I need a little help thinking of some of the imagery to go on a design I’m currently working on.

Basically, I’m going for a black and grey half sleeve on my upper right arm. The idea is because my parents live in different countries, I want to get things that remind me of my dad and things that are significant to my dad… similarly, I’m going to get the same for my mum on my left arm.

So far I have some images relating to my last name, which comes from Clan Campbell, one of the Scottish clans… so I have a wild boar, bog myrtle, and the words ‘Ne Obliviscaris’, as well as a fish due to my dad being an avid fisherman.

The only other things I can think of that are significant enough to my dad are the harmonica, which could potentially be put in somewhere… and the fact that my dad was a staff sergeant in the army, which was a big part of his life.

So here is my problem. I’m a little reluctant to get a tattoo that is blatantly military based because it has a lot of potential to be very controversial and potentially offend people. I was wondering if there is any way of including this huge part of my dad’s life in the design without it looking explicitly military based? Also, my secondary concern was that it doesn’t really fit in with the theme and how it all looks in my head.

I appreciate any help, ideas and advice. Thanks.