Huntsville Center employees attended annual ethics training Nov. 24 to get an overview of the types of situations that could present ethical challenges.
According to the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, the executive branch of the federal government provides a detailed code of ethics for employees. All federal employees are required to take one hour, or three modules, of ethics training.
Additional sessions are scheduled through Dec. 10.
Clay Weisenberger, assistant counsel in Huntsville Center's Office of Counsel, said ethics training ensures that employees are aware of appropriate government standards. Ethics training is among the most important training government employees take because it reinforces the core values that public servants should all adhere to in the performance of their duties.
Training covered a wide variety of ethics topics, such as contract obligations, gifts from outside sources, conflict of interest, impartiality, outside employment, position misuse and fundraising, report filing and working with contractors. Training questions were modeled from Department of Defense real-world situations to illustrate possible ethics issues and their appropriate resolution.
Weisenberger told employees 2013 was a year that held lots of scandal which came with the lowering of public trust. In 2014, there weren't as many news scandals and that could be attributed to ethics professionals doing a better job explaining principles of ethical conduct to government employees.
"The integrity of our organization depends on our ability as individuals to recognize ethical dilemmas and respond in an appropriate manner. Without integrity and public trust, we could not carry out our mission," Weisenberger said.
"Another hot area is social media. Many of you don't realize others can see what you are posting on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc." Weisenberger said. "We live in a world where people access photos stored on your cell phones without your permission. No information is 100 percent safe so be careful what information you post to public sites. It may cost you your job."
Mark Allen, Huntsville Center, electrical engineer, Engineering Directorate, said he thinks taking the ethics training was very important because it's directly linked to gaining public trust.
"I think the training is necessary. We should take it so we know how to conduct ourselves to provide the most benefit to the public and our Soldiers," he said. "We don't want to give the impression of wrongdoing for or commit a prosecutable offense."
Weisenberger told attendees to contact him or Margaret Simmons, Huntsville Center counsel and designated agency ethics official, when ethical issues arise prior to making a final decision.
"This training should give you a better understanding of what can and cannot be done in the government. However, there are lots of issues out there that must be looked at on a case-by-case basis," Weisenberger said. "If you're unsure of something, give us a call. That's why we're here."