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DEFCON

Updated: Wikipedia source

DEFCON

The defense readiness condition (DEFCON) is an alert state used by the United States Armed Forces. The DEFCON system was developed in 1959 by the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and unified and specified combatant commands. It prescribes five graduated levels of readiness (or states of alert) for the U.S. military. It increases in severity from DEFCON 5 (least severe) to DEFCON 1 (most severe) to match varying military situations, with DEFCON 1 signaling the impending outbreak of nuclear warfare. For security reasons, the U.S. military does not announce a DEFCON level to the public. DEFCONs are a subsystem of a series of "Alert Conditions", or LERTCONs, which also include Emergency Conditions (EMERGCONs).

Tables

· Levels
DEFCON 1
DEFCON 1
Readiness condition
DEFCON 1
Exercise term
COCKED PISTOL
Description
Nuclear war is imminent or has already begun
Readiness
Maximum readiness. Immediate response.
DEFCON 2
DEFCON 2
Readiness condition
DEFCON 2
Exercise term
FAST PACE
Description
Next step to nuclear war
Readiness
Armed forces ready to deploy and engage in less than six hours
DEFCON 3
DEFCON 3
Readiness condition
DEFCON 3
Exercise term
ROUND HOUSE
Description
Increase in force readiness above that required for normal readiness
Readiness
Air Force ready to mobilize in 15 minutes
DEFCON 4
DEFCON 4
Readiness condition
DEFCON 4
Exercise term
DOUBLE TAKE
Description
Increased intelligence watch and strengthened security measures
Readiness
Above normal readiness
DEFCON 5
DEFCON 5
Readiness condition
DEFCON 5
Exercise term
FADE OUT
Description
Lowest state of readiness
Readiness
Normal readiness
Readiness condition
Exercise term
Description
Readiness
DEFCON 1
COCKED PISTOL
Nuclear war is imminent or has already begun
Maximum readiness. Immediate response.
DEFCON 2
FAST PACE
Next step to nuclear war
Armed forces ready to deploy and engage in less than six hours
DEFCON 3
ROUND HOUSE
Increase in force readiness above that required for normal readiness
Air Force ready to mobilize in 15 minutes
DEFCON 4
DOUBLE TAKE
Increased intelligence watch and strengthened security measures
Above normal readiness
DEFCON 5
FADE OUT
Lowest state of readiness
Normal readiness

References

  1. "What is DEFCON?"
    https://www.military.com/military-life/defcon-levels.html
  2. "Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms"
    https://web.archive.org/web/20091108082044/http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/new_pubs/jp1_02.pdf
  3. International Security
    http://muse.jhu.edu/login?auth=0&type=summary&url=%2Fjournals%2Finternational_security%2Fv009%2F9.4.sagan.pdf
  4. "Emergency Action Plan (SEAP)"
    https://web.archive.org/web/20130203232536/http://www.sas.usace.army.mil/em/CESAS500112.pdf
  5. Military.com
    https://www.military.com/military-life/defcon-levels.html
  6. "From DEFCON 5 to DEFCON 1: understanding the DEFCON levels"
    https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/understanding-the-defcon-levels-what-do-they-mean
  7. jcs.mil
    http://www.jcs.mil/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=iGE7nuUc2Mk%3d&tabid=19767&portalid=36&mid=46626
  8. US DoD FOIA Reading Room
    https://web.archive.org/web/20140113025006/http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/operation_and_plans/NuclearChemicalBiologicalMatters/322.pdf
  9. NORAD/CONAD Historical Summary: July -December 1959
    http://www.northcom.mil/Portals/28/Documents/Supporting%20documents/(U)%201962%20NORAD%20CONAD%20History%20Jan-Jun.pdf
  10. fas.org
    https://fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/c3i/defcon.htm
  11. Wilson Center
    https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/event/2012_10_24_Norris_Cuban_Missile_Crisis_Nuclear_Order_of_Battle.pdf
  12. "Strategic Air Command Operations in the Cuban Crisis of 1962 (Historical Study No. 90 Vol. 1)"
    https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/nsa/cuba_mis_cri/dobbs/SAC_history.pdf
  13. "CIA reveals its secret briefings to Presidents Nixon and Ford"
    http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/26/opinions/secret-briefings-to-presidents-from-cia-naftali/
  14. Words of Intelligence: An Intelligence Professional's Lexicon for Domestic and Foreign Threats
    https://books.google.com/books?id=B9LhgC4g-QEC&pg=PA93
  15. "Negotiating With the North Koreans: The U.S. Experience at Panmunjom"
    https://web.archive.org/web/20051024105914/http://www.nautilus.org/foia/NegotiatingwithNK.pdf
  16. www.historycommons.org
    http://www.historycommons.org/timeline.jsp?timeline=complete_911_timeline&day_of_9%2F11=donaldrumsfeld
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