Ethics, Air Force core values

Spokesman Magazine, July, 2004 by Lauren Hemperley, Paul Blackwell, Jr.

"On a personal level, everyone must answer the following question: What
is my highest aspiration? The answer might be wealth, fame, knowledge,
popularity, or integrity. But if integrity is secondary to any of the
alternatives, it will be sacrificed in situations in which a choice must
be made. Such situations will inevitably occur in every person's life."
--Dr. Murphy Smith, Texas A & M University

In 1995, the Air Force adopted its formal set of core values: Integrity first, Service before self, Excellence in all we do. Presumably, every servicemember and employee can recite these core values if asked and can even explain what they mean. In some cases, Air Force members can explain because they have internalized those values--perhaps long before they entered the military. In other cases, the recitation and explanation of the core values sounds as though it comes from a script, dutifully memorized in basic training or orientation. There have been numerous speeches made and articles written about our core values. This article examines the ethics code set out by the Joint Ethics Regulation (JER) in the context of the first Air Force core value, "Integrity First."

Just What Are "Ethics" and "Integrity"?

One definition of the word ethics, found in Webster's Dictionary, is "the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation." Webster's defines integrity as "firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values." In each instance it appears that the foundation of each word, or concept, is a moral value or set of values. We suspect that most people--inside or outside the Air Force--would think of moral values in terms of something internal that makes them want to "do the right thing." Whether those values are inherent to one's makeup or were learned from one's upbringing, surely most people believe themselves to be moral beings--without thinking about it. Military members, especially, universally see ourselves as "above reproach," possessed of the "utmost professionalism," and committed to "exemplifying standards"--or any other similar description of character typically seen in performance reports. Civilian employees strive to set the same standards. Why, then, does the JER even exist? Why is it necessary to have a written set of rules to govern our ethical conduct? Unfortunately, it is because hope for advancement, greed, and even an innocent desire to help promote the most worthy causes, are daily temptations facing all Air Force personnel.

Do We Need Rules To Define Our Conduct?

Our ethics code governs our relationships with defense contractors, with our superiors, and with other employees. It defines when gifts are permitted to be given and to be accepted. It explains when we can use government resources for purposes outside the operational mission. It even describes the limits to what we can do in seeking employment once we leave government service. The ethics rules are based on the concept that we serve the public trust. In order to enforce that concept, there are penalties--sometimes very stiff--for violating these rules. Remembering that the JER applies to the entire Executive Branch of the United States Government, and not just the Department of Defense, here are just a couple of examples, some large and some small. As you read, ask yourself what the employee did wrong.

A Federal Aviation Administration employee attempted to negotiate employment with an airline while employed by the government to inspect the same airline.

A retired Air Force brigadier general working for a DoD agency received a total of $20,000 in "referral fees" for providing a hotel employee with the names of students scheduled to attend a nearby DOD school.

A former Army Inspector General employee used his government travel card to buy personal audio and video equipment, thinking the documents he altered would keep him from being discovered.

The director of a Navy contracting unit asked a contractor for, and accepted, a leather Coach[TM] portfolio and briefcase and a laptop computer.

Finally, a former DOD civilian employee made fictitious purchases of graphics services and artwork, including artwork supposedly intended for the Pentagon Memorial Service in honor of the Pentagon victims of September 11. The employee used the Government Purchase Card to make false purchases from a company established by her co-conspirator solely for the purpose of creating these false purchases.

In each of the above cases, the employee was convicted of ethics--and criminal-violations. The sentences ranged from a $200 fine (the FAA job-seeker) to 37 months imprisonment and $1.7 million in restitution (for the graphics schemer). There are plenty more examples as well, including the Air Force officer who used an Air Force conference room after hours to make a marketing presentation to potential customers of his private business and used his government computer to prepare slides for his presentation. His misuse of government property was discovered after he asked one of his military subordinates to make copies of his slides on a government copier. Another Air Force officer decided to make a little extra cash by purchasing merchandise from AAFES and auctioning it off for a profit on eBay[R]. His downfall was making a sale--his last one--to an undercover OSI agent.