Purpose

The Veteran Oasis Code of Conduct defines our organization’s requirements for its leaders and participants.  While VO promotes irreverence through freedom of expression, raw communication, and behavior unique to veterans, we still have a standard to maintain.  These expectations are established and maintained because our mission is our priority and our collective behavior directly contributes to the success or failure of that mission.

Scope

This policy pertains to the entire Veteran Oasis organization, including leadership, participants, and volunteers.  Failure to adhere to this policy can result in expulsion from events, loss of title or responsibility, or restriction from leading, participating in, or volunteering for future VO events.

Community Presence

VO makes its most significant impact through personal engagement.  Local communities permit us to host our events and provide critical support to our mission and our veterans.  If our behavior violates their standards, we could easily ruin these relationships, lose their support, and do irreparable damage to our mission and the veteran outlook.

• We are guests of the communities we operate in

• We will conduct ourselves in a respectful manner at all times

• We will respect local directives and officials

• We will positively contribute to the community

• We will be ambassadors for the IW mission and the Veteran community and make them feel good about us, our mission, and our presence

Law Enforcement

Veteran Oasis staff, participants, volunteers, and affiliates are accountable to local, state, and federal laws in their entirety.  Many of these laws will be spelled out in greater detail later in this document for clarity’s sake.  VO coordinates with city officials during the planning phase of each event and directly involves Law Enforcement Officers (LEO) during execution whenever possible.  LEO involvement in our events contributes to the demonstration and appearance of legitimacy, greatly assists with logistical issues that may arise, and provides us with an additional level of safety and security.

Tolerance and Inclusivity

In order for VO to accomplish our mission effectively, we need to remain focused and eliminate distractions.  As a non-profit organization focused on improving mental health and preventing suicide in the veteran community, 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 or protest.  Imagery includes anything visible to other participants, including digital or paper material of any sort, clothing, patches, flags, banners, pins, etc.  Acceptable symbols, flags, and insignia include but are not limited to American or state flags, flags of foreign countries in whose military the bearer has served, branch flags, and patriotic flags such as “Come and Take It”, “Don’t Tread on Me”, Honor and Remember”, 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

The traditional uniform seen at many VO events is an old school military style PT short we affectionately call “Silkies”, or “ranger panties”.  When worn properly, Silkies cover the buttocks and conceal the genitals and, when worn by a female, must be paired with a sports bra or swimsuit top (at a minimum) that covers the breasts.  Veteran Oasis’ standards dictate that breasts, genitals, pubic areas, and buttocks must remain covered at all times.  Your apparel must not contain profanity, hate speech, lewd or vulgar imagery or symbolism, or any other visual cues that the public could view as offensive.  When selecting your outfit, be mindful of local standards, respectful of your fellow participants (and their significant others that may not be in attendance), and remember that we represent the veteran community to the public.  You can have fun, dress ridiculously, be patriotic as possible, and entertain your fellow veterans without being disrespectful or obscene.

Alcohol Consumption

VO events are alcohol free, no exceptions. We do not allow alcohol in our facility or in our events because many veterans can not be around the presence of alcohol and we want to respect our fellow veterans in their recovery. We do not condemn people who drink and support the responsible use of alcohol outside of our events and facility.

Drug Use

Veteran Oasis staff, participants, volunteers, and affiliates are accountable to local, state, and federal law, and illegal drug use is no exception.  Anyone using or distributing drugs at an VO event is subject to dismissal from the event and may face criminal prosecution from law enforcement.  Should the event be conducted in a state where marijuana has been legalized, you have a medical marijuana license, or other such legal ability to partake, we ask that you step away from the event and its participants before use.  Many of our participants are active duty, possess clearances, are drug tested for work, or have strict standards or abilities when it comes to marijuana and/or recreational drugs.  In a spirit of camaraderie and support, we ask that you be both mindful and respectful of the needs of your fellow warriors.

Behavior

Veteran Oasis is committed to providing a safe and welcoming environment for ALL VETERANS.  We recognize that we are not all fighting the same mental battles, dealing with the same disabilities, healing from the same traumas, or recovering from the same addictions.  Any behavior that negatively impacts our veterans or undermines the support that our organization strives to provide to its members 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 Veteran Oasis by compromising the safety and/or comfort of other IW participants or by negatively influencing the public opinion of Irreverent Warriors.  NO MEANS NO (Regardless of gender) – 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

Veteran Oasis relies heavily on social media to promote our mission, advertise our events, network our veterans, and maintain connection and support for our members.  The fact that we use irreverence, dark humor, and raw communication CONSTANTLY in our messaging and interactions means that we will need strong leadership and solid policies and standards in place to manage our organization’s image.  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 all Irreverent Warriors social media:

• Nudity or images that resemble depictions of a similar nature

• Any fundraiser not affiliated with IW

• Unaffiliated marketing or sales

• Politics/Political material

• Negative posts or harassment of any kind

• Slander of other organizations (to include the VA)

Consequences of Unacceptable Behavior

Should these standards be violated, Irreverent Warriors will respond as dictated by the organization’s Incident Response Policy.

Events

ATTENDEE RULES – NO EXCEPTIONS

1. CODE OF CONDUCT:

The Code of Conduct is in place to ensure that VO provides a safe and welcoming environment for ALL VETERANS. We recognize that we are not all fighting the same mental battles, dealing with the same disabilities, healing from the same traumas, or recovering from the same addictions.

Any behavior that negatively impacts our veterans or undermines the support that our organization strives to provide to its members will not be tolerated. Our environment is one of inclusivity and support while maintaining fun and irreverence. ALL PARTICIPANTS must agree to the terms outlined in the Code of Conduct.

2. DOCUMENTED SERVICE ANIMALS ONLY:
Unless specifically invited, only service dogs are allowed at our events or in our facility. Your animal must have been trained to provide a service DIRECTLY RELATED to your disability. Service animals are working animals, NOT PETS, OR EMOTIONAL SUPPORT animals.

According to ADA POLICY, you legally MUST be willing to answer the following questions:

1. Is the dog a service animal required because of a physical/mental disability?

2. What work/task has the dog been trained to perform?

Although welcome, your service animals are NOT our responsibility, nor can we accept the liability of caring for your service animal. Veteran Oasis volunteers/vehicles legally cannot and will not watch/take care of your service animal.

3. NO ALCOHOL:
We are an alcohol free facility and so are our events. Many of us are going through recovery and have difficulty with temptation and impulse control. Please respect your fellow veterans by not bringing alcohol to the event or faculty. You might want to bring a cup, tumbler, or camelback for all your hydration needs!

4. OBEY LAWS:
You are accountable to your local, state, and federal law and many events have law enforcement escorts. Illegal activities include, but are not limited to PUBLIC INEBRIATION, ILLICIT DRUG USE, DRINKING AND DRIVING, and PUBLIC INDECENCY! Do not be the problem; be the solution.

5. NO WEAPONS/WEAPON ACCESSORIES:
This includes, but is not limited to, guns, flashbangs, grenades, knives, magazines, and ammo. Even if you have a license to carry it/own- do not bring it to the event.