General Privacy Policy Statement and Practices

The Association of the United States Army (“AUSA”) is concerned about the privacy of members, donors, volunteers and others. This Policy is intended to clearly outline our current privacy policy and practices.

Please read this Policy carefully before providing personal information to AUSA. By accessing or using the Website and/or providing any personal information to us, you are accepting the practices described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not accept these practices, please do not access or use the Website or provide us with your personal information.

Privacy Policy Updates

AUSA will occasionally update this Policy. Any changes to this Policy will be posted on AUSA’s website to help ensure that users are aware of what information we gather, how we might use that information and whether we will disclose it to anyone. We encourage you to review this page for the latest information on our privacy practices. The terms “You” and “User” are used to refer to anyone who is accessing the Website. 

Please address Privacy Policy inquiries to AUSA by e-mailing membersupport@ausa.org, by calling 1-855-246-6269 or by mailing Association of the United States Army, ATTN: Customer Service, 2425 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22201.

Scope of Privacy Policy & Terms and Conditions

This Policy is intended to cover all events and publications of Association of the United States Army including, but not limited to, the AUSA Annual Meeting, Global Force, LANPAC, AUSA publications, such as ARMY Magazine and AUSA NEWS.

From time to time, AUSA may apply a more stringent version of this Policy for an individual event, including those referenced above. Please refer to the specific privacy information related to those programs, if necessary.

Our Website are intended for a general audience (students, parents and teachers) and are not directed to children under 13.  We do not knowingly collect personal information online from children under 13.

Collected Information

You do not have to provide any personal information to read the content of our Website. However, there are many instances where an individual may provide AUSA with personal information. These include but are not limited to: meeting registration (e.g. AUSA Annual Meeting), an individual subscribing to one of our publications (e.g. Soldier Today) or other communications (e.g. enewsletter or eblast), an individual who is a member/volunteer or who is interested in volunteering/becoming a member, or an individual who makes a donation. Information that may be collected includes name, address, city, state, zip code, email address, date or year of birth, username and/or password.

Users may use the Website without registering, but registration must occur in order to use any of the personalized web services. The Website’ registration form requires specific contact information, including, but not limited to, name, address and e-mail address.  Users’ contact information is used to learn more about our Users and to contact Users when necessary. Unique identifiers are collected to verify a User's identity and for use as account numbers in our record system.

When you make a donation, become a member or renew a membership, we also ask for your credit card information (i.e., card type, number, security code and expiration date). Credit card payment processing is handled by a third party and we do not receive or store any credit card information.

To post comments on our Website, you must register with and provide personal information to a third-party provider. The personal information provided to the third-party provider is governed by its privacy policy.

The following guidelines set forth our practices for handling your personal information.

Members, donors, meeting attendees and other commercial activity

Many individuals provide information in order to become an AUSA member, receive AUSA communications, attend AUSA events or otherwise participate in or learn more about AUSA programs and publications. For example, Users may be prompted for address information in order to become an AUSA member. Addresses and other personally identifiable information will be stored as necessary to process and fulfill an individual’s, membership, subscription or other commercial transaction. AUSA may send solicitation and/or subscription offers along with these communications, subject to a User’s opt-out selection described below. This information may also be shared with other programs and publications of AUSA or as otherwise described elsewhere in this Policy.

E-mail Communications

AUSA sends email communications to current and past members, event attendees, volunteers, and other individuals or organizations upon request. Every bulk email includes an “unsubscribe” link that will allow the recipient to decline all future email communication from AUSA. Removal from all lists may take up to five business days to complete. Replying directly to the email, rather than using the unsubscribe form, may require additional time to process.

The only instance where an “unsubscribe” link would not be included in the bottom would be an email sent as direct correspondence from an AUSA staff person. Please respond directly back to that individual staff person if you would prefer to be removed from future communication.

Internal uses

The information that we collect is generally used for internal purposes such as processing your donation, providing our publications and services and fulfilling your requests for information. AUSA may collect information about the Users of the Website in order to assist in determining which parts of the Website visitors find most valuable. This allows AUSA to continually improve the services it provides.  For example, AUSA may track the URL that Users visited before Users came to the Website, the URL to which Users next go as well as Users’ IP addresses.  AUSA may also use Users’ IP addresses to help diagnose problems with AUSA’s servers and to administer the Website. 

Cookies or Other Tracking Technology

Cookies are files that contain information created by a web server that can be stored on a User's hard disk for use either during a particular session ("per-session" cookie) or for future use ("persistent" cookie). AUSA may use cookies to facilitate automated activity, store and track AUSA ID numbers, session status and navigation patterns. Cookies are not used to disseminate significant information about Users over the Internet or to analyze any information that Users have knowingly or unknowingly provided. When a User registers, the system will ask whether the User approves of the attachment of a cookie.

Users may instruct their Internet browsers to opt out of accepting a "persistent" cookie and rather accept only a "per-session" cookie, but will need to login each time they visit the Website to enjoy the full benefits. If the User declines the attachment of any cookie, the User may not have access to the full benefits of the website. Registration enables the Website to better determine a User’s interest areas and provide the most relevant information.

We may also use web beacons, clear gif technology, action tags or other technologies to collect aggregate website visitation data by tracking how users navigate to and through the Website. We may also use this technology to track the delivery of HTML email messages. Web beacons cannot be declined when delivered using a regular web page, but they can be refused when delivered by email. If you do not wish to receive web beacons by email, you will need to disable HTML images or select text only for emails received with your email software.

Some web browsers may transmit “do not track” signals to the Website with which the browser communicates. There is no standard that governs what, if anything, Website should do when they receive these signals. We do not currently take action in response to these signals. We may revise this policy if and when a standard for responding to these signals is established. 

We may use a web analytics service, such as Google Analytics, to record and analyze your activity on our Website.  The Website or any such service may track your browsing across web sites that use the same service, may collect statistical data and/or your IP address or track advertising effectiveness.  

Our Website interface with social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter and may include social media features such as the Facebook “like” button, widgets or interactive mini-programs that run on our Website. These features may collect your IP address, screen resolution, the type of browser you use, browsing information and may set a cookie to enable the feature to function properly. If you are a member of a social media site, the features may allow the social media site to connect your visit to our Website to your personal information. Your interactions with these features are governed by the privacy policy of the party providing it.

Third-Party Disclosure of Information/Opt-Out

AUSA contracts with third-party companies to provide certain services on a User’s behalf. These services include credit card processing, printing services, mail and email distribution and processing and other customer support services.  Information provided to third-party service providers is strictly limited to the services required or as required by law.

AUSA may use a User’s personally identifiable information to provide the User with promotional information about programs, services, events and publications offered by AUSA or select third-parties, including sponsors and their advertising and public relations agencies. AUSA may also share information with its sponsors and their advertising and public relations agencies.  

While we strive to ensure that any such parties will provide at least the same level of protection as this Privacy Policy offers, we are not responsible for the privacy practices of third parties and do not guarantee that these third parties have similar privacy practices.

A User may opt-out of such sharing with third-party organizations or modify User’s communication preferences at any time by emailing membersupport@ausa.org, by calling 1-855-246-6269 or by mailing Association of the United States Army, ATTN: Customer Service, 2425 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22201. 

AUSA may also use aggregate data that is not personally identifiable in discussions, presentations or reports to current or potential grantors. This data may include demographic, geographic or other broadly representative data.

AUSA will divulge any information collected from a User on the Website when required to do so by law. 

In the event that the Website or substantially all of our assets are acquired, merged or reorganized, your information may be transferred to another party.

 E-Commerce Security Practice

Maintaining the confidentiality of a User’s personal information is important to AUSA. The Website has security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse and alteration of the information that is under the control of AUSA. Credit card numbers are used for the limited purpose of processing your AUSA membership, registration, donation, or other orders. When a User’s credit card information is transmitted to AUSA for validation, it is secured by encryption technology, which enables information to be sent over the Internet in an encrypted form to ensure protection against unauthorized access to your personal information.  Notwithstanding the above, AUSA makes NO WARRANTY in respect of the strength or effectiveness of the encryption and AUSA is not responsible for events arising from unauthorized access of the information you provide. You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your username and password and are responsible for any unauthorized use.

Third Party Links/Advertisements

Our Website contain advertisements, sponsor messages and links to third party websites. This policy only addresses the use and disclosure of information that AUSA collects from Users. Although Users may link to other sites, third parties or their advertisements via the Website, AUSA is not responsible for the privacy practices of third parties or the content of linked sites or advertisements.

Your California Privacy Rights

In addition to the Privacy Rights provided for generally in these policies, California residents have the right to request in a mail, electronic mail or telephone communication, that AUSA disclose for the immediately preceding calendar year the categories of your personal information shared with third parties and the names and addresses of such third parties including the nature of the third-parties’ business.  If you are a California resident and would like to make this request, please contact us at the mail, electronic mail or telephone contact information under Third-Party Disclosures of Information above.

Access or Correct Your Information

You may view, correct or update the personal information we have about you by accessing and changing your personal information via your user account login or sending a request to membersupport@ausa.org.  If we use any of your personal information in a manner that you believe is inconsistent with this Privacy Policy, please contact us so that we may correct such inconsistency.

Data Retention

We will retain the information you provide to us and information automatically collected through the Website for as long as your user account or membership is active or as needed to provide our publications and services to you and for a reasonable time thereafter. Your personal information will remain on file indefinitely unless you instruct AUSA to delete your profile or otherwise opt-out. We will retain and use your information as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes and enforce our agreements. At any time, we may store non-personal information in the aggregate.

Minors Under 18

If you are a minor under the age of 18, you may request and obtain removal of certain content or information posted on our Website by sending an email to membersupport@ausa.org.  Please be advised that our removal of your post(s) does not ensure complete or comprehensive removal of the content or information you have posted on our Website. 

Inquiries

Please address inquiries concerning this Privacy Policy to AUSA by e-mailing membersupport@ausa.org, by calling 1-855-246-6269 or by mailing Association of the United States Army, ATTN: Customer Service, 2425 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22201.