Code Of Conduct Flashcards
What does SERE stand for?
Survival, evasion, resistance, and escape
What document is international law that describes treatment of prisoners of war?
Geneva Convention of 1949
What are the duties of individual soldiers for code of conduct and SERE?
Ensure that they understand the contents and meaning of the code of conduct and SERE. Soldiers will adhere to these guidelines to the utmost of their ability.
What should soldiers who become isolated from their unit in the course of combat operations continue to do?
Fight, evade capture, and regain contact with friendly forces
What should soldiers that are captured do?
Soldiers must live, act and speak in a manner that leaves no doubt that they adhere to:
Traditions of the US Army
Their mission of resisting enemy attempts at interrogation, indoctrination and other exploitation
When does training in the code of conduct begin?
Upon entry into the US Army
What is the role and responsibilities of the US toward POWs?
1) Each POW continues to be of special concern to the US. The rights to which a POW is entitled (promotion status, pay and allowances, and dependent care) continue during captivity
2) every available means will be used to establish contact with and to gain release of a POW
3) during the POW’s captivity, every available means will be used to ensure that the POW is given protection and rights under the provisions of the GPW
What must all training programs of the code of conduct impress upon all soldiers?
1) A clear, uniform understanding of the continuing obligations, responsibilities, and the behavior expected of the soldier in combat or while a POW
2) A positive acceptance of the Code and the recognition that observing its guidelines is a military obligation. Acceptance and recognition of the Code should include an understanding of the relationship between the Code and UCMJ
3) an unqualified determination and belief in soldiers ability to to effectively oppose enemy against them, their fellow soldiers, and their country during peacetime, combat, or captivity
4) A confidence in the soldiers knowledge of what to expect if captured. An increased ability by individual soldiers to deny information and to resist, to the utmost of his ability, enemy interrogation, exploitation, and indoctrination
5) An understanding that POW compounds are in many ways an extension of the battlefield. In a POW camp, a positive attitude toward personal duty is fundamental in keeping faith with fellow POWs and resisting enemy attempts at exploitation
What are soldiers required to maintain while in a POW camp?
1) rank and leadership
2) military bearing
3) order and discipline
4) teamwork and devotion to fellow soldiers
5) the duty to defeat enemies of our country at all times
What does GPW stand for?
Geneva Prisoner of War Standards
What is the intent of the GPW?
To provide for the protection, health, and welfare of POWs and other noncombatants while awaiting repatriation
What information are POWs authorized by the GPW to give captors?
Name, rank, identification number, and date of birth
Can captors coerce POWs to provide information or to take action supporting the captor’s war efforts?
No
What are 3 ways captors have attempted to exploit American POWs in recent history?
1) psychological pressure
2) physical mistreatment
3) medical neglect to obtain information, propaganda , or other support for their war effort
If a soldier is returned from capture, what information is classified military information and will be divulged only in a debriefing conducted by designated military officials?
1) information regarding means and methods of evasion and escape
2) details of capture and imprisonment
3) release from internment or captivity
4) details of repatriation
How many levels of Code of Conduct are there?
Three: Levels A, B, C
Is the use of POW compounds during field exercises for instruction in the Code of Conduct?
No
How many articles are in the Code of Conduct?
6
What does the term “fighting man” in Article 1 refer to?
All soldiers. Article 1 applies to each soldier in combat or in captivity
What soldiers are given special “retained status” by the 1949 Geneva Convention including the GPW?
Medical personnel and chaplains
What does the GPW require all medical personnel and chaplains be allowed to perform?
Their professional duties while captured. However, the captors control the degree to which these duties can be performed
What does Article II mean?
When escape is impossible
When is the means to evade considered exhausted?
When further fighting would lead to the soldier’s death with no significant loss to the enemy
When should a commander never surrender?
A commander should never surrender while isolated, cut off, or surrounded, as long as the unit has the power to resist, break out, or evade to rejoin friendly forces
What are the key words of Article II?
“Of my own free will”. In most cases, there will be a means to resist or escape. In extreme situations, the means to resist or evade might be exhausted
What might captors offer to POWs in return for statements, information, and pledges or agreements not to try to escape?
Special favors or privileges
Can soldiers seek special favors/privileges?
Soldiers must not seek special privileges or accept favors at the expense of fellow POWs.
When must soldiers take advantage of escape opportunities?
Under the guidance of the senior military person and the POW organization and whenever the opportunity arises
What publication covers code of conduct?
AR 350-30
Are soldiers allowed to bargain with the enemy for their own release ahead of fellow POWs?
No because this would failure to keep faith
Who should control and supervise release of POWs if the enemy permits?
The senior military POW
What order does the GPW describe that POWs be released?
1) seriously sick/wounded as soon as their medical condition permits movement
2) others on a first-captured, first-released basis
Who is in command in an enemy POW camp?
The senior ranking officer unless the enemy doesn’t allow it and one is selected. Even then the senior is covertly in command
Who is in command in an enemy POW camp with only enlisted personnel?
A prisoner’s representative will be elected. However, it is US policy that the prisoner’s representative does not have command unless the representative is also the senior military person regardless of service. The senior will assume and retain command, covertly if necessary
Who is not allowed to be in command in an enemy POW camp?
Medical personnel and chaplains
What is a volunteer informer or collaborator to the enemy considered?
A traitor to fellow prisoners and country and, after repatriation, is subject to punishment under UCMJ
What is one of the most important ways POWs can aid one another?
Maintain communication
Why is maintaining communication between POWs so important?
Communication breaks down the barrier of isolation (constructed by the enemy) and helps strengthen the POWs will to resist
What should happen if the enemy does not permit a military command structure to be formed or to function?
An organization of elected representatives as provided for in the GPW may be established. However, in such a case, the senior person will continue to exercise the authority over all POW matters, covertly if necessary
What is one of the primary ways to organize successfully against captor exploitation?
Leadership and obedience to those in command are essential to the discipline required to organized successfully against captor exploitation
What can happen if obedience and failure to maintain leadership in a POW camp result in?
Weakening of organization, a lowering of resistance, and, after repatriation, may result in legal proceedings under UCMJ
What 3 things should POWs understand about collaborators?
1) an informer/collaborator should be insulated from sensitive information, but continuing efforts should be made to encourage or persuade the collaborator to cease such activities
2) welcoming a repentant collaborator “back to the fold” is generally a more effective technique than continued isolation, which may only encourage the collaborator to continue such treasonous conduct
3) there is a significant difference between the collaborator who must be persuaded to return and the resistant who, having been physically or mentally tortured into complying with a captor’s improper demand (such as information or propaganda statement) should be helped to gather strength and return to resistance
Other than name, rank, service number, and date of birth, what other things may a POW share with captor’s?
1) fill out a Geneva Convention capture card
2) write letters home
3) communicate with captor’s on matters of health and welfare
What are some example of information that are not allowed for POW to give captors?
1) oral/written confessions
2) questionnaires
3) personal history statements
4) propaganda recordings and broadcast appeals to other POWs to comply with improper captor demands
5) appeals for surrender or parole
6) self-criticisms
7) oral/written statements/communications helpful to the enemy or harmful to the US, its allies, the armed forces, or other POWs
What will some countries do if a soldier makes a signed statement, confession, or a signed confession?
Certain countries qualify their acceptance of the GPW, stating that a war crimes conviction has the effect of depriving the convicted individual of POW status. The action may remove the POW from protection under the GPW and lead to the loss of the right to repatriation until a prison sentence is served.
What is the best way for POWs to keep faith with their countries, fellow POWs and themselves?
To provide the enemy with as little information as possible
If a civilian is also held captive with military personnel, what should military personnel encourage the civilian to do?
To participate in the military organization and accept the authority of the senior military member
When and by whom was the code of conduct signed?
President Dwight D. Eisenhower on August 17, 1955
