STANDARDS OF CONDUCT
DS PERESHCUCK
1
Motivator

As soldiers, you are guardians of the public trust.
Your loyalty to bear true faith and allegiance is to the
Constitution of the United States of America, as well
as to the Army, your unit, and other soldiers. You
must obey the laws of the land and adhere to the
highest standards of ethical conduct.
2
Lead-in

Public service is a public trust. This means that as public employees,
you must place loyalty to the Constitution, the laws, and ethical
principles above any desire for private gain. You must perform your job
and act in such a way as to convince the public at large that you are
working towards the public good and not your own good. As military
members, you are federal employees, subject to the standards of
conduct rules applicable to all federal employees. Army personnel
must comply with the standards of conduct rules implemented in the
Department of Defense Joint Ethics Regulation (JER), a regulation that
applies to all the services.
3
Gifts from outside sources

Army personnel may not solicit a gift or accept a gift from an outside
source if the gift is (1) from a “prohibited source” or (2) given because
of your official position with the Army. This standard makes it clear the
rules regarding gifts are very different for Army personnel than they are
for civilians in the US business world. Giving gifts to customers is a
common practice in the business world; it is, however, generally
prohibited for an Army employee to accept a job-related gift. It is also
important to know that gifts given to your parent, spouse, or child are
considered gifts under these rules.
4
Gifts from outside sources


The rules define a gift as anything having value, so a
gift can be just about anything.
A “prohibited source” is any person, business, or
organization that does business with the Army who
can gain or lose by actions you take on the job. This
also can be someone who seeks to do business with
the Army or seeks some official action by the Army,
such as a government contractor.
5
When May You Accept Gifts From Outside
Sources

The biggest exception is the “donut rule.” This
allows employees to accept small amounts of food
or refreshment from an outside source. For
example, if you are representing the Army by
participating in a community parade and a company
that does business with the Army provides
refreshments afterwards, you may accept it because
it is offered to everyone who participated and it is of
little value.
6
When May You Accept Gifts From Outside
Sources

You also may accept greeting cards, plaques, or a
favorable discount if it is offered to the public or to all
members of the Department of Defense. The rules
allow an employee to accept any gift which is worth
less than $20 (such as a mug or a paperweight),
and you may accept several gifts worth less than
$20 in a year from the same source as long as the
total of all the gifts is not more than $50.
Additionally, you may accept a gift if it is given to you
because of a personal relationship with the giver.
You may always pay market value for a gift.
7
When May You Accept Gifts From Outside
Sources

Gifts from foreign governments or their
representatives are governed by special rules. Army
personnel may accept a gift from a representative of
a foreign government if the gift is of “minimal value.”
Minimal value changes every three years, so
personnel should consult their SJA. Gifts over
minimal value must be shipped or reported to DA,
PERSCOM.
8
Gifts Between Employees


The first category is gifts given on holidays and
birthdays. These gifts may not exceed $10.
The second category of gifts is gifts between
employees given when the senior/subordinate
relationship ends, such as retirement, transfer, or a
permanent change of station. Gifts on these
ocasions generally may not be more than $300 per
donating group. The same person may not be a
member of (i.e. donate to) more than one donating
group.
9
Gifts Between Employees

Soldiers may not be required or pressured to donate
money to buy a gift for a superior who, for example, is
sick, being reassigned, or retiring. However, it is OK
for someone to ask you to make a small contribution,
such as $10, for a gift to a departing superior, as long
as it is made clear you are free to contribute less or
nothing at all. It is also OK for someone to distribute
an announcement of a party for a superior who is
leaving and include a small amount for a departure
gift in the fee for the party.
10
Gifts Between Employees

A superior never may solicit a subordinate for the
superior’s own gift. Also, it is never appropriate to
coerce, force, intimidate, or otherwise improperly
pressure a subordinate into giving a gift to a superior.
Remember, when soliciting a subordinate to
contribute to another superior’s gift, a superior may
not ask for more than $10. Soldiers always should
know their donation is strictly voluntary.
11
Gifts Between Employees

Also, you as a soldier may not
be forced to collect money for a
gift. The collection is a totally
voluntary, unofficial undertaking.
12
Gifts From Official Travel

Often when Army personnel fly on official business, employees
will register their travel with their airline’s frequent flyer
program. Any frequent flyer benefits or miles gained from
official travel are government property. An example of official
travel would include you leaving basic training and going to
another military installation at the government’s expense.
Personal use of those miles is a crime.
13
Gifts From Official Travel

If your government travel includes personal travels—
such as during leave or pass—the miles attributable
to the personal travel are considered your property.
You are required, however, to keep strict records of
which miles are personal and which are official. If
you choose not to keep a record, all the miles belong
to the government.
14
Gifts From Official Travel

Once the miles are turned in to the government,
soldiers may use government frequent flyer miles
only for two purposes: to offset the cost of future
official travel and to upgrade to premium class on
an official flight
15
Gifts From Official Travel


As a soldier, you may accept an upgrade at no cost
to the government if the upgrade is not offered
because of your official position.
The free upgrade may even be to first class, unless
you are in uniform. Soldiers may never fly first-class
in uniform.
16
Gifts From Official Travel

Army personnel also often receive benefits during official travel
when a flight is full and passengers are being “bumped” from the
flight.
 Often, airlines offer free tickets to persons who are
bumped from a flight. If you are bumped involuntarily,
then the free ticket is government property.
 If, however, you volunteer to be bumped, then the free
ticket is your personal property. This can occur only if you
have the leeway during travel to delay the travel, and the
time spent in a delayed status is considered leave or pass
time.
17
Gifts From Official Travel

Army employees may not misuse their military
position for private gain. As a soldier, you must be
familiar with the conflict of interest provisions of the
JER. Although you may not be faced with a conflict
of interest in the near future, understanding conflict of
interest restrictions will prepare you to do the right
thing if you ever are faced with one of these
situations.
18
Conflict of Interest

Generally, a conflict of interest is a situation where an employee
is acting in an official matter but the employee somehow is
going to be affected personally by his or her official action.
 The prime example involves a conflicting financial
interest—where an employee who holds stock in a
corporation is participating in an Army contract action
with that same company.
 An example of a non-financial conflict of interest is when
an Army employee, who is a manager in a local private
organization, takes some official action regarding that
organization, such as approving a request for use of a
government building for a meeting.
19
Conflict of Interest

Each case involves an improper conflict of interest
because the employee’s personal interest is going to
be affected by the employee’s official action. The
conflict of interest rules also state that the financial
interests of an employee’s spouse, including the
spouse’s employer, are considered to be the
employee’s financial interests.
20
Conflict of Interest

It is also illegal and a conflict with an employee’s
official duties for an employee to receive
compensation, other than the employee’s
government pay, for the performance of official
duties. Additionally, employees may not receive
compensation for teaching, speaking, and writing
which relates to the employee’s official duties.
21
Solicitation Prohibitions

These prohibitions do not apply, however, to nonbusiness sales of personal property or real property
(a home or land) or to sales that occur off-duty in
an established retail business. For example, your
supervisor may sell his or her house to you without
violation of the ethics rules.
22
Solicitation Prohibitions

These rules would prohibit a squad leader or supervisor who
sells a product or service in his/her off-duty time from soliciting a
subordinate to purchase the product or service. For example, if
your supervisor works for a mass marketing organization, he or
she may not approach you on or off duty to buy any of the
company products. Doing this would violate the Army core
values of selfless service, loyalty, integrity, duty and honor.
However, the rules would not prohibit the squad leader or
supervisor who works at a local eating establishment from selling
a meal to the subordinate.
23
Employment Prohibitions

Army employees may not engage in any outside
employment that conflicts with the performance of
their official duties. For example, you may not work
a 12-hour day with the Army and work another 8
hours on a part-time job. This could hinder you from
performing up to standards on your military job and,
depending on your MOS, may cause grave danger to
the mission. Any outside employment must be
approved by your immediate supervisor.
24
Employment Prohibitions


Additionally, ethics rules prohibit Army employees
from acting in an official matter if that matter involves
a company that the employee is seeking to work for.
Finally, Army personnel who work in the contracting
field have very specific limitations on post-government
employment. Post-government employment matters
should be referred to the Staff Judge Advocate (SJA)
for resolution.
25
Prohibited Use of Government Resources


An example is a local card and flower fund, a local soldier’s
organization, or just about any organization with the word
“Association” in it. These prohibitions are consistent with the
principle that public service is a public trust.
The rules regarding use of property also stem from the basic
rule that federal employees must “protect and conserve Federal
property and shall not use it for other than authorized
purposes.” Consistent with this rule is the principle that federal
employees “shall disclose waste, fraud, abuse, and corruption”
they are aware of. Violating the Joint Ethics Regulation and
rules not only makes your personal integrity suspect, but is
also illegal.
26
Prohibited Use of Government Resources

These prohibitions do not apply only to support for nonfederal entities but also to improper use for personal
purposes. It may be just as improper to use a copier or
government telephone for your own personal use as it
would be to use a copier or government telephone for
the business of a private organization you belong to or
want to support.
27
Prohibited Use of Government Resources

Government property and personnel should be used
only for government purposes. For example, it would
be wrong for you to type a personal letter on a
Government computer or take pens and paper
bought by the Army for your personal use. It also
would be wrong to use a government telephone to
make a personal long-distance call, unless you use
your calling card to pay for it.
28
Prohibited Use of Government Resources

In addition to using government property only for
official purposes, Army employees may not use
official, nonpublic government information for their
own personal purposes. This means you may not
use nonpublic information, classified or not, for your
personal financial gain or any personal gain.
29
Prohibited Use of Government Resources

Also, the Privacy Act, which carries criminal
penalties, prohibits the dissemination of someone
else’s personal information, such as their social
security number, address, or home phone number,
without his or her permission or unless authorized
by the Privacy Act.
30
Authorized Use of Government Resources

Generally, the use may not be adverse to the Army’s
interests, such as accessing internet pornography on
a government computer system. Incidentally, the
ethics rules state that by using government
computers and telephones for personal, authorized
purposes, individuals consent to government
monitoring of those systems, including internet sites
accessed and information downloaded.
31
Authorized Use of Government Resources

Personal, authorized use may not be at any additional cost to
the government. In the absence of a command policy
regarding personal use, a commissioned officer that is a
supervisor (or a GS-11 civilian employee supervisor) may
approve the personal use of government resources for a
subordinate. For instance, you may be authorized to use the
computer to complete homework or use the internet to conduct
research for off-post courses; however, this must first be
approved. In addition, this use must not interfere with your
military obligation.
32
Proper Use of Government Time

Standards of Conduct rules also address the proper use of
government time--both an employee’s own time and that of the
employee’s subordinates. For example, a supervisor may not
require subordinates to help paint his or her house during duty
hours or give them time off from work for compensation. Again,
official time should be spent on official government business.
Army personnel “shall put forth an honest effort in the
performance of their duties.” Supervisors also have a duty to
safeguard their subordinates’ time. An Army employee may not
direct, coerce, or otherwise force a subordinate to use official
time for unofficial or unauthorized activities. This is a criminal
prohibition
33
Official Support

Army personnel in their official capacities may not
endorse a non-federal entity or its fundraising
activities. There are a few exceptions, however,
including endorsement of the Combined Federal
Campaign (CFC) and the Army Emergency Relief
(AER). Army personnel may endorse these
organizations and their fundraising efforts but may
never coerce or direct a subordinate to give to the
organizations.
34
Official Support

Commanders may provide information to service
members through official channels about private
organizations that may be beneficial to soldiers and
their families. It is important to remember, however,
that the Army may never selectively benefit one
organization over another that is similarly situated. If
support is provided to one group, it should be
provided to another similar group. Also, official
support may never detract from readiness.
35
Official Support

As a soldier, it is improper for anyone to require or
pressure you to join the enlisted club or any private
organization. However, it is OK for someone, even a
superior, to tell you about the benefits of joining a club
or private organization, as long as he or she makes it
clear that you are free to join or not join as you desire,
and that you will not be punished if you choose not to
join.
36
Personal Relationship/Support

Army personnel have a “personal” capacity and an
“official” capacity. Personnel act in their official
capacity when they perform acts in the performance
of their official duties. Even if not actually performing
official duties, personnel could appear to be acting in
their official capacity, such as when wearing the
uniform. It is important to distinguish personal and
official capacities when engaging in activities related
to private organizations.
37
Personal Relationship/Support


Army personnel may join, manage, or otherwise participate in
private organizations as long as it does not conflict with the
performance of official duties.
For example, a soldier who is a president of a local organization
may not act on a request from that organization to use a unit day
room. A conflict of interest exists between the soldier’s personal
activities and official duties. Soldiers may endorse a private
organization in their personal capacity. The rules allow soldiers
to use their rank and service (SFC John Smith, US Army) in an
endorsement, but not the soldier’s official title.
38
Personal Support

Army personnel may assist voluntarily and participate in private
organizations, including the fundraising efforts of private
organizations. Fundraising must be voluntary and unofficial.
Soldiers may not use their official title or represent the Army
while fundraising. Fundraising usually does not occur in
uniform. Fundraising may not occur on the Army installation
without permission of the installation commander, usually
through the Director of Personnel and Community Activities.
Some fundraising, such as raffles and bingo, may be strictly
regulated. Remember, when in doubt, always check with your
supervisor or the ethics counselor.
39
Prohibited Gambling

Gambling in the military is, in most cases, a criminal
activity. Criminal laws prohibit gambling on any federal
property, whether it is leased or owned by the federal
government. It is also a crime to gamble with a
subordinate, whether or not it is on federal property.
40
Prohibited Gambling


The rules allow limited private wagers among friends
in quarters if the local state law allows such wagers.
These private wagers may never be with a
subordinate.
Limited gambling may be allowed at installation clubs,
for example, when a “Monte Carlo Night” or a “Casino
Night” is approved by the command.
41
SCENARIO #1: TIME TO GIVE

Your supervisor called a shop meeting and informed
everyone that he thought it would be a good idea if
the shop got together to give a gift for the
commander’s retirement. He also informed the shop
personnel that he already had selected the gift, which
cost $350, and that each person was required to give
$15 to cover the cost.
42
SCENARIO #2: The Pushy Salesman

You and a friend of yours from BCT are going through
AIT together. You know from conversations during
BCT that Gary is a real hustler when it comes to
making money on the side. He was always talking
about different ways he had made money in the past.
Some sounded neat; others were a little more
suspect.
43
SCENARIO #2: The Pushy Salesman

One day during lunch, Gary told you about his latest moneymaking project. He told you that your squad leader had heard
about his gift of money and asked if he'd like to make some
extra money selling long-distance service at a discount. Gary
told you that he has already signed up half the platoon on behalf
on the squad leader and wants to cut you in on the action. He
said all you have to do is sell the plan to the soldiers in the other
platoons and you'd get a cut of their long-distance spending.
You think this sounds like a good idea, especially since it will
save soldiers a lot of money on their calls home. However,
you're not sure whether you can sell products to your fellow
soldiers.
44