CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
With the nation preparing for the upcoming presidential election of historical significance, many of us are excited and may wish to get involved. However, it is important to remember that military members and Department of Defense civilian employees are subject to limits on their political activities.
For military members, specific rules governing their political participation are discussed in DOD Directive 1344.10, Political Activities by Members of the Armed Forces on Active Duty, Air Force Instruction 51-902, Political Activities by Members of the Air Force, and DOD Directive 5500.7-R, Joint Ethics Regulation. These rules specify those activities that are permitted and those that are prohibited based on whether they are "partisan" or "nonpartisan" political activities.
A partisan political activity relates to candidates or issues representing national or state political parties. Nonpartisan political activities, on the other hand, are not associated with a national or state political party but involve "stand-alone" political issues. Generally, military members may participate in nonpartisan political activities but cannot do any of the following: participate in any of these political activities in uniform, use government facilities or resources for this purpose or give any implication that the Air Force endorses or supports their participation in the political activity. See the accompanying chart for some of the permitted and prohibited activities for military members:
Even though civilian employees are given more freedom than military members to engage in off-duty political activities, they are still required to avoid those political activities that might undermine the appearance of a politically neutral military establishment. Section 6-200 of the JER governs the political activities of civilians and prohibits them from engaging in political activities on government time or at the workplace. Civilians are also prohibited from campaigning for nomination or election to public office in a partisan election. Nevertheless, they are permitted to attend and participate in political rallies as well as hold office in political clubs and parties.
Everyone is encouraged to participate in the political process this election season in accordance with the guidance provided above. For questions regarding what political activities are prohibited, you may contact the 437th Airlift Wing Law Center at 963-5502.