The United States Coast Guard

United States Coast Guard lists three core values on their website. The values are honor, respect, and devotion to duty.  

Honor   

Integrity is our standard. We demonstrate uncompromising ethical conduct and moral behavior in all of our personal actions. We are loyal and accountable to the public trust. 

Respect 

We value our diverse work force. We treat each other with fairness, dignity, and compassion. We encourage individual opportunity and growth. We encourage creativity through empowerment. We work as a team. 

Devotion to Duty 

We are professionals, military and civilian, who seek responsibility, accept accountability, and are committed to the successful achievement of our organizational goals. We exist to serve. We serve with pride ("Core Values," 2013). 

The Coast Guard core value of honor aligns with the APA principles of Integrity and Fidelity and Responsibility.  The core value of respect includes the APA principles of Justice and Respect for People’s Rights and Dignity. The core value of Devotion to Duty is similar to the APA principle of Beneficence and Nonmaleficence.   

The Coast Guard Ethics/Standards of Conduct webpage directs readers to the Coast Guard Standards of Conduct Manual. The manual is a 98 page document which describes the ethics program. The manual provides a detailed explanation of Ethics Program Responsibilities, Ethics Advice, Standards of Ethical Conduct, and the Ethics Training. The Ethics/Standards of Conduct webpage also included the 2009 Ethics Training PowerPoint slides. I reviewed the slides. The training slides followed the content of the Standards of Conduct Manual.   

The Coast Guard Standards of Conduct Manual was thorough in defining the terms, rules, and exceptions in the Ethics Program. The text was a basic reference source to communicate the tenets of the program. However, it the document lacked the visual interest and variety which would encourage a complete reading of the manual.

 

References 

 

Fisher, C.B. (2013). Decoding the ethics code: A practical guide for psychologists (3rd ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. 

U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U. S. Coast Guard. (2009). Ethics training 2009 [Powerpoint]. Retrieved from: http://www.uscg.mil/lsc/docs/Ethics%20Training%20-%20PowerPoint%20Presentation-%20Rev%20Aug%202009.ppsx 

U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U. S. Coast Guard. (2013). United States Coast Guard core values. Retrieved from: http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg3/cg3pcx/corevalues.asp