- In 1955, President Eisenhower issued E.O. 10631 creating the modern day
concept of the Code of Conduct (CoC) in response to Korean War POW
conduct. The CoC provides guidance to U.S. POWs as to their
responsibilities and obligations as members of the U.S. Armed Forces. - Between 1955 and 1979 DoD issued guidance on the Code of Conduct five
times.Il7 - Most recent change did not substantively change the Code of Conduct. It
only made the Code gender neutral. See E.O. 12633. - The CoC contains six brief Articles that addresses those situations and
decision areas that all personnel could encounter. It includes basic
information useful to U.S. POWs in their efforts to survive honorably while
resisting their captor's efforts to exploit them to the advantage of the enemy's
cause and their own disad~antage.~~~ - Code of Conduct Applies Regardless of Service member's "Status" (i.e.,
MOOTW).119 - Code of Conduct is not a Punitive Regulation or General Order. It is a Moral
Code rather than a legal ~ode.~"owever, a violation of the Code of
The treatment of American POWs by the North Koreans was some of the worst conditions in history. Of
the 6,656 Army soldiers taken prisoner during the war, only 3,323 were ultimately repatriated. Julius Segal,
FACTORSRELATEDTO THE COLLABORATION AND RESISTANCE BEHAVIOR OF U.S. ARMYPW'S IN KOREA 4
(Dec. 1956). See Note: Misconduct in the Prison Camp: A Survey of the Law and an Analysis ofthe Korean
Cases, 56 COL. L. REV 709 (1956), for a detailed factual and legal analysis of Korean POWs experiences.
[I7 DoD issued guidance through Dep't of Def., Pamphlet 8-1, U.S. Fighting Man's Code first issued in
November 1955 and revised three times. DoD also issued in July 1965, DoD Dir. 1300.7, Training and
Education Measures Necessary to Support the Code of Conduct (July 8, 1964). However, this guidance left it
to the individual services to develop, interpret, and train its servicemembers on the Code. This lead to
interpretation problems by US. POWs in North Vietnam.Notice that the code applies to servicemembers. This can create a problem when civilians become
prisoners of war. See Michael Kalapos, A Discussion Of The Relationship Of Military And Civilian
Contractor Personnel In The Event Members Of Both Groups Become Prisoners of War (1987) (unpublished
Executive Research Project, Industrial College of the Armed Forces), available in DTIC, ref. # AD-B115 978;
James Clunan, Civilian-Military Relations Among Prisoners of War in Southeast Asia: Applications Today
(1987)(unpublished Executive Research Project, Industrial College of the Armed Forces), available in DTIC,
ref. # AD-Bl15 905.
See generally, Richard E. Porter, The Code of Conduct: A Guide to Moral Responsibility, 32 AIR.UNIV.
REV. 107 (Jan. -Feb. 1983).