CLOVIS, N.M. (KRQE) – You might be seeing more ink in the Air Force.

The military branch is easing up on its tattoo policy to bring in new recruits. Cannon Air Force Base in Clovis is one of the many places that may be seeing more body art on their airmen in the near future.

A statement released by the U.S. Air Force Thursday outlined a new tattoo policy.

The previous rule stated recruits with tattoos covering more than 25 percent of their bodies could be disqualified from joining. That rule has been thrown out.

New recruits KRQE News 13 spoke to in Clovis have no problem with that.

“I think it was a pretty good idea like, I think that it’s your body. It’s your choice if you wanna get a tattoo, then you can,” said Isaiah Maes, who was at the recruiting office Wednesday.

The new policy won’t relax some rules. Tattoos are still banned on the neck, face and head.

The Air Force hopes the new rules will help with recruiting because tattoos are so commonplace now.

Air Force field recruiters say almost half of all applicants and recruits have tattoos. They say one in five of those had enough tattoos to require a review or even disqualify them.

Tarik Reid just enlisted Tuesday and thinks the new policy makes sense.

“You can kind of feel like you have a little bit more freedom over ourselves since we are serving the government and the people,” said Reid.

Of course, different branches of the military have different rules for tattoos.

The Navy appears to be the most lenient, allowing neck tattoos, sleeves and even markings behind the ears. The Marines have also eased their tattoo rules in recent years but still restrict sleeves. The Army does allow sleeves, but does not allow ink on necks or hands.