Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) Fleet Logistics Center (FLC) Bahrain provided ethics training for newly-reported personnel Oct. 23.

Ethics is an increasingly important topic in today's military. In the information age, with an expectation of increased transparency, it is not enough to simply follow the letter of the law in regard to ethics regulations; everyone must strive to also avoid the appearance of impropriety.

NAVSUP FLC Bahrain personnel have daily interactions with contractors doing millions of dollars' worth of business with the U.S. government, and routinely make decisions that affect how government contracts are written and awarded. Therefore, they must be especially sensitive to even the appearance of potential conflicts of interest.

In an effort to teach and reinforce the foundations of sound ethical conduct, newly-arrived personnel at NAVSUP FLC Bahrain are required to attend new entrant ethics training. The course offers several examples of everyday occurrences which can have serious ethical implications, from giving and receiving personal gifts to special offers made by local businesses.

"The one thing I hope people take away from this training is that they should come to us with ethics questions," said Assistant Counsel Eli Corin, who led the training.

The giving and receiving of gifts is a widespread custom in many parts of the world, for which the Middle Eastern culture is especially known. Therefore, it is vitally important personnel assigned to NAVSUP FLC Bahrain understand the strict ethical U.S. government guidelines for conducting business on behalf of the Navy, which are taught as part of the ethics training.

"My takeaway is that military ethics means making all your actions and decisions as if you are being watched by every American," said Lt. Matthew Stymfal, one of the training attendees.

NAVSUP FLC Bahrain has more than 180 military and civilian personnel providing logistics support in the 5th Fleet area of responsibility. The command is one of eight FLCs worldwide in the NAVSUP Global Logistics Support (GLS) enterprise.

NAVSUP GLS provides global logistics for a global Navy. The organization is made up of more than 6,500 military and civilian logistics professionals operating from 105 locations worldwide, providing an extensive array of integrated global logistics and contracting services to Navy, Marine Corps, joint operational units, and allied forces across all warfare enterprises.

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