way to go and needless to say I don't think they made it.

[Weekend Warrior]

1. If you're talking to your mother about getting a tattoo, then you're a long way off from Selection.
2. Please please please don't become another jumped up wannabe with an SAS tattoo, especially one that you are not entitled to.
3. If you make it as far as Selection, you will have a HARD time. The DS don't always need to give a reason to bin you.
4. Some units and postings are only open to people without tattoos, or identifying marks. I'm not sure about scars.
5. A mate of a mate joined the Royal Marines, got a Globe and Laurel done on his forearm, and got injured two weeks into training. Now he's stuck with it. Wait until you pass.

[stuart]

weekend warrior,
1)i am a long way off selection, about 6 years to be exact, whats your point?
2)i dont have to become a wannabe, because i already know i want to be in the SAS and its not like the tatoo is the SAS winged dagger, its only a guy in a black assault suit.
3)i knew i wanted to be in the SAS from a very young age so i already was well aware of that but people do pass selection and i seriously plan to be one of them.
Finally i decided to take skip's advice and i wont get that tatoo not because i would hve a hard time getting into the SAS but because i wouldn't want to endanger the lives of myself or my teammates in the near future.
regards.

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'You are a time bomb, trooper, a time bomb just waiting to explode'.

[Razor]

Boy, am I glad to see the US unit boards aren't the only ones frequented by presumptuous kids who don't take criticism well.

[This message has been edited by Razor (edited 08-20-2000).]

[stuart]

razor,
im hardly a kid, would kids be going off to join the army in 2 years, i dont think so. And "presumtuous":unsuitingly bold, who said being bold didnt suit me?

[Weekend Warrior]

Well, yes kids would actually be going off to join the Army in two years. Why two years? I'm sure that the Army, desperate as it is for recruits, could surely spare you a place at an Army Training Regiment if you were over the age of 16. Believe me, I genuinely don't want to knock your ambition, but it does sound incredibly presumptuous.
You already know? Based on what, exactly? The movies? Look mate, The very fact that you are a teenage kid wanting to get an SAS tattoo is incredibly wannabeish. It's not hard, won't make you "more of a man" and whilst your mate might think it's really cool, it's not. Loads of people "want" to be in the SAS. See my post on the PT forum-"want" is a term used very loosely. Because when the sh*t hits the fan, a lot of the guys who were "never gonna give up", etc, give up. I know this is incredibly arrogant, and I apologise, but it sounds like a case of the old wet dreams.

[stuart]

weekend warrior,
i know i want to join the SAS not based on movies mainly because there is no SAS movies that i know of, but on everything i have read in books and learned on the internet. i know it sounds presumptuous, im sure a lot of kids come on the forums saying their gonna join sf but has it occured that some might actually go on to achieve this. I intend to try for a place in the SAS and will prepare myself as good as i can based on other peoples experiences and if at first i dont suceed ill try again. anyways the tatoo, it doesnt say "IM AN SAS WANNABE" nor does it say "SAS" nor is the SAS insignia its just a man in assault kit which as ive already said im not getting, i just wanted my body to symbolise my interests. As you said a lot of people wont give up do when all comes to all, but to me it sounds like you see SAS soldiers as inhuman or "robots", you must keep in mind that they were kids too and some of them probably wanted to join when they were as young as me and im sure if the had the internet at the time they were teens they would have explored forums like this one but certainly would not have expected to post a simple question (which was probably asked a million times) and have someone snap at them. why they can take the time to bitch at them for asking the question they could easily have answered i just dont know and i pray that when i finish my active tours in the field and join a similar forum i wont answer to kids the way i see kids being answered to. i see people moan about seeing their friends die and pissin about doin their time and i mean no disrespect when i say this but i want to join the army and i want to do my time in a war zone, hard or not thats the life i want to lead. sorry if i strayed from the subject but ive been seeing this go on for a while and its been pissin me off big time and again i meant no disrespect to anyone but i wish that the kids today taking an interest in the army or navy would be given some respect. just something i felt i had to get off my chest.

[Razor]

Stuart,

Yup, you're correct, those of us that made our way into a special operations unit were once kids that were simple wannabes. Maybe we were fortunate in that the internet wasn't around back then; that way, we were unable to participate in forums like these and really show our asses to the world.

Much like you, I wanted to be in SF since before I was a teen. The difference between you and I, though, is that I didn't say a word about it to anyone. I read as many books as I could find on subjects that related, however remotely, to SF and the military. I listened when people spoke about it and socked away their words. And yes, I watched movies and TV programs, but remembered to take them with a large grain of salt. Once in the Army, I again never said a word about my ambitions, but kept my eyes and ears open and my mouth shut whenever SF info was being passed. Why didn't I ever mention my dream? Because I didn't want to be the guy everyone remembered as always going on about how I was determined to be SF, and that I'd never quit, and that I'd die before giving up, etc, and then somehow not beat the odds and fail Selection or the Q-course. I knew what I wanted, and was determined to try, but I also had to be realistic and remember that there was a chance I would fail. If that happened, I certainly did not want to be the unit loud-mouthed idiot who talked a big game, but couldn't cash in on his words.

While I'm sure you're convinced that you want to be in SOF more than anything else, you cannot forget there is a chance of failure. If you're so unlucky as to not complete training, wouldn't you rather be the quiet guy who was earnest, tried his best but came up short than the big talker with the goofy tattoo who couldn't cut it when things got tough? 'Cuz fair or not, that's how you'll be remembered if everyone knows about your plans. The quiet guy is remembered as being an earnest, hard working chap while the "cheerleader" is remembered as being lots of hot wind and nothing more. Fact of life, bub. Just some friendly advice, so please take it as such.

[stuart]

razor,
i see your point and your right. maybe it would be better if there was no internet, i try to keep quiet about it at home and its not that hard to keep quiet when your looking to join a british sf unit in ireland, if i said much i probably wouldnt live until i was old enough to join the army-another reason im not gettin the tatoo. the last thing i want is the IRA at my door. its just i thought i could get some sensible advise on an specops site from people who know what they are talking about and i have gotten good advise. im still getting a tatoo but it wont be a military one.
thanks.