SPARTA MEMBERSHIP UNDERSTANDING

PURPOSE

SPARTA is an advocacy organization for the promotion of inclusive military service without prejudice based on sexual orientation or gender identity.  By partnering with our service members, services, and our communities, we are committed to leading the charge in transgender military service advocacy, support, and education within the United States Of America.

SPARTA is open to those who currently serve in one of the United States Uniformed Services and self identifies as transgender. SPARTA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization not affiliated with the Department of Defense.

ACRONYM LIST

BOD Board of Directors

CL Chapter Leader

ACL Associate Chapter Leader

CoC Code of Conduct

MEMBERSHIP

Membership is a conditional privilege that is governed by the code of conduct and requirements of membership as described here-in.  A member is defined as any eligible service member that has requested membership, completed vetting, and is in good standing with SPARTA.  To become a member, you must have graduated bootcamp, Officer Candidate School, signed a contract with a ROTC program (3rd yr+) or started at the Service Academies. Once membership is established, Members who leave active service may retain membership at their discretion.

MEMBER ONBOARDING

All members will be vetted into the organization. This vetting practice is to protect our members from hostile and/or malicious intent and maintain some level of privacy while still having a social media presence.  Prospective members must provide the following (either via automated questions or privately with vetting persons):

1. A brief description of their military service, a branch of service, current rank (If any), years of service, active / reserve/guard.
2. Name and Pronouns to be used (These can change at the member’s discretion)

• It is recommended that members include their preferred name and pronouns in the body of posts if they differ from screennames or names of common usage.

1. Accept the code of conduct and terms of membership

They are encouraged to provide:

1. Transition Status (Discovery, accepting, non-transitioning, mid transition, etc. – no right or wrong answer)
2. What support network do they currently have.
3. Do they have an immediate concern/need for help?

MEMBER REMOVAL

A member may be removed when sufficient cause exists for such removal through a two-thirds vote of the Board of Directors (BOD). Sufficient cause shall be determined as actions that result in injury to the purpose, integrity, reputation, or operations of the organization. Members may be temporarily removed from the group for violations of the SPARTA Code of Conduct (CoC) at the discretion of any SPARTA administrator until the board can meet to determine if the member should be permanently removed or reinstated. Members will be allowed to present their case to the board.

ADMINISTRATORS (ADMIN)

Administrators (Admins) are selected and removed by the Board of Directors via 2/3 vote.  Their primary responsibility is to maintain the CoC relevant to online media services (Facebook, Discord, etc).

KEY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Mark inappropriate content and remove when necessary
2. Contact member in violation and explain why the content was removed
3. Elevate engagement to Chapter Leaders or Board of Directors as necessary
4. Create / edit / remove accounts as necessary (NOTE: ADMINS cannot create an account without prior Membership approval, nor can they remove an account without BOD approval)
5. Maintain auto filters and “BOTS” for media services.

AMBASSADORS (MEMBERSHIP)

Ambassadors’ primary concern is for the safe and expeditious onboarding of new Members.  This may or may not be through social media but will follow the guidance already specified in this document.  They may, but are not required, to be the same as the corresponding Chapter Leaders. SPARTA should strive to maintain at least one Ambassador per branch of the Uniformed Services.  Ambassadors are the first person many members will interact with.  They should serve as an initial guide and help make connections to Chapter Leaders, regional groups, and any other points of contact that maybe in the member’s best interest.  Ambassadors should be selected, prepared, trained, and removed through the Chapter Leaders.  Selection should be based on the individual’s ability to support the key roles and responsibilities of the position.

KEY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Check New Member Requests no less often than once a week and act on those relevant to the Chapter Leader’s service of responsibility.  Excessive delay in initiating the onboarding process could have negative mental-health consequences for some new members.
2. Shall evaluate the answers to the questions given, assess If further information is desired and reach out directly to potential members to address such concerns or needs.
3. Once the decision is made to grant membership, the Ambassador will post a welcome aboard message introducing the member to the greater group.  They will also notify the corresponding Chapter Leader of a new member.
4. If the decision is made to deny membership, for other than not fully answering questions, a log of this decision will be made to include the requester’s name, date, and detailed reason for their denial.  This log should be visible to other ambassadors and the Chapter Leaders.  If the denial is due to incomplete answers the Ambassador shall private message the individual and provide them an opportunity to provide the missing information prior to rejecting the membership request.  If the member would be better served by an affiliate organization (ie. Future Warriors) a message offering redirection should be made.
5. Shall notify the new member and provide direction as to how to obtain the code of conduct, appropriate transition guides / documents when available and inform them of any associated subgroups of SPARTA they may be interested in (Fitness, Officer, Cosplay, Gaming, local area group pages).
6. Shall maintain a database of associated subgroups and points of contacts for these groups with special emphasis on regional groups that may provide in person events, socialization, and support.
7. Shall maintain all documentation, logs and databases in a way that is accessible to other members of the board, Chapter Leaders and Ambassadors even if the Ambassador is suddenly unavailable or removed.

CHAPTER LEADERS (MENTORSHIP)

Members should look upon Chapter Leaders in the same way as you would a First-Sergeant or Chief in both levels of knowledge and ability to help a member navigate the task at hand and organization.  Chapter Leaders are our frontline mentors and reaction force.  They are there to listen, council, advise and tell a member when they need to fly straight, just like a senior NCO.  They may not always know the answer but have the resources to help get them.  For these reasons Chapter Leaders should be selected from Members who have gone through the process of transition within the military and have been around the organization for some reasonable length of time.  Each branch shall have at least one Chapter Leader at all times.

“Sometimes we're there to listen, to allow members to vent. Other times we can provide them a ready answer. Other times, we can provide them a pathway to get to where they're going.”

Chapter Leaders are the voice of the Member’s to the Board and have the right to have their concerns addressed.  They are expected to execute this voice without prejudice and in the best interest of the Members.

SELECTION / REMOVAL

Chapter Leaders (CL) are at the heart of SPARTA’s “Support” pillar.  Individuals chosen to be CLs must show the personality characteristics necessary to be devoted to serving their member’s best interests.  CLs are selected by already established CLs within their service through the Associate CL program below.  If no CL exists for a service, the CLs of the other services will select a new CL.  If no CL is selected by the existing CLs within one month of vacancy, the BOD will assign a service CL through 2/3 vote.  CLs are free to leave when they no longer desire to serve.  Forced removal, with cause, of a CL is performed via a 2/3 vote of the BOD.

KEY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Shall uphold the Code Of Conduct and maintain the integrity of the group.
2. Shall be the most knowledgeable they can be over DoD and service specific policy.
3. Shall be there for Members.  Direct them to help when needed.
4. Shall mentor, train, and enable.
5. Shall always do your best to keep everyone safe.
6. Shall represent the Members to the Board, be their voice and always act in the best interest of the Member.
7. Shall make recommendations to the Board concerning suspension / banning of a member.
8. Shall maintain all documentation, logs and databases necessary to do their job in a way that is accessible to other members of the board and Chapter Leaders even if they are suddenly unavailable or removed.
9. Shall assign, when necessary, associate chapter leaders and are charged with their mentorship as future Chapter Leaders.  They are also responsible for Associate Chapter Leaders, removal and promotion.

ASSOCIATE CHAPTER LEADER

Report directly to the CL and hold similar responsibilities as the CLs.  They can however be less senior and have less experience with both their service and transition.  It is expected that CLs will “fleet up” from Associate Chapter Leader (ACL).  Their roles and responsibilities follow:

1. Shall uphold the Code Of Conduct and maintain the integrity of the group.
2. Shall be the most knowledgeable they can be over DoD and service specific policy.
3. Shall be there for your Members.  Direct them to help when needed.
4. Shall mentor, train, and enable.
5. Shall always do your best to keep everyone safe.
6. Shall maintain all documentation, logs and databases necessary to do their job in a way that is accessible to the BOD and CLs even if they are suddenly unavailable or removed.

CODE OF CONDUCT

The code of conduct defines the requirements that our organization has for its leaders and members.  While SPARTA promotes freedom of thought, expression, communication, and behavior, the code of conduct is important to protect its members and the organization to maintain safety and credibility.  One pillar of SPARTA is to serve as a support group and we recognize the pressures and stressors impacting our members.  As such, many of our members come to the group, or find themselves, in a vulnerable state and may be particularly sensitive to the words and actions of others.  Everyone is responsible for maintaining a safe, welcoming environment that is respectful, encouraging, and supportive.  We strive to provide camaraderie and value to our members and hope that all of you will help protect and defend the group.  We encourage participants to speak freely and express their opinions openly – but tactfully.  To that end, all members will strive to follow the code presented here.

*** All members are reminded that as members of the Uniformed Services of the United States they are held accountable and liable under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. ***

SCOPE

This policy pertains to the entirety of SPARTA, including leadership, members, participants, and volunteers. Failure to adhere to this policy can result in expulsion from the group and/or events, loss of title or responsibility, or restriction from leading, participating in, or volunteering for future SPARTA activities.

SUMMARY

• Respect the privacy and confidentiality of group members.
• Sexual harassment will not be tolerated.
• No defamatory, offensive, or violent language or content.
• Comments that discriminate or perpetuate hate on the grounds of race, ethnicity, religion, age, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation (or another characteristic) are not appropriate.
• Personal attacks are not acceptable.  When challenging an opinion, challenge the point and not the person.
• No research requests, selling, or solicitation of any sort unless sanctioned by the Board of Directors.
• Respect privacy.  Do not break confidence with, or share private information from, a fellow Spartan without their explicit permission unless you believe someone’s life is at risk.
• We exclusively prohibit and want to prevent encouraging, condoning, justifying, or supporting the commission of a violent act, or radicalization, to achieve political, ideological, religious, social, or economic goals.  We prohibit advocating, engaging in, preparing, or otherwise supporting ideologically motivated or justified violence to further social, economic, or political objectives.
• If you feel a post is inappropriate or could be construed as a personal attack, message an admin.
  

GENERAL ADVICE

• It can be difficult to communicate intent over the internet. Please bear this in mind.
• Remember, advice and experiences from your fellow Spartans are extremely valuable, but you should always seek legal or medical counsel from a professional before making critical decisions
• When commenting on a sensitive subject please consider how your comment may be interpreted.
• It may be better to withdraw from a discussion if your emotions are running high. Know your limits!
• If you have breached the code of conduct, it may be appropriate to apologize to those concerned.
• If you only want responses from a certain set of people please preface your question with the intended recipients.  Examples: For those of you on T…, For leadership…, For people in the guard…
  

WARNINGS/DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS

If an individual does not abide by this code of conduct, this may result in disciplinary action being taken against them. Generally, the corrective action will be education instead of discipline.  However, action can be taken entirely at the discretion of leadership and may include, depending on the severity of the offense, any of the following:

• A private message to the individual explaining why their actions have broken the code of conduct and, if applicable, how they can avoid doing this in the future
• A post/comment is being deleted.
• A comment is made on a thread from an admin outlining that a comment is inappropriate
• For more serious breaches, a motion can be made to ban/block the member from the FB group and prevented from rejoining

SEXUAL HARASSMENT / MISCONDUCT

Sparta is a professional organization made up of members of the US DoD, DHS, and DoC. As such, all members of SPARTA will adhere and uphold all service/agency Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment policies and standards. This means; sexually explicit and/or suggestive photos, comments, posts, etc… will not be tolerated. Any member may address any Chapter Leader, or Board Member about inappropriate conduct, and Sparta Leaders will determine if it violates our Code of Conduct. All violations of the Code of Conduct will be dealt with in accordance with current Sparta policy. Additionally, Sparta has many SAPR/SHARP Victim Advocates throughout the organization. If anyone would like to confidentially talk to a VA about current, or past sexual trauma, they may do so by contacting any of the Sparta leadership. This does not constitute filing a report of sexual assault, or making a complaint of sexual harassment. SAPR/SHARP VAs can help facilitate contact with a local SAPR/SHARP office that can receive a report or assist with a complaint.

COMMUNITY PRESENCE

SPARTA is composed of people and interacts with communities around the world.  These same communities provide critical support to our members and organization. We will ruin these relationships If our behavior violates their standards and will do irreparable damage to our mission and organizational goals.  You, as a trans service member, may be the only trans person someone has met; you represent us all in these cases.  Members are requested to recognize and accept that:

• We are guests of the communities and bases on which we operate
• We will always conduct ourselves in a respectful manner
• We will respect local directives and officials
• We will positively contribute to the community
• We will be ambassadors of the trans military community

ACTIVE MILITARY SERVICE AND ADVOCACY

Special emphasis must be made that we are a non-profit organization that is made up entirely of Active Military Members.  As a matter of long-standing policy, military service members and federal employees acting in their official capacity may not engage in activities that associate the DoD with any partisan political campaign or elections, candidate, cause, or issue. The limitations of participation can be found in DoD Directive 1344.10, Political Activities by Members of the Uniformed Services, and the Hatch Act.

For our organization to exist and continue to be meaningful and effective we must never put into question our compliance with official DoD and U.S. code and policy.  We are authorized to operate only while not in uniform and as long as we do not otherwise act in a manner that could reasonably give rise to the inference or appearance of official sponsorship, approval, or endorsement.

Activities not expressly prohibited by these directives and codes may be contrary to the spirit and intent of them. Any activity that may be reasonably viewed as directly or indirectly associating the Department of Defense or the Department of Homeland Security (in the case of the Coast Guard) or any component of these Departments with a partisan political activity or is otherwise contrary to the spirit and intention of these Directive shall be avoided.

Key Points

The following is not SPARTA policy, rather DoD/DHS policy and is provided as a reminder to all members of their obligations under the law.  Unless no association to the Military, DoD or DHS can be maintained and the member is not in uniform, the following shall apply to all active military members (Excerpts from DoD 1344).

• May register, vote, and express a personal opinion on political candidates and issues, but not as a representative of the Armed Forces.
• May join a partisan or nonpartisan political club and attend its meetings when not in uniform.
• May attend partisan and nonpartisan political fundraising activities, meetings, rallies, debates, conventions, or activities as a spectator when not in uniform and when NO inference or appearance of official sponsorship, approval, or endorsement can reasonably be drawn.
• SHALL NOT participate in partisan political fundraising activities rallies, conventions (including making speeches in the course thereof), management of campaigns, or debates, either on one’s own behalf or on that of another, without respect to uniform or inference or appearance of official sponsorship, approval, or endorsement. Participation includes more than mere attendance as a spectator.
• SHALL NOT allow or cause to be published partisan political articles, letters, or endorsements signed or written by the member that solicits votes for or against a partisan political party, candidate, or cause.
• SHALL NOT serve in any official capacity with or be listed as a sponsor of a partisan political club.
• SHALL NOT speak before a partisan political gathering, including any gathering that promotes a partisan political party, candidate, or cause.
• SHALL NOT participate in any radio, television, or other program or group discussion as an advocate for or against a partisan political party, candidate, or cause.
• SHALL NOT march or ride in a partisan political parade.
• Commissioned officers SHALL NOT use contemptuous words as prohibited by section 888, 101, and Chapter 47 of title 10, United States Code or participate in activities proscribed by DoD Directives 5200.2 and 1325.6.

LAW ENFORCEMENT

SPARTA staff, participants, volunteers, and affiliates are accountable to local, state, federal, and UCMJ laws in their entirety.

TOLERANCE AND INCLUSIVITY

For SPARTA to accomplish our mission effectively, we need to remain focused and eliminate distractions.  As a non-profit organization that is focused on advocating for open service and providing support for trans service members, we strive to provide an environment of support and inclusion. We will not accept communication or imagery of a religious, political, racial, contentious, crude, or inflammatory nature or anything that resembles hate speech.  Imagery includes anything visible to other participants including digital or paper material of any sort, clothing, patches, flags, banners, pins, etc.  We will not let personal or ulterior agendas detract from the mission at hand or alienate our members from the community or each other.

CLOTHING AND DECENCY

While representing SPARTA you should remember that you are indirectly representing the military and your apparel must remain appropriate for such representation. It shall not contain profanity, hate speech, lewd or vulgar imagery or symbolism, or any other visual cues which could be viewed by the public as offensive.  When selecting your outfit, be mindful of local standards, and be respectful of your fellow participants (and their significant others that may not be in attendance), and remember that we are representing the trans community to the public.

ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION

While representing SPARTA, over-consumption of alcohol by its leaders or participants is prohibited.  Drink responsibly. Police yourself. Police your buddies.

DRUG USE

Covered in full by the UCMJ, which all members are held to.  All members will abstain from drugs and/or drug paraphernalia while representing SPARTA.

BEHAVIOR

SPARTA recognizes that transition and the potential challenges it brings are different for everyone.  We strive to provide a supportive, nurturing, and safe environment for our members to explore, communicate, learn and share in a sense of community. Any behavior that negatively impacts these goals will not be tolerated. These behaviors include but are not limited to using abusive, discriminatory, derogatory, or demeaning language, or intimidation, harassment, coercion, or bullying. Or any behaviors not listed in this policy that may adversely impact the mission of SPARTA by compromising the safety and/or comfort of others or by negatively influencing the public opinion of trans military service.  Unsolicited sexual conduct or advances will NOT be tolerated; sexual harassment or assault of any kind is illegal and will be met with appropriate consequences.

Our organization is a community that welcomes and supports people of all backgrounds and identities and we will not tolerate harassment or discrimination for any reason. This includes, but is not limited to members of any race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, color, immigration status, social and economic class, educational level, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, size, family status, political belief, religion, and mental and physical ability.

SOCIAL MEDIA

SPARTA relies heavily on Social Media to promote our mission and maintain connection and support for our members.  The military services have a history of sometimes being gruff, crude, or vulgar.  SPARTA does not share that legacy and does not support that kind of behavior on social media or in person. We need to present ourselves as a professional organization with a united front and ensure that we are providing the same environment of inclusion, support, and safety in our groups and pages that we do in person.  The standards that relate to things such as community presence, tolerance and inclusivity, clothing and decency, and behavior have their application on our Social Media platforms as well.  The following content is prohibited on SPARTA maintained social media platforms (Unless officially approved by the Board of Directors according to their by-laws):

• Nudity or images that resemble depictions of a similar nature
• Any fundraiser not affiliated with SPARTA
• Unaffiliated marketing or sales
• Politics/Political material in violation of the UCMJ
• Negative posts or harassment of any kind

SHARING OF MEDIA

For many of our members, confidentiality is highly valued and essential to their continued involvement in our group.  To respect these members, any material generated within SPARTA circles and/or social media SHALL NOT be shared, copied, re-posted, screenshotted, or distributed in any way without the owner of such materials express permission.  Permission is required by every member who is indicated and/or involved in any content.  Purposeful neglect of this provision within the Code of Conduct will be met with extreme prejudice and disciplinary action. This private material can do grave harm to a member and potential ensuing harassment, or outcomes of shared material could be life-threatening to a member, it must be taken that seriously and will be by the board of directors.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The above code of conduct was created through original work as well as referencing of other organizations.  Of particular influence was Irreverent Warrior’s Code of Conduct, found at: Code Of Conduct – Irreverent Warriors