DoD Directive 5500.07 May 15, 2024

The DoD, the Secretary of Defense, released updated ethics and standards of conduct policy for all DoD Military and Civilians. The new version assigns responsibility for holding its enterprise accountable.

Per DoD Directive 5500.07, the May 15, 2024 version—

This issuance: Establishes policy and assigns responsibilities for the administration of the DoD ethics program in accordance with Chapter 131 of Title 5, United States Code (U.S.C.), also known and referred to in this issuance as the “Ethics in Government Act.”

Secretary Austin in accepting the President’s nomination to become Secretary of Defense, honorably, courageously, and with a forthright, (seemingly), strong dedication to the oaths he has sworn, tirelessly, with eyes wide open, fully commits himself to his role for the foundational strength of our military in protection of our Constitution and our nation, all while never smiling. Not once.

Nor should we require a smile from a man who is never without considering a Service Member’s life juxtaposed to outcomes necessary for national security. Secretary Austin was not appointed to attend parties. He was appointed to keep us safe.

Therefore, when his bold, steadfast directive is not followed or adhered, then what? What happens? A DoD anchored in punitive UCMJ shouldn’t have a problem enforcing its own policies, yet it does. Consequences do not seem to deter problematic or even average civilians or military. The consequences have always been there in some form, but systemic failure to follow policy within the Navy’s toxic culture still exists.

Perhaps, Naval District Washington’s Instagram post offers a telling reason why. NDW is the district where CNIC HQ, the Navy Yard, and Pax reside. Why will Secretary Austin’s well-written, plain language, clear, punitive, ethics directive land flat?

Navy Social Media is letting its enterprise know that the Constitution still serves. To what have their people been swearing their oath to, absent the US Constitution? Screenshot taken from Naval District Washington’s Instagram page, an Official Navy Social Media presence.

Naval District Washington sought to boast to its audience that the U.S. Constitution “serves still today.”

The post warrants a double-take for stating what should be as obvious as ‘the U.S. Navy has ships.’ As the DoD has my PII on file, I guess I thought they already knew this fact.

This Constitution that “still” serves is the document to which Service Members and Civilian employees swear their oath and allegiance, or at least they used to, when they knew they did…

Has the Navy become so overzealous and irresponsible with social media that adherence to laws, decency, manners, core military values, and basic, simple, foundational knowledge of the Constitution of the United States of America is no longer known within its ranks?

An updated ethics policy simply shouting louder, will fail unless thinking prevails.

DoD Civilians and DoD contract company employees gorge themselves on their personal allegiance to coworkers over Constitution. A stroll through DoD social media reveals that the post above is not merely a typo. It is true that many DoD/ DoN/ CNIC employees do not comprehend the weight of the Constitution, why oaths are sworn, or why being a DoD employee is not about highlighting themselves. It should not be about telling Service Members and families how hard you work for them. If you’re doing the hard work, the data will speak for the DEPARTMENT’S accomplishments.

After all, there are SEVERAL Program Analysts within CNIC whose job descriptions list metrics, data management, analyzing data and making reports for Congress.

(Have you read one? I’ve found a few and they are the Artist’s Conk of useful information for Congress, a decent prevention for ever getting the facts. The one I read, as it was time consuming, had three useful facts after gag worthy pages of policy that are reprinted for each “annual, semi-annual…” report.)

To me this matters because the Constitution provides my family the right to a family free from government intrusion and invasions of privacy. Family is in the fabric of the U.S. Constitution. The DoD should treat me, my children, my husband, our family the same as any other family in its DEERS. The Navy does not treat us as it does every other family because my husband was married to one of “their own.” The Navy treated us differently in public, in private, without my permission, and against my Sailor’s written instruction. Then, the Navy with its CNIC team failed systemically in providing a fair and impartial approach to my grievance.

The Navy retaliated with bullying, passive-aggressively in the public purview of Social Media. DCIPS has nothing to do with Facebook. This use is not covered by a SORN. Mr. Bruner’s stance was “How was the Navy to know Colter was remarried?” Well, there was policy, ethics, instructions, rules, customs, decency, fact-checking prior to publishing, etc… But they chose not to adhere to any of that. Instead they treated my husband as an unmarried, actively grieving widower in private for the duration of our marriage, and in public, fueling more and more relational aggression. Even once they were caught in their lies, nothing changed.

Here are three posts on the Navy Gold Star Page for its 23K “fans” that illustrate a lack of thought or application of the oath of civil office:

1. (Removed, for now).

2. Posting a special announcement for a religiously affiliated camp for only Navy Gold Star Boys to attend for free and while they are at camp they are made to call the men in charge, “uncle.” (This is a real post to a real camp. It’s the “uncle” portion that bothers me. It creates a sense of closeness with words not present in the new relationship, and an imbalance of power.)

3. Who can forget the NGSP’s post about Unite the USA? This post breaks every EEO policy out there at DoD. Not to mention while “not endorsing” the extremist religious group, definitely putting it front and center for NGSP participants to start getting groomed with mailers. Wait are they a third party the Navy “doesn’t endorse” but they are considered “community partners” and therefore the Navy gives them PII from DCIPS?

Mistakes are one thing, but the Navy flagrantly abuses its power. With rare exception can someone like myself sue them, protect my family from flagrant abuses of power. There are extraordinarily few options for the spouse or the public to stand up for themselves. (Thus, I write.)

Announcing a new version of DoD Directive 5500.07? Sure. That will bring the Constitution back…

Consider the posts below from the Fleet and Family Program Manager, one of the individuals tasked with ensuring professional and impartial consideration and remedy of my grievance. She had been a civil servant for more than a decade when the CNIC IG emailed her my grievance and mandated that it be met with confidentiality. The DoD and Executive Branch also mandate her actions be impartial.

Her posts, her marketing content is anything but impartial. In fact, it is always about her, her “kids,” and how hard they work for “us.” Nepotism in federal workplaces is only a violation of policy if the persons involved are related. Favoritism is not nepotism in the DoD, but this is a good argument for the nepotism and false loyalty that lives throughout the enterprise.

This long time DoD civil servant ran her Facebook as her own brand with many posts set to public. The Fleet and Family Support Program on Facebook shared her personal posts rather than posts from official Navy Facebook pages. This practice by the Program Manager and her team both violated and led to several violations of instruction, policy, standards of conduct and several ethics violations.

Her presumed audience is the public given her comments in posts such as the one above.

Several DoD Analysts, Program Managers, Supervisors, Directors, DoD Employees— charged with upholding laws, instructions, ethics policy DoD Directive 5500.07, and the duty to report violations— participated in the posts, watched the posts and to my knowledge never reported them as violations.

Ethics written in policy are only as strong as the ethics enforced in action, whether seen or unseen.

I’ve taken necessary and available steps to resolve my case with the Navy. Yet, nothing is resolved.

DoD employees have an absolute duty to act, follow rules, and earn public trust. Why have they not had public trust removed? Why have they not been fired? Did anyone read the FFSC 40 year anniversary booklet? It was 1,000 words about her and 3 more pages of FFSC employee experiences and barely if at all about he Service Members it has helped… maybe it hasn’t? Maybe I am not as alone as I feel.

It is not uncommon for DoD/ DoN/ CNIC employees to acquire the experience necessary to obtain DoD Federal Jobs roles received through Zeiders. There are jobs within CNIC that require either requisite education or experience. Working for Zeiders as an entry level CNIC contract employee allows many without adequate education to obtain a Federal Job after working for Zeiders for a few years working with military families and Service Members as ENTRY LEVEL individuals.

The Experience obtained through Zeiders catapults many into the CNIC realm. These individuals could be spouses with no education or adequate training who have now come up “through” the ranks and are one day able to make upwards of $75K without ever receiving guidance from outside the vacuum that led them to CNIC.

On one hand, good for them. Work your way up. I am all for on the job training. Working hard. Earning your place.

On the other hand, I am not for the culture wrapping its seemingly “harmless” way of doing things just as they’ve always been done “arms” around individuals who may not be able to have the same success in the private sector at the juncture of their career they are lifted to at the DoD.

This creates the unspoken need to owe someone something. Read the comments below, consider my words. Consider whose comments you are reading. Consider my previous posts. Would someone grateful for a great job, not go along to get along and not adhere to DoD policy, instruction, ethics, etc…?

The Fleet and Family Director (Program Manager? It depends what you are looking at, as not even the CNIC IG seemed to know the accurate titles of those they sent my grievance to) was clearly close with Zeiders Contractors. However, Contractors are not held to the same standards that DoD Employees are held to. The Contractors have their jobs if the contract is awarded again.

Do DoD employees in CNIC have to be “friends” with their CNIC boss on Facebook to be successful and be promoted at CNIC? Sure seems likely…

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