We receive a lot of questions as to whether it is proper to talk about professional associations during drill or in meetings. We asked NGB for a little help, and this is what they provided:
“As a general rule, membership in these organizations in a personal capacity is permitted by law and regulation, and National Guard members are free to join and participate in such organizations in their personal capacity. The Joint Ethics Regulation, DoD 5500.7-R, permits commanders and other leaders to provide factual information through official channels regarding membership in these organizations. However, in providing this information, commanders and leaders must ensure that membership in these organizations is a personal choice and is completely voluntary. Leaders may not conduct repeated orientations or meetings, keep lists of members, use membership statistics when evaluating a member’s duty performance, or otherwise explicitly or implicitly coerce National Guard members into joining these organizations. While leaders may discuss the general merits and benefits of joining and participating in private organizations without showing favoritism for one organization over another, such actions must be done within the limits of the standards of conduct principles discussed above.”
If you are looking for one document that answers every question in minute detail, you won’t find it here. The best advice we can give, beyond exerting a little leadership and interpreting the intent of what is provided, is to ask your State Ethics Advisor for their advice.
In addition to discussing or belonging to professional associations during drill, EANGUS sponsors professional development sessions at its annual conference and has been sponsoring such sessions for over two decades.
But what is professional development?
Professional development is the process of continuing education and training to help people develop new skills and stay current on trends in their careers. The goal is to help people advance in their field.
Professional development can include:
- Taking classes or workshops
- Attending conferences
- Earning certificates
- Reading research
- Volunteering for new projects
- On-the-job training
- Improving soft skills
The five phases of professional development are:
- Building a knowledge base
- Observing models and examples
- Reflecting on practice
- Changing practice
- Gaining and sharing expertise.
All of these phases are incorporated into the EANGUS Professional Development sessions.
EANGUS Professional Development is not only encouraged by Chief, National Guard Bureau, but use of government funds are authorized for those coming to the conference to be on active duty orders for that expressed purpose. Each year, Chief NGB publishes a letter of authority delineating the amount of appropriated funds that may be used by each State to order junior enlisted under the grade of E-7 to attend the EANGUS conference. The letter may be found on the EANGUS conference website.
Professional development sessions are scheduled and conducted at the annual conference. Some of the highlights of that schedule include personal interaction with senior officers and noncommissioned officers at the Federal (NGB) level; speed mentoring; and networking with others. The conference agenda, found here illustrates the types of activities professional development attendees may attend.
Many of those involved in EANGUS professional development programs have never attended an EANGUS conference before. They had no previous up close and personal interaction with leaders wearing stars. They had a limited point of view of their National Guard service. Just about every one of those who have attended in the past would highly encourage attendance at the EANGUS conference.
0 Comments