7-1. General. This chapter discusses the marking of aircraft and the wearing of uniforms or distinctive national insignia by aerial combatants including aircrews and parachutists. A uniform in this context includes normal flight suits when they are sufficiently distinctive in character to distinguish the wearer from the civilian population.

7-2. Uniform Requirements of Ground Forces. United States Army Field Manual, FM 27-10, The Law of Land Warfare, discusses the legal requirement that ground forces be uniformed.

Members of the armed forces of a party to the conflict and members of militias or volunteer corps forming a part of such armed forces lose their right to be treated as prisoners of war whenever they deliberately conceal their status in order to pass behind the military lines of the enemy for the purpose of gathering military information or for the purpose of waging war by destruction of life or property. Putting on civilian clothes or the uniform of the enemy are examples of concealment of the status of the member of the armed forces.2 Ground forces engaged in actual combat, in contrast to ground forces preparing for combat, are required to wear their own uniform or distinctive national insignia. A uniform is a badge of identification required of ground combatants in order to distinguish them from civilians or from enemy combatants and to preserve their rights, if captured, as prisoners of war. Failure to wear a uniform when captured does not automatically result in denial of prisoner of war status. It does raise doubt as to whether the individual captured is, in

fact, a lawful combatant in the conflict and, therefore, entitled to prisoner of war status.

7-3. Uniform Requirements: Aerial Warfare:3 a. Aircrews. In contrast to ground forces, military aircrews flying in combat are not required by international law to wear either a uniform or national insignia. Since the aircraft is the entity of combat, its markings fully inform the enemy of the combatant status of its occupants while they are in the aircraft. If captured, their identity cards, required by the Geneva Conventions of 1949, constitute sufficient evidence that they have lawful combatant status. In fact, aircrew members do customarily wear uniforms because flight suits fully qualify as uniforms when they are so distinctive in character as to distinguish the wearer from the civilian population. Moreover, military crew members should be in regular Air Force flight suit or other uniform for their own protection in case they are forced down. For example, they may need to engage in hostilities on the ground to resist capture. In that connection, the prohibition of perfidy, such as disguising oneself as a civilian in order to engage in hostilities, discussed in chapter 8, is applicable. In addition, any attempt by a downed airman while out of his own flight suit or other uniform to secure military information in enemy or enemy occupied territory may subject him to treatment as a spy, when captured. If, while in civilian clothes and behind enemy lines, he attempts to destroy enemy war material, he may subject himself to treatment as a saboteur. Additionally, the risk of a mistake, by the adversary, over the status and identity of the downed crew is increased by failure to wear a regular Air Force flight suit or other uniform. Accordingly, there are numerous legal and practical reasons why regular flight

suits or other uniforms should be worn. Article 93 of the 1949 GPW, recognizes that escaping PWs may wear civilian clothes for the purpose of facilitating their escape even though they intend to resume hostilities after rejoining their units.

b. Parachutists. Paratroops must normally wear uniforms such as regular flight suits or other distinctive national insignia in order to be entitled, if captured, to treatment as PWs. Paratroops descend in order to engage in combat as individuals and, therefore, are required to be clearly identifiable as combatants. The fact that paratroops may temporarily descend behind enemy lines to operate in small numbers does not terminate their lawful combatant status. Pilots and other crew members descending by parachute from aircraft in distress are not required by international law to wear uniforms such as regular flight suits or distinctive national insignia. However, in view of their potential need to engage in hostile acts on the ground, they should be in their own uniform for their protection. This is further reinforced by the potential problems which might arise if they are in civilian clothes, discussed in paragraph 7-3a. Firing upon paratroops or other persons descending by

parachute including aircrew members is discussed in paragraph 4-2e.

7-4. Emblems of Nationality. While combatant airmen are not absolutely required to wear a uniform or distinctive national insignia while flying in combat, improper use of the military insignia or uniform of the enemy is forbidden. Consequently, airmen should not wear the uniform or national insignia of the enemy while engaging in combat operations. Military aircraft, as entities of combat in aerial warfare, are also required to be marked with appropriate signs of their nationality and military character. However, circumstances may exist where such markings are superfluous and are not required. An example is when no other aircraft except those belonging to a single state are flown. Such markings serve to distinguish friend from foe and serve to preclude misidentification as neutral or civilian aircraft. Accordingly, military aircraft may not bear markings of the enemy or markings of neutral aircraft while engaging in combat. Combatant markings should be prominently affixed to the exterior aircraft surfaces and be recognizable at a reasonable distance from any direction.