Developer for System z Enterprise COBOL for z/OS, Version 4.1, Programming Guide
Setting a program to an initial state
Use the INITIAL attribute to specify that whenever a program is
called, that program and any nested programs that it
contains are to be placed in their initial state.
When a program is in its initial state:
Data items that have VALUE clauses are set to the specified values.
Changed GO TO statements and PERFORM statements are in their initial states.