Washington – The two U.S. soldiers seized in Iraq last week were given training for dealing with capture, but they also will have to call on their inner strength and faith in fellow soldiers who are searching for them, military officials and a former POW said Monday.
Before being sent to Iraq, Pfc. Kristian Menchaca of Houston and Pfc. Thomas Tucker of Madras, Ore., were taught in basic training the military code of conduct that requires resistance to captors, Defense Department officials said, then they were given specialized training on how to survive captivity.
“We have expanded the code of conduct over the past few years,” said Ray Harp, a spokesman for the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command.
The training includes information on the best ways and times to attempt an escape, how to communicate with fellow prisoners, and other information aimed at giving a soldier the best shot at either getting away or surviving the ordeal until released or rescued, Harp said.
Soldiers are shown a 23-minute video that expands on the basic code they are expected to embrace. They are taught to “resist by all means necessary” any aiding of their captors, and they are still taught that they are only required to disclose basic information such as name, rank and date of birth.
As for making statements to the enemy, soldiers are told to resist saying anything that would harm the United States and their fellow troops “to the utmost of my ability.”
“Soldiers are taught to believe that everyone possible will still be looking for them,” said Kelly Tyler, a spokeswoman for the 101st Airborne Division, based in Ft. Campbell, Ky., the missing men’s unit.
The two captured soldiers will need all the faith they can muster to handle a situation complicated by the fact that they are not held by a traditional warring state, said retired U.S. Air Force Col. David Eberly, who was held by the Iraqis in 1991 after being shot down in the early phases of Operation Desert Storm.
“We are fighting an enemy that doesn’t accept the traditional values of war,” said Eberly. “The Geneva Convention is out the window.”
The military does have separate guidance for personnel abducted by terrorists outside war zones, officials said. Unlike the training for Iraq and Afghanistan, which are considered war zones, that advice is “don’t resist capture.”
