US Air Force

"We identified specific changes we can make to allow more members of our nation to serve without compromising quality," said Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James, noting that the service would still maintain "our commitment to the profession of arms."

The Air Force change comes about six months after the Marines overhauled its tattoo restrictions with the goal of balancing "the personal desires of Marines with high standards of professional military appearance and heritage."

On the other side of the globe, an armed drone hovers above a suspected suicide bomber's home, poised and ready to fire its missiles.

Elsewhere, superior officers lean back in plush leather armchairs - watching the drama unfold through widescreen TVs - prepared to sign off the attack.

These are, of course, scenes from an intense Hollywood blockbuster, Eye in the Sky, starring Aaron Paul, Helen Mirren and the late Alan Rickman.