Directive 2311.01 on the Law of War Program (U.S. Dept. Defense)

Abstract

The significance of Department of Defense (DOD) Directive 2311.01E, The Law of War Program (DODD 2311.01E), last updated in 2020, is not simply rhetorical. Born in 1974 in immediate reaction to the well-publicized atrocities committed by U.S. service members in Vietnam (such as at My Lai and Song Thang), the original directive represented the most tangible and highest-level expression of the U.S. executive branch's desire that its members comply with the laws and customs of war. Beyond important symbolism, the original regulation created a true law of war program in more than name only by establishing an interrelated set of measures focused on training, reporting, and investigating with designated offices and positions of responsibility—measures expressly crafted to ensure law of war adherence. DODD 2311.01E maintains and improves the original 1974 program's compliance architecture, and in doing so operationalizes, more than any other DOD or military initiative, the U.S. national commitment that its military should live by the law of war's precepts.