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The mission of the Department of Defense Inspector General Hotline is to provide a confidential, reliable means to report violations of law, rule, or regulation; fraud, waste, and abuse; mismanagement; trafficking in persons; serious security incidents; or other criminal or administrative misconduct that involve DOD personnel and operations, without fear of reprisal.

Although you may contact the DOD Hotline at any time, a faster way to resolve your complaint is usually to first contact your local or command-level Inspector General's Office. Call the Inspector General Hotline at 800-424-9098. 

If this is an emergency, call 911. To report criminal activity, contact your local police or sheriff's department first as they can best determine if a report of criminal activity needs attention. The USAGov website offers additional tips and resources for reporting local or state law violations as well as violations of Federal law.

You may also report suspected violations of Federal law to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Submit a tip at https://www.fbi.gov/tips or call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324). 

Scam avoidance education and resources

Military members, DOD civilians, Defense contractors, veterans, and their family members serve our country with integrity and honor. Unfortunately, there are scammers out there who try to take advantage of that service to cheat them. You can best protect yourself against military scams by learning the warning signs of schemes that target members of the military community.

Military OneSource has a helpful article with tips on how to recognize the warning signs of the most common military scams.

The Military Consumer is a joint government initiative to empower active duty and retired service members, military families, veterans and civilians in the military community. These free resources can be the first line of defense against fraud and make better-informed decisions when managing your money.

The Federal Trade Commission offers information to the broader public about how to recognize and avoid common scams and fraud.

Victims of scams

If you or someone you know is a victim of a scam, there are a number of resources available about important actions to take and how to submit reports.

Military members may be able to get help from their command’s legal office.

The Federal Trade Commission has information on what to do if you were scammed.

The USA.gov website has information on how to submit reports about various types of scams.

The DOD Safe Helpline is the sole secure, confidential, and anonymous crisis support service specially designed for members of the Department of Defense community affected by sexual assault. Information about reporting options may be found on the DOD Safe Helpline website.

If you prefer, you may also speak or chat with a trained staff member who can provide you confidential crisis support:

• Call: 877-995-5247
• Chat: https://chat-ohl4.safehelpline.org/tos/SHL

The DOD Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office is responsible for oversight of the department's sexual assault policy and programs. SAPRO works hand-in-hand with the military services and the civilian community to develop and implement effective prevention and response programs.

The National Resource Directory lists vetted local community and nonprofit resources that may be able to assist and provide a variety of services and support to members of the military and veteran community recovering from a major disaster.

The American Red Cross offers disaster response and recovery assistance to meet the immediate disaster-related needs of individuals, families, and communities.

Federal Emergency Management Agency
FEMA's mission is helping people before, during, and after disasters. The FEMA website contains helpful information for individuals in need of immediate assistance and aid following a major natural disaster:

The Disaster Assistance Improvement Program
The Disaster Assistance Improvement Program’s mission is to provide disaster survivors with information, support, services, and a means to access and apply for disaster assistance through joint data-sharing efforts between federal, tribal, state, local, and private sector partners.

Ready.gov
Launched in February 2003, Ready is a National public service campaign designed to educate and empower the American people to prepare for, respond to and mitigate emergencies, including natural and man-made disasters. The goal of the campaign is to promote preparedness through public involvement.

Military families are stationed all over the world and may not always have family nearby to help when disaster strikes. No one wants to think about worst case scenarios; however, you’ll have peace of mind when you take the time to create an emergency plan for your family.

Military OneSource gives you guidance on what you need to know to prepare for any kind of emergency.

DOD issuances contain the various policies and procedures the govern and regulate activities and missions across the defense enterprise. They take the form of formal directives, instructions, publications and manuals, administrative instructions, and directive-type memorandums.

DOD also publishes forms that are used for a variety of internal purposes and for members of the public to request information and services.

These documents may be found on the DOD Washington Headquarters Services issuance website.

Each Military Department publishes forms and regulations that similarly govern and regulate the activities within its respective military branch:

• U.S. Army:  https://armypubs.army.mil
• U.S. Marine Corps: https://www.marines.mil/News/Publications  
• U.S. Navy:  https://www.secnav.navy.mil/doni/default.aspx
• U.S. Air Force: https://www.e-publishing.af.mil/Product-Index
• U.S. Space Force: https://www.e-publishing.af.mil/Product-Index/#/?view=cat&catID=20

The Defense Office of Prepublication and Security Review manages the Department of Defense Security Review program, reviewing written materials both for public and controlled release. This includes the mandatory pre-release review of official government and defense industry work products, as well as materials (such as books and articles) submitted by cleared or formerly cleared individuals pursuant to their voluntary non-disclosure agreement obligations. DOPSR also coordinates official work products with Defense enterprise stakeholders to ensure that information being released is both accurate and represents the Department’s official position.

The Defense Department and military seals are protected by law and reserved for official use only. Under U.S. Code Title 18, Section 506, unauthorized use of the seals may include, but is not limited to commercial, marketing, advertising or promotion use by any nongovernment entity and is punishable.

Military services have provided alternatives to their seals for commercial purposes. They include logos or coats of arms. Permission to use any of these emblems must be granted by the respective services. There is no substitute for the Defense Department seal.