Análisis de PGEM

C-1. Source: Donna Miles, American Press Services News Articles (released April 27, 1999), “Code of Conduct: Guide to Keeping the Faith,” available from http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=42786; Internet; accessed 7 August 2008.

See also, Army Field Manual FM 3-21.75, The Warrior Ethos and Soldier Combat Skills, January 2008, APP A, A-4.

C-2. This appendix provides a US Department of Defense overview of the Code of Conduct and the importance of knowing and complying with the obligations and responsibilities as a United States service member in the many different types of operations that are confronted in the contemporary operational environment. This press release [sourced at paragraph C-1 above] was issued shortly after the abduction of Staff Sergeant Andrew Ramirez, Staff Sergeant Christopher Stone and Specialist. Steven Gonzales, three cavalry scouts abducted March 31, 1999 by the Yugoslavian army while on a border patrol in the Former Republic of Macedonia.

BACKGROUND

C-3. President Dwight Eisenhower introduced the uniquely American code of conduct in 1955, he said, partly in response to the North Koreans' use of prisoners for political propaganda during the Korean War.

C-4. Service members who've been captured have cited the code as the foundation that helped them through the toughest times in their military careers. The code is based on time-honored concepts and traditions that date back to the American Revolution.

C-5. The six articles outline the obligations and responsibilities of US service members in harm's way:

Code of Conduct

OBLIGATIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• To defend of the United States and its way of life.

• To avoid surrender and to evade capture at any cost short of death.

• To try to escape if captured.

• To reject favors from the enemy.

• To help fellow prisoners stay alive.

• To avoid collaborating with the enemy.

• To avoid statements or writing that discredits the United States or its allies.

• To maintain personal responsibility for all actions.

• To trust the US government to care for your loved ones and work toward your release.

C-6. Though not law or regulation, the code often coincides with the provisions of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, particularly those involving conduct in the face of the enemy, while evading capture or as a prisoner of war.

C-7. As demanding as the Code of Conduct may appear, many former US Prisoners of War called it "a lifesaver that gave them something to hold onto during their captivity."

• Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Michael Durant said he couldn't have recited its six articles -- but clearly understood the spirit of the code and let it govern his actions when he was taken captive in October 1993 in Mogadishu, Somalia. Durant suffered a broken back, a compound fracture of his right leg and a broken cheekbone when his helicopter was shot down during a firefight that ultimately cost the lives of 18 US soldiers. While in captivity, Durant's guards shot him in the arm. The Somalis also videotaped and broadcast images of his battered face.

• Ironically, Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Bobby Hall had read the code just minutes before he left Camp Page, South Korea, on an ill-fated training mission in 1994. Hall and copilot Chief Warrant Officer 2 David Hilemon had been waiting for the weather to clear so they could depart. By chance, Hall looked at a nearby wall and started reading the words on a Code of Conduct poster. Those words, Hall said, helped him through 13 days of captivity after

15 September 2008 TRADOC G2 Handbook No.1.06 C-3 his OH-58A Kiowa helicopter accidentally strayed over the border and the North Koreans shot him down.

• Air Force Captain Scott O'Grady said the Code of Conduct gave him the will to drive on and evade capture for six days after his F-16 fighter was shot down by a surface-to-air missile over Bosnia in 1995. "I knew it was my duty to survive," he said, adding that the code reminded him that, although alone behind enemy lines, "I was still part of a team working to get me out, and I had to do my part."

• Following the Code of Conduct "takes perseverance, motivation, bravery and courage," according to Lieutenant Commander Larry Slade, an F-14 Tomcat "backseater" shot down in 1991 during Operation Desert Storm. But, he said, the code helped him survive 43 days in the hands of the Iraqis with honor.

C-8. The military has changed countless times since the introduction of the Code of Conduct in 1955, but the code itself has changed just twice. Its words were made gender neutral. The other change, initiated after the Vietnam War, clarified that service members may provide their captors more than just name, rank, Social Security number and birth date. The change was intended to allow prisoners some discretion if they are facing torture or other life-threatening circumstances. Prisoners of war may discuss more than just the "big four," as long as they don't willingly give their captors information that violates the code, even in the face of mental and physical duress.

Code of Conduct

THE CODE OF CONDUCT

ARTICLE I:

I am an American, fighting in the forces which guard my country and our way of life. I am prepared to give my life in their defense.

ARTICLE II:

I will never surrender of my own free will. If in command, I will never surrender the members of my command while they still have the means to resist.

ARTICLE III:

If I am captured I will continue to resist by all means available. I will make every