Why do I need an ethics opinion before taking a defense industry job?
One-way door— Once this passes, it cannot be undone or re-elected.
Post-government employment restrictions follow you out the door. They are based on what you personally worked on and what you supervised, and some of them carry criminal penalties rather than administrative ones.
If you skip it
A restriction discovered after you start is not fixed by resigning. The exposure attaches to the conduct, and the same facts can cost you the job, the employer the contract, and you a criminal referral.
The restrictions are personal, not generic
There is no single rule that says “you may not work for a defense contractor”. What exists is a set of restrictions keyed to your own history: the particular matters you worked on personally and substantially, the matters that were under your official responsibility, and in some cases the specific contractor you dealt with.
That means nobody can tell you the answer from your rank or your career field. Two people retiring on the same day from the same office can face different restrictions.
Why “everyone does it” is not evidence
Post-government employment is common and mostly lawful, which is exactly what makes it risky: the base rate of trouble is low enough that the topic is discussed casually, and the casual version of the advice is always some form of “it will be fine”.
It usually is. The cases where it is not tend to involve someone who was closer to a specific procurement than they remembered being.
Criminal, not just administrative
Most career missteps in this site cost money or an opportunity. This category is different: certain post-government employment restrictions are criminal statutes.
That difference is the whole reason to get a written opinion rather than a hallway reassurance. It changes the cost of being wrong from “I lose a job” to something a lawyer has to defend.
Get it in writing, before you accept
Your service’s ethics counsel provides this, it is free to you, and the request is routine. Ask before you accept — not after you start and certainly not after a problem surfaces.
Ask about your specific prospective employer and your specific role, not about defense industry work in general. A general question produces a general answer that protects nobody. Then keep the written opinion. It is the document that shows you asked.
What to actually do
The steps this answers for. An explanation that does not return you to an action is just an essay.
Check it yourself
Every claim on this page should be verifiable at its source. These are the authorities, not summaries of them.
This page explains why a decision matters. It is not financial, legal, tax or VA advice, and it is not a promise of any benefit.