A decorated Marine has been considered 'unfit' to re-enlist after getting a rifle tattoo on his forearm to commemorate his previous deployment. Sgt. Daniel Knapp from Jacksonville, North Carolina, received combat medals after serving in Afghanistan, but has been denied re-enlistment due to the service's strict policy on body ink. While the Army has recently updated its policy, the Marine Corps introduced more stringent rules in 2010 concerning the size and placement of tattoos that Knapp has fallen foul of. Despite having several tattoos while he was in the Marines, Sgt. Daniel Knapp  has been denied re-enlistment after getting a tattoo on his forearm – a pair of crossed rifles and 0311 designation for Marine riflemen, right – to commemorate his previous deployment . Despite having several tattoos while he was in the Marines, it is the one he got on his forearm after he left – a pair of crossed rifles and 0311 designation for Marine riflemen – that has cost him his chance at reenlisting. 'When I was in Afghanistan,' Knapp told Marine Corps Times, 'my tattoos never stopped me from shooting anyone, and they never made me more of a target. They never stopped me from keeping Marines safe. On patrol nothing ever happened because of my tattoos.' Knapp is considered a Tier 1 Marine, scoring in the top 10 percent in fitness, marksmanship, and job performance. Despite serving two deployments, earning promotions, a valor award and a waiver endorsed by his command, Knapp has been denied re-enlistment by Marine Corps headquarters. So while members of his unit - Camp Lejeune's 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines – are being deployed to Europe as part of a crisis-response force, he is being left behind. Knapp's predicament highlights a generational disconnect on attitudes towards ink and what marines say is the need for lax regulations that reflect changing societal perceptions of tattoos, writes the Marine Corps Times. Despite serving two deployments, earning promotions, a valor award and a waiver endorsed by his command, Knapp has been denied re-enlistment by Marine Corps headquarters . Otherwise-good marines, such as Knapp, are being lost because of a widespread lack of understanding among the rank-and-file of the organization's lengthy tattoo regulations. Senior officials maintain that tattoos detract from the military bearing and threaten the ability of troops to find work in the civilian sector after their time in the military ends. While the Marine Corps has maintained strict rules, Army officials have become more accepting. U.S. Army Chief of Staff Ray Odierno stated earlier this month that while offensive tattoos are still forbidden, other restrictions as to the size, shape and location of the ink have been removed. 'Society is changing its view of tattoos,' Odierno said, 'and we have to change along with that. It makes sense. 'My tattoos never stopped me from shooting anyone': Knapp is now considering joining the Army which has less stringent rules about body ink . 'Soldiers have grown up in an era when tattoos are much more acceptable and we have to change along with that.' Commandant General Joseph Dunford, the sergeant major of the Marine Corps, announced a review if policy earlier this year. On April 16, a spokesman  stated that the review was complete, but the outcome has not yet been announced.
Despite having several tattoos while in the Marines, Sgt. Daniel Knapp has been denied re-enlistment because of his ink . After leaving he got a pair of crossed rifles and 0311 designation for Marine riflemen on his forearm . The tattoo contravenes the organization's strict policy concerning size and placement . 'My tattoos never stopped me from shooting anyone,' said Knapp of Jacksonville, North Carolina . He is now considering joining the Army which has less stringent rules about body ink .