Posted by
Over the Kohls on Thursday, April 05, 2007 7:48:44 AM
Below is the US Marines 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: |
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| 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 effort to escape and to aid others to escape. I will accept neither parole nor special favors from the enemy.
|
ARTICLE IV: |
| If I become a prisoner of war, I will keep faith with my fellow prisoners. I will give no information nor take part in any action which might be harmful to my comrades. If I am senior, I will take command. If not, I will obey lawful orders of those appointed over me and will back them in every way. |
ARTICLE V: |
| When questioned, should I become a prisoner of war, I am required to give name, rank, service number, and date of birth. I will evade answering further questions to the utmost of my ability. I will make no oral or written statements disloyal to my country or its allies or harmful to their cause. |
ARTICLE VI: |
| I will never forget that I am an American, fighting for freedom, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free |
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| I will trust in my God and in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. |
When I read this and then compare how our Armed Forces are supposed to react in a similar situation as the 15 British sailors found themselves in, I have to wonder if the Brits have a similar code. They must not because our guys a) are not supposed to surrender of their own free will if they have a means to resist as the Brits did have and b) our guys are only to give name rank and serial number when questioned and are not to give any oral or written statements harmful to the national cause.
I know its tough not to put yourself into their shoes as captives, but some of the obsequious comments made by these hostages toward the Iranians made my skin crawl and their admissions of guilt seemed to me way over the top. I would hope and pray that our men and women in the Armed Forces would show better form under these difficult circumstances.