Final answer:
The Code of Conduct for Members of the Armed Forces of the United States outlines how US military personnel should behave if captured. It aims to ensure they act with honor and adhere to international regulations like the Geneva Conventions. Supreme Court cases have further elaborated the legal rights of detained individuals in the context of the war on terror.
Step-by-step explanation:
The document that defines how US military personnel should act if they are captured during times of war is the Code of Conduct for Members of the Armed Forces of the United States.
This Code of Conduct provides guidelines on how American soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen should resist enemy efforts at exploitation and to conduct themselves with honor and dignity. Moreover, this document discusses humane treatment in accordance with the Geneva Conventions, which are a key component of international humanitarian law.
These guidelines became particularly relevant in the context of the war on terror, when the U.S. grappled with how to treat foreign terrorists captured in Afghanistan and Iraq. In this new kind of conflict, extracting intelligence became a top priority, leading to debates over human rights and constitutional protections.
These issues were addressed in key Supreme Court cases like Hamdan v. Rumsfeld and Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, which clarified the legal rights of detainees and enemy combatants, as well as the application of U.S. law and the Geneva Conventions.