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Officer, Director, & Member Code of Ethics

Membership in the Association of Former Intelligence Officers including National and Chapter leadership positions imposes a responsibility to uphold and further the Association's purposes and objectives as set forth in the Association's charter and bylaws and the resolutions and decisions of its Board of Directors. Members at all times should conduct themselves and their professional and business affairs in a manner that reflects credit upon and enhances the reputation of AFIO.

AFIO’s Board of Directors vests the President of AFIO with the power to enforce these membership obligations by removing from membership, with concurrence of the Executive Committee [EXCOM], any member who, in the judgment of the EXCOM, gives cause for dismissal. Such causes include, but are not limited to:

  1. Any material misrepresentation of service, employment, or credentials in application for membership, during the duration of membership or when serving in any office in the Association or its chapters.
  2. Any act intended to disrupt the existence or unity of the Association or its chapters.
  3. Any act that violates the Association's charter, such as using one's position in the Association to suggest or promote personal, political, policy, religious, or social agendas.  To ensure that members' statements are not misconstrued in public fora that are not sponsored by the Association, whether through introductions or biographic profiles, such statements cannot be accompanied by publications, slides, handouts, etc. which have the logo or insignia of the Association. If affiliation with AFIO is noted or apparent, any handouts, publications, or slides must bear the caveat: "The opinions expressed in this (letter, blog, event, speech, newsletter, slide, paper, presentation, discussion, etc.) are those of the individual writer/speaker, and do not reflect the position of, or the endorsement by, the Association of Former Intelligence Officers, its members, officers, chapters, or board."
  4. Any act that misrepresents the Association's 501(c)3 non-profit, non-political, educational charter, including any act that brings public disrepute or embarrassment upon the Association, or seeks to undermine the purposes or programs of the Association.
  5. Any defamation, vilification, or deceitful act, false accusation, calumny, or slander or libel against the Association, its officers, or its members.
  6. Any misrepresentation, or use for purposes other than the stated purposes of the Association, of the AFIO name, symbols, icons, trademarks, certificates, purposes, activities, membership or member data, of the Association, including any act, assertion, or implication of, affiliation with, sponsorship of, or approval by the Association not permitted by the Association.
  7. Any act in violation of a fiduciary or other trust exercised on behalf of the Association or its subsidiary chapters.
  8. Any felonious violation of U.S. federal, state, or local laws or any prosecutable or indictable act, at the discretion of the Board of Directors, whether or not related to the Association.
  9. Any conflict of interest or appearance of conflict of interest with the Association's charter, purposes, neutrality or objectives if not resolved immediately and satisfactorily upon notification and concurrence of the President.
  10. Any violation of the ground rules ["background use only" "off the record" "Not for attribution"] set forth on behalf of speakers at AFIO luncheons, seminars, symposia, or colloquia.

Adopted by AFIO National Board of Directors on 26 August 2009.