text: Army Personnel Recovery Operations
  remain key enablers in mission command, the quality of the information is equally important. Generally, a
  command’s ability to improve situational awareness about an isolated person or group directly correlates to
  a positive outcome of an isolating event.
  1-79. Communication is most important to the isolated person or group. Isolated individuals expect that
  higher headquarters and recovery forces have robust systems to identify and locate them. However, that
  does not relieve those individuals of the responsibility to know how to communicate with these
  organizations. Their knowledge results directly from their preparation. Knowledge of how to use
  communications equipment is a basic Soldier skill. Knowledge of, and the ability to use, personnel
  recovery related equipment such as a distress beacon is the key to a potential recovery. Low-tech
  communications systems augment electronic systems. Effective units train each Soldier in the use of visual
  signals such as colored panels, reflective mirrors, or signal fires.
  NAVIGATE
  1-80. Both personnel and units require strong navigational skills. The ability to identify one’s location and
  reach another location without getting lost or being discovered by an adversary is critical in personnel
  recovery. In a mission with the potential for isolation, all personnel must know how to locate and move to
  friendly forces. Isolated forces with the ability to communicate can direct friendly forces to their location
  only if they accurately know that location. Conversely, a unit conducts personnel recovery operations more
  efficiently if it knows where the isolated personnel were when they lost contact. When isolated persons
  have a communications link with a friendly headquarters or unit, they can use an azimuth or a bearing to
  prominent objects such as a terrain feature to direct forthcoming help. Adept recovery forces know
  navigation techniques to locate and vector to the isolated person. Global Positioning Systems and map
  reading skills also prove valuable when conducting recovery missions.
  PRESERVE LIFE
  1-81. Preservation of life is a basic human drive. Individuals may find themselves in austere conditions that
  challenge their ability to stay healthy and assist in their own recovery. Commanders and staffs must plan
  and prepare for the situation in which the isolated person or group cannot remain under the conditions of
  isolation for a long time. The unit or recovery force must act quickly to locate and recover the isolated
  individuals without exposing itself to unnecessary danger from hostile forces or the environment.
  1-82. Preservation of life in an isolating event is a shared responsibility. The chain of command has the
  responsibility to provide the means for survival (security, food, water, shelter, clothing, medical, and moral
  support) to those isolated. This is both an immediate need and a long-term challenge to the command. The
  command can only succeed if it trains and equips individuals to survive isolation. The most valuable
  proficiency for isolated persons is the ability to survive long enough to conduct unassisted recovery or to be
  located and recovered by friendly forces.
  ENDURE HARDSHIP
  1-83. The psychological preparation for isolation is as important as the other proficiencies. Knowledge that
  each isolated individual becomes the object of an immediate recovery effort mentally prepares that
  individual for isolation. The articles of the Code of Conduct are a part of initial Army training. Periodic
  retraining in units and other organizations reinforces the Code of Conduct. Training typically occurs more
  frequently for those preparing to serve in an environment with a greater risk of isolation. Enduring hardship
  is a personal responsibility, but the unit, recovery forces, and higher headquarters commanders and staffs
  share responsibility to prepare the Soldier or other designated individual.