 Johnny Brought His [Tattoo] Gun I recently received some tattoo photos from a BME reader serving with the Oregon Army National Guard at Camp Phoenix in Kabul, Afghanistan. Johnny didn’t just send in his own tattoos, but also the tattoos he’s been doing on fellow soldiers also serving in Afghanistan, helping carry on the ancient tradition of military personnel coming back from tours with new tattoos. We had a chance to talk to him about the experiences.
BME: What’s your official job? JOHNNY: I’m working as a 45B — small arms repair. I am part of a program that fixes foreign weapons, mainly AK-47s for the Afghan National Army, along with Russian machine guns. BME: How did you first get interested in tattoos? JOHNNY: I got my first tattoo when I was fifteen, a home made stick-and-poke deal. I tattooed a Grateful Dead steal your face logo on my ankle — it ended up more like connect-the-dots than a tattoo. It wasn’t until I joined the Army that I decided to get my next tattoo, a soldier’s cross on my left leg [ed. note: this is the cover picture, tattooed by Steve Fuller at Phat Kat Tattoo in Medford, Oregon], which is a memorial to all the military personnel that died for our country. I also have shark gills on the sides of my chest, which are still a work in progress. I guess I have always wanted tattoos, after seeing my stepdad and older guys having tats when I was a child. There were always great stories behind why people had them. BME: What sort of tattoos did they have? JOHNNY: Most of the tattoos were related to their military service. My step dad has a tat of a black rose with the word “death” above it. He got it shortly after two tours in Vietnam. Not all their tattoos were military related, but from what I remember, their first tattoos were received while they were serving in the military, and then other tats followed from there. BME: How did you start tattooing others? JOHNNY: I stared tooling leather, making wallets and belts for friends. People wanted some of the designs I was tooling on leather as tats, so, after getting some ink on myself, my friends pushed me to think about buying a tat gun and pushing some ink on them. I finally saved up enough money to buy a starter kit and rest is history. I have pushing ink for a little over a year now.
BME: How long had you been tattooing before leaving for Afghanistan? JOHNNY: It was about six months of tattooing before leaving for training. I had done a good amount of tats before I came; but it’s easier here I think, mainly because we all are in one place together and have the same job. BME: What made you decide to bring your tattoo equipment with you to Afghanistan? JOHNNY: Before we were leaving for Afghanistan, I heard about a soldier that was tattooing while stationed in Iraq. I figured I could bring my equipment, but I kept it under wraps that I was going to be pushing ink. I only told a couple people, but after I did my first tattoo, the word was out. After I finished that first tat, so many troops came asking if I did tattoos, you would think I was selling drugs! BME: How do others find out that you’re tattooing and come to you? JOHNNY: Just by word of mouth — I haven’t told anybody I do tats in months. I’m not really sure if I could get in trouble, but we’re in a combat zone, and I could think of worse things to be doing. The Army has been more lenient on tattoos considering most teenagers have them before entering the service now. BME: Where do you work out of? JOHNNY: I work from the beehut (barracks made of cheap-ass plywood) that I live in, which is smaller than a jail cell.
BME: Do you charge, or do you tattoo for free? JOHNNY: No, I definitely charge for ink, but not much though. Everybody here gets a military discount. BME: Are there any others there doing tattoos that you know of? JOHNNY: I’m the only one who does ink from what I hear. BME: How do you deal with sterility issues and so on? JOHNNY: I use disposable tubes and needles, and I can get the medics to sterilize my regular tubes in the autoclave if needed. I also use antibacterial spray and plastic wrap on my tabletop that I work off of, and of course rubber gloves. BME: How do you deal with restocking your supplies? JOHNNY: I brought a pretty good supply with me knowing that it might be hard for me to get supplies. BME: Do you mostly tattoo flash or custom tattoos? JOHNNY: I use mainly flash, or pictures that troops get on the Internet. I then just redraw it with carbon paper. BME: Are you tattooing exclusively Americans? JOHNNY: I have mainly tattooed just US troops, officers and enlisted. BME: So superior officers as well? JOHNNY: I have tattooed superiors — many higher ups have also wanted ink, but have not had a chance to get to them. But most of the tats have been on Sargents and below. I would tat anybody that wanted ink. Some of the locals had wanted me to do some tat work on them, even though it’s against the Muslim religion to desecrate the body... But unfortunately the local Afghans are not allowed in my area. The funny part is they tell me in secret, not wanting anybody else to know about their interests in getting ink! BME: What kind of tattoos are the locals interested in? JOHNNY: I really don’t know the local Dari language, but I have seen a couple AK-47 tattoos on the locals. I don’t really know what they like when it comes to tats. I know some [Afghan] soldiers that have letters tattooed on them in Arabic and in Dari.
BME: What sort of work do people come to you for? JOHNNY: I think that most troops want patriotic tats. I did a tat on one soldier of a shamrock because he said he needed some luck after the suicide car bombings we have had on a regular basis. He is part of a recovery team that retrieves what’s left over from the suicide bombers. I haven’t done it yet, but everybody wants a tribal rising phoenix, which is our task force symbol, and the name of our base here in Kabul.
BME: What’s the story behind the “NO EXCUSE” tattoo? JOHNNY: I asked him the other day what that meant — you would think I would have asked him while tattooing it on him. He said when he was a private in the Army he had wrecked a Humvee in the woods. He had to explain to his command how this happened, so his Sargent had told him to say there is “No Excuse” as to why it happened, and to tell them the truth — don’t lie. So since then he has always remembered this saying and has used it through his career. And now after tattooing it on his stomach he will never forget, I’m sure. BME: Are the tattoos important for camaraderie and morale? JOHNNY: I don’t think it’s that important for morale, but the fact that they received a tattoo while being in a combat zone seems to mean a lot to my brothers. I’m sure it will leave a lot of stories for the future. Of course most us us will never forget the things we have done in the military — I think some of us also try to forget the bad times we have had overseas. A military tattoo also tells everybody that you have done what most are not willing to do, and that’s something to be proud of. BME: What do you think of the military banning visible tattoos and so on? JOHNNY: Does a tattoo really matter when your brothers and sisters are getting killed? I don’t think it should matter if we have tats on our faces as long as we make it home alive. Living to fight another day is the name of game. Not many people want to do our job. I think the Army is doing their best to change with the times. They have changed the ruling on visible tattoos. You can have tattoos on your neck and hands, but they have to be from before you enlisted. BME: I don’t know if you want to talk politics at all, but if you could make the decision again, would you still choose a military career? JOHNNY: Yes. I’ve done and seen more than most people will do in a lifetime. BME: What has the most memorable part been? JOHNNY: Probably travelling the country of Afghanistan, meeting the locals, and fixing the Aghan National Army’s weapons at all the different FABS (forward operating bases), and just seeing the landscapes of buildings and how they live — they are about a couple years behind us.
BME: Do you think when you come back you’ll keep tattooing? JOHNNY: Sure, but I think it’s more of a hobby than a full time job. I think I would need to find somebody that is willing to take me on as a apprentice to do this as a job. Until then I’m just happy making my brothers and sisters enjoy some ink while we kill time here in Afghanistan.  Shannon Larratt glider@zentastic.com BMEzine.com IAM members, click here to comment on or discuss this article.
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