Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War
"Prisoners of war, in the sense of the present Convention, are persons belonging to one of the following categories, who have fallen into the power of the enemy:
1. Members of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict as well as members of militias or volunteer corps forming part of such armed forces.
2. Members of other militias and members of other volunteer corps, including those of organized resistance movements, belonging to a Party to the conflict and operating in or outside their own territory, even if this territory is occupied, provided that such militias or volunteer corps, including such organized resistance movements, fulfil the following conditions:
(a) That of being commanded by a person responsible for his subordinates;
(b) That of having a fixed distinctive sign recognizable at a distance;
(c) That of carrying arms openly;
(d) That of conducting their operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war."
Follow up question. The excerpt above discusses who is or is not considered a prisoner of war (an interesting topic for many other related discussions, such as Gitmo). If a US Soldier does not comply with the guidelines above, then basically I guess he forfeits his status as a POW, if captured. So, my next question would be: is he obligated to conform to those guidelines? And, if so, what precedent/document asserts this?