Tattoo-loving soldiers in the U.S. Army will soon be able to get inked on their arms and legs thanks to changing rules , officials announced Wednesday . Ink may extend all the way to the wrist once the rules go into effect . Regulations about the size and number of tattoos are also set to be dropped , according to Sergeant Major of the Army Dan Dailey . 'As long as it 's not visible in the Army uniform…that 's the spirit of what we went after , ' Dailey told the Army Times . Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno announced policy change at the Association of the United States Army conference in Huntsville , Alabama . Inked : Tattoo-loving soldiers in the U.S. Army will soon be able to get inked on their arms and legs thanks to changing rules , officials announced Wednesday . An Army spokeswoman said they will go into effect in the 'very near future . ' The changes came as a result of feedback from soldiers . But it was n't so long ago that the Army made a much different announcement concerning its tattoo policy . Highly unpopular regulations that went into effect in March 2014 banned tattoos below the knee or elbow . Soldiers who already had the ink were grandfathered in . Under those regulations , any soldier with tattoos was barred from seeking a promotion to warrant officer or commissioning as an officer . Tattoos have long been a part of military culture , but as they have become more popular , and more prominently displayed on the body , the various branches have been regulating them in to try to maintain a professional look . 'Society is changing its view of tattoos and we have to change along with that , ' Odierno said . 'It makes sense . Soldiers have grown up in an era when tattoos are much more acceptable and we have to change along with that . ' New rules : Ink may extend all the way to the wrist once the rules go into effect . Regulations about the size and number of tattoos are also set to be dropped , according to Sergeant Major of the Army Dan Dailey .
The new rules come barely a year after deeply unpopular restrictions enacted last March burned many inked soldiers . Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno said the changes are being made in response to soldier feedback . The unpopular old rules banned tats below the knee or elbows and put limits on the size and number of tattoos , which will no longer be the case .