Major Thomas R' Serrano

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• Major Thomas R. Serrano
• Office of the Chief Counsel
• National Guard Bureau
• thomas.serrano_at_ngb.ang.af.mil
• COMM 703-607-2705
• DSN 327

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Potential RC Ethics Issues

• Conflicts of interest
• Personal and organizational
• Filing financial disclosure reports
• Outside employment and business enterprises
• Supplementation of salary
• Post-Government employment restrictions
• Wartime gifts
• State-sponsored life insurance
• and many more we dont have time to discuss

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Used with permission, Despair, Inc.
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Number of RC members on active duty (mobilized in
support of ONE/OEF/OIF) By Month Sep 11, 2001
Sep 30, 2004
223,333
223,333
188,667
188,667
165,619
163,981
170,652
170,652
165,619
163,981
148,377
148,377
Major Combat Operations in Iraq
77,455
77,455
52,207
52,207
36,486
Oct 7, 01 Jun 02
Mar 19, 03 May 1, 03
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DoD Employee

• Active Duty - Regular or Reserve Officers
• Active Duty enlisted members
• DoD civilians (including NG technicians)
• Reserve or National Guard on Title 10 active
  duty (e.g., AGR program)
• Reserve or NG performing official duties or
  functions under Title 10 or 32, or while engaged
  in any activity related to the performance of
  such duties or functions.

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Commander Responsibilities

• Affirmative obligation (JER 5-408) to refrain
  from assigning reservists duties that could
• give reservist access to non-public information
• result in an unfair advantage
• present an actual or apparent conflict of
  interest
• Adequate SCREENING is a necessity
• This is usually NOT being accomplished

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Reservist Screening

• Civilian employer information
• Reserve duty information
• How long performing duty
• Responsibilities
• Supervisory review
• Conflict of interest analysis
• Updated regularly
• Reviewed by ethics counselor when necessary

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Conflicts of Interest

• Mobilization / activation dramatically increases
  the potential for conflicts of interest
• Conflicts must be resolved in the same manners as
  with Active service or civilian employees
• Civilian employment may create organizational
  conflicts of interest
• FAR 9.5
• can negatively impact Reservist (or company) when
  he/she returns to civilian job

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Financial Disclosure Reports

• SF 278 required when 61 or more days of active
  duty are performed during reporting period by O-7
  or above
• New entrant and annual
• VERY DIFFICULT TO TRACK
• OGE Form 450
• Reservists on active duty for more than 30
  consecutive duty days, serving involuntarily or
  voluntarily serving in excess of 130 days
• Special Government Employee
• Filing requirement?

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Officer vs. SGE

• Officer file when in a covered position (JER
  7-300a(1) and (3)-(5))
• SGE subset of covered position (JER 7-300a(2))
• SGEs file unless excluded UP JER 7-300a(2)(a-g)
• Problem all who are mobilized involuntarily are
  SGEs
• Proposed amendment to JER to exclude SGEs from
  filing if active service counterpart excluded
  from filing.

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Outside (off-duty) Employment

• Includes off-duty business enterprises
• Supervisory knowledge enables ID of possible
  misuse of Government resources
• No conflict with official duties
• Telling their story
• Not for personal compensation while on active
  duty
• Official duties test
• 5 CFR 2635.807

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Outside (off-duty) Employment(cont.)

• Wrapping up business affairs upon mobilization
• May use official resources to wind up affairs
• Must be reasonable

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Used with permission, Despair, Inc.
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Supplementation of Salary

• 18 US Code 209(h) permits members of RC under a
  call or order to AD under a provision of law
  referenced in 10 U.S.C. 101(a)(13) to continue
  to be paid salary from employer.
• 10 U.S.C. 12601 - Any Reserve who was receiving
  compensation before being ordered to AD may
  continue to receive compensation while on AD.

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Post Government Employment

• Restrictions are triggered each time an employee
  performs duty as an officer or SGE
• Reservists may need to disqualify themselves from
  certain military duties in order to not
  jeopardize their ability to return to their
  civilian jobs
• SCREENING will help ID problem areas
• US Code 207 and 208 restrictions

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Wartime Gifts

• AE Channel Home with the Brave.
• OPRAH!
• Hometown Groups
• First-Class Airline Tickets

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Wartime Gifts

• No wartime gift exception
• Need to fit gifts into one of the listed
  exceptions
• Discount or similar benefit
• Meritorious award
• 5 C.F.R. 2635.204(c)(3)(iii)
• No clean solution

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State-sponsored Life Insurance

• JER para. 3-209
• Group life insurance sponsored by state military
  department not an endorsement.
• 37 U.S.C. 707
• Service secretary may allow allotments for group
  life insurance sponsored by state military dept.
  or by state National Guard association.
• Association life insurance ? state-sponsored life
  insurance.
• Need to get military department sponsorship IAW
  state procedures for such insurance.

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