Executive Order 12017 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order 12017—American Prisoners of War

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Thursday, November 3, 1977

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1 min read (232 words)

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

This executive order, signed by President Jimmy Carter on 1977-11-03, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "American Prisoners of War." It is a direct, concise executive instruction delivering focused administrative or military commands to department leadership.

Constitutional Assessment: Scrutinized through Article II, Section 2, this action exercises the President's constitutional role as Commander in Chief. Early Framers recognized broad executive discretion in commanding military forces during conflict, provided it remains bounded by congressional declarations and respects civilian domestic courts.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

▪ AMENDING THE CODE OF CONDUCT FOR MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES The Code of Conduct has been an established standard of behavior for all members of the Armed Forces of the United States for more than twenty years.

▪ 10631 of August 17, 1955, is hereby amended to read as follows: "When questioned, should I become a prisoner of war, I am required to give name, rank, service number and date of birth.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Foreign Nations & International Entities

Total Words

232

1,337 characters

Estimated Read Time

1 min

@ 200 words / min

Flesch-Kincaid

11.8

Post-Grad reading level

Constitutional Polarity

+0.02

Framers' Alignment index

📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 12017, Jimmy Carter (Nov 3, 1977). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-12017-american-prisoners-war.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →

AMENDING THE CODE OF CONDUCT FOR MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES The Code of Conduct has been an established standard of behavior for all members of the Armed Forces of the United States for more than twenty years. It has helped individuals in captivity to sustain their moral and physical strength and to survive extreme torture and abuse. However, experience indicates that certain words of the Code have, on occasion, caused confusion resulting in training divergencies. Now, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States of America, and as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States, in order to clarify the meaning of certain words, Article V of the Code of Conduct for Members of the Armed Forces of the United States, attached to and made a part of Executive Order No. 10631 of August 17, 1955, is hereby amended to read as follows: "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 and its allies or harmful to their cause.". JIMMY CARTER The White House, November 3, 1977. [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 3:51 p.m., November 3, 1977]