My dad had a “hula girl” tattoo on his forearm. Not a very good one that I can remember. He was in the military so I don’t know the reason. He did have it removed the hard way - the skin was cut away and he had a big scar. Back then, it was frowned upon for an officer to have tattoos.
Ouch - yes I suppose laser removal hasn’t been around very long. “Hula girl” - was he in the Navy and did he drink heavily with his buddies while on shore leave in Hawaii? - That would explain it. Alcohol & peer pressure!
I give a pass to enlisted military members who have them, as long as they’re not an offensive design. Like you said, enlisted members are much more likely to have them.
There are regulations about which ones are allowed, and now they’ve even relaxed the restriction for the academies, such as the AF Academy. I know the academies allow at least some tattoos, such as the kind that look like an armband around the biceps.
Generally speaking, officers don’t have them at all - I’ve never seen an officer who had one, unless maybe they were prior enlisted.