Code of Conduct

The Code of Conduct, now formally known as the Code of the U.S. Fighting Force, provides American military personnel with guidelines for dealing with the threat of capture, interrogation, and coercion by enemy forces. The code was approved by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on August 17, 1955, with the expressed purpose of better preparing each service member “to counter and withstand all enemy efforts against him,” and to help instruct him on “the behavior and obligations expected of him during combat and captivity.” Today, every member of the U.S. Armed Forces receives annual training on the code. High-risk personnel, such as pilots and commandos, receive additional training in survival, evasion, resistance, and escape techniques, known as SERE. This entry highlights the content of the code ...