What Actions Should You Take When Capture Is Imminent?
When capture is imminent you should sanitize personal and sensitive materials (destroy or hide anything of intelligence value), retain your issued/personal military cell phone if possible, and leave evidence of your presence at the capture point so recovery forces can track you. These steps come from SERE 100.2 Level A training and support the Code of Conduct.
The answer
When capture is imminent, SERE 100.2 (Level A) instructs you to take three linked actions: sanitize any personal or sensitive materials, retain your personal (military-issued) cell phone if you are able to, and leave evidence of your presence at the point of capture. Each action is deliberate, and together they protect you, protect the mission, and improve your chances of recovery.
Sanitizing means removing, destroying, or concealing anything an enemy could exploit — classified documents, maps, unit rosters, photos, GPS logs, or notes. If the enemy cannot recover intelligence from you, they gain far less from taking you, and fellow service members and operations stay protected.
Retaining your cell phone matters because it may still hold recovery value: it can carry location data, allow a signal, or provide information to friendly forces if recovered. It is kept only when doing so does not endanger you further.
Leaving evidence of your presence — a marker, disturbed ground, an item, or an agreed sign — helps isolated-personnel recovery teams confirm you were there and establish a track. Recovery begins with knowing where you were last, so a visible trace can be the difference between a search and a rescue.
Why this ties to the Code of Conduct
The U.S. Military Code of Conduct is a six-article moral guide for service members who face capture. Article I commits you to defend the country and its way of life; Article II states you will never surrender of your own free will. When capture becomes unavoidable despite resistance, these actions honor the Code: you continue to resist by denying the enemy usable intelligence (sanitizing), you preserve tools that aid lawful escape and recovery (retaining the phone), and you support the promise that the nation will work to bring you home (leaving evidence to be found).
Sanitizing before capture is essentially pre-emptive resistance. The Code obligates you to give only name, rank, service number, and date of birth if questioned, and to avoid statements harmful to your country. Destroying sensitive material beforehand removes leverage an interrogator could use and reduces the pressure placed on you.
The bigger picture
SERE stands for Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape. Level A (SERE 100.2) is the baseline course required of most military members, teaching the Code of Conduct and the fundamentals of behaving with honor in captivity. The 'capture is imminent' checklist is where survival planning and the Code intersect: you have exhausted evasion, so you prepare to resist and to be recovered.
Actions that would be wrong include destroying your own means of recovery unnecessarily, hiding so completely that no one can track you, or carrying exploitable materials into captivity. The correct set — sanitize, retain the phone, leave a trace — balances denial of intelligence against your own survival and rescue.
What Actions Should You Take When Capture Is Imminent?
Frequently asked
What is SERE 100.2 Level A training?
SERE 100.2 is the entry-level Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape course required for most U.S. military members. Level A teaches the Code of Conduct and the basic behaviors expected of anyone at risk of isolation or capture, including what to do when capture is imminent.
What is the Code of Conduct for military members?
The Code of Conduct is a six-article ethical guide for U.S. service members facing capture. It commits them to keep resisting, never surrender willingly, attempt escape, resist exploitation, and give only name, rank, service number, and date of birth if questioned.
What should you do if captured by the enemy?
Continue to resist within your means, give only the four items allowed under the Code of Conduct (name, rank, service number, date of birth), avoid statements harmful to your country, look for chances to escape, and keep faith with fellow captives and the nation working to recover you.
Why sanitize sensitive materials before capture?
Sanitizing removes intelligence the enemy could exploit against you, your unit, or ongoing operations. Destroying or concealing documents, maps, and data before capture is a form of resistance that reduces an interrogator's leverage and protects other personnel.