@article{ref1,
title="United States military service members and their tattoos: a descriptive study",
journal="Military medicine",
year="2013",
author="Lande, R. Gregory and Bahroo, Bhagwan A. and Soumoff, Alyssa",
volume="178",
number="8",
pages="921-925",
abstract="To explore the characteristics of military service tattoos a descriptive study was conducted at Walter Reed Army Medical Center to collect information from a convenience sample. An investigator-developed questionnaire provided the data for this study. Over the ensuing 12 month-period the researchers collected 126 questionnaires. Typical respondents were enlisted men with at least one deployment to an area of combat operations. Among the respondents, 57% acquired their tattoos before their deployment. One-quarter of the respondents reported only one tattoo, leaving the majority with multiple tattoos. Men received their first tattoo at an earlier age than women. The most common tattoo listed a person's name. Respondents did not regret their tattoos and rarely acquired the body art under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Little evidence was found to support a connection between tattoos and deployment. Few regretted their decisions and most all approached the tattoo experience free of any mind-altering substance. All this seems to suggest that military tattoos are a well-accepted means of self-expression.<p /><p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0026-4075",
doi="10.7205/MILMED-D-13-00131",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.7205/MILMED-D-13-00131"
}