EANGUS will publish monthly talking points that you can pass out to your unit leadership that will help them explain what EANGUS does and how their membership in your State Association and EANGUS matters to the National Guard. They can be found here: http://dev.eangus.org/document-library/ under the Roll Calls folder.
If your State Association is having difficulty discussing Professional Organizations during drill or annual training time, there are a couple of documents that may assist you.
First, the Secretary of the Air Force and the Chief of Staff of the Air Force published a memo less than a year ago with the subject line of “Support for Military Associations”. In that memo, it specifically mentions the Air Force Sergeant’s Association, the Non-Commissioned Officers Association, and a few others that support, promote, and develop the interests of our Armed Forces and military professionals. Unfortunately, EANGUS and NGAUS were not specifically mentioned, but the intent was that discussing Professional Organizations and utilizing logistical support to disseminate information about their activities IS NOT PROHIBITED, in fact, the Secretary and the Chief of Staff of the Air Force went so far as to say that “We encourage your involvement with military associations to the extent allowable by Department of Defense and Air Force policies.” If Department of Defense policy prohibits discussing Professional Organizations or Military Associations during the duty day, then there would be no purpose for the Memo.
If your State Leadership is telling you that it is a violation of the Joint Ethics Reg to have any discussion of Professional Organization or Military Association events or efforts, that opinion is flat out wrong. The entire memo can be found here: http://dev.eangus.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2015/04/Support-for-Military-Associations-2014.pdf
There is another document from September 2012 from Lt Gen Richard C. Harding, the Judge Advocate General for the Department of the Air Force. That Memo states that “Professional military associations have co-existed with the Armed Forces since the beginning of our country and they will continue to play an important role in our future. I am confident that coordination between commanders and staff judge advocates will result in support for professional military associations to the extent that the law and resources permit.” That document can be found here: http://dev.eangus.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2015/04/Memo-to-JAG-Concerning-Professional-Military-Orgs.pdf
In the accompanying background paper, it states: Official communications channels may be used to distribute information notifying DoD personnel of events of common interest sponsored by associations, consistent with the JER and public affairs regulations (this is specifically pointing to conference information). It also states that Commanders may authorize limited use of official email support except for fundraising and membership drives.
Can you send out emails over the military email system that contain information on what EANGUS is working on for the National Guard in D.C.? You can if your Leadership looks for ways to say “yes” rather than “no”, and provided that you do not violate the 7 items listed in AFM 33-152 (they are listed in the background paper).
Can you set out membership applications, leaflets, or flyers in installation common areas? Absolutely, provided that similar groups are given the same opportunity.
The take-away here is that putting out information (membership or otherwise) is NOT absolutely forbidden by the JER. The point is that it is permissible (the Secretary of the Air Force and the Chief of Staff of the Air Force even used the word “encouraged”) to convey basic factual information about military associations. Anyone telling your Association that any discussion of Military Associations and Professional Associations during the duty day is strictly forbidden by the Joint Ethic Reg or official DoD policy is in disagreement with the documents and guidance put out by the Secretary of the Air Force, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and the Judge Advocate General.