Spc. Brian Cook shows off a tattoo that he got after a deployment to Iraq. "Our entire platoon got this one," said Cook, a fuel operator with B Company, 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment at Combat Outpost Black Hawk.

The two wolves nuzzling each other on Spc. Brian Cook's shoulder symbolize his children and his love for them. Cook, a fuel operator with 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment at Combat Outpost Blackhawk, designs his tattoos.

On his right wrist, Pfc. Ronnie Butler, a gunner with Company B, 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, has the Latin phrase Sir Vis Pacem Para Bellum, which translates to if you want peace, prepare for war. Spc. Matthew Ogden, a Soldier who was killed, June 1, 2009 tattooed the phrase on Butler's wrist.

Pfc. Ronnie Butler, a gunner with Company B, 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, displays a tattoo he designed with his brother when he was younger.

Pfc. Ronnie Butler, a gunner with Company B, 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, tattooed a tribute to his close friend, Spc. Joshua Farris, on the back of his arm. "If Farris were here and he could see it, he would be very proud of it," Butler said solemnly.

Spc. Andrew Dozier, a military police officer with 118th Military Police Company, pulls up his sleeve to show off his kings of the wild collection at Combat Outpost Blackhawk. "When I finish it I'll have an alligator for the king of the swamp and a great white shark for the king of the sea," Dozier said of the pieces he's going to add.

Cpl. Nick I. Jason, from Sarasota, Fla. and an assistant section leader with D Company, 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion displays the tattoo he got in memory of his friends and fellow Marines, Lance Cpl.'s Jonathan L. Smith and Chase J. Comley, at Camp Smitty, Iraq.

Jose Jimenez, KBR Movement Control Team and tattoo artist in Killeen, Texas, has a tattoo of the Virgin Mary on his right forearm.

Spc. Dustin Guillory, 644th Transportation Company, has a tattoo of a cross on his right shoulder above his first tattoo, the tribal band around the bicep.

Sgt. Hugh Fry shows off his memorial sleeve tattoo, which he plans to finish with the phrase "OEF 07-08," mountains to signify the Afghan terrain, and his unit crest. Fry calls the piece "something to remind me where I've been, and who's been there with me."

Staff Sgt. Freddy Soza, a combat engineer with the Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, had the engineer castle tattooed on his chest to signify his military service and love for his job.

First Sergeant Aki Paylor, Echo Company, 1st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, had the Warrior Ethos tattooed on his arm while on leave from his current deployment to Iraq. "The Army is not just a job; it's a way of life," Paylor explained. "For me, the Warrior Ethos - that's who I am."