DEFCON
Thedefense readiness condition(DEFCON) is analert stateused by theUnited States Armed Forces.[1][2]For security reasons, the US military does not announce a DEFCON level to the public.[1]
The DEFCON system was developed by theJoint Chiefs of Staff(JCS) andunified and specified combatant commands.[3]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 ofnuclear warfare.[1][2]
DEFCONs are a subsystem of a series of "Alert Conditions", orLERTCONs,which also includeEmergency Conditions(EMERGCONs).[4]
Definition
[edit]The DEFCON level is controlled primarily by theU.S. presidentand theU.S. Secretary of Defensethrough theChairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staffand theCombatant Commanders;each level defines specific security, activation and response scenarios for the personnel in question.[1]
Different branches of the U.S. Armed Forces (i.e.U.S. Army,U.S. Navy,U.S. Air Force,U.S. Marine Corps,U.S. Coast Guard,U.S. Space Force) and different bases or command groups can be activated at different defense conditions. According toAir & Space/Smithsonian,as of 2022[update],the U.S. DEFCON level has never been more severe than DEFCON 3. The DEFCON 2 levels in the 1962Cuban Missile Crisisand 1991Gulf Warapplied only to the U.S.Strategic Air Command(SAC).[5][6]
DEFCONs should not be confused with similar systems used by the US military, such asForce Protection Conditions(FPCONS),Readiness Conditions(REDCONS),Information Operations Condition(INFOCON) and its future replacement Cyber Operations Condition (CYBERCON),[7]andWatch Conditions(WATCHCONS), or the formerHomeland Security Advisory Systemused by theU.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Although a higher DEFCON number refers to a more relaxed defence posture, the term has been misused in popular culture in which "DEFCON 5" is incorrectly used to describe an active conflict situation (such as in the title of thevideo gameDefcon 5), or more figuratively, to describe an aggravated state of mind ( "going to DEFCON five" ).[1]
Levels
[edit]Defense readiness conditions vary between many commands and have changed over time,[3]and theUnited States Department of Defenseuses exercise terms when referring to the DEFCON levels during exercises.[1][8]This is to prevent confusing exercise commands with actual operational commands.[1][8]
On January 12, 1966,NORAD"proposed the adoption of the readiness conditions of the JCS system", and information about the levels was declassified in 2006:[9]
| 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 |
History
[edit]AfterNORADwas created, the command used different readiness levels (Normal, Increased, Maximum) subdivided into eight conditions, e.g., the "Maximum Readiness" level had two conditions "Air Defense Readiness" and "Air Defense Emergency".[9]In October 1959, theJCS Chairmaninformed NORAD "that Canada and the U.S. had signed an agreement on increasing the operational readiness of NORAD forces during periods of international tension."[9]After the agreement became effective on October 2, 1959,[9]the JCS defined a system with DEFCONs in November 1959 for themilitary commands.[3]The initial DEFCON system had "Alpha" and "Bravo" conditions (under DEFCON 3) and Charlie/Delta under DEFCON 4, plus an "Emergency" level higher than DEFCON 1 with two conditions: "Defense Emergency" and the highest, "Air Defense Emergency" ( "Hot Box" and "Big Noise" for exercises).[9]
The United States has never declared a readiness condition of DEFCON 1 to prepare for nuclear war.[1]
Instances of DEFCON 2 or 3
[edit]DEFCON 2
[edit]Cuban Missile Crisis
[edit]During theCuban Missile Crisison October 16–28, 1962, the U.S. Armed Forces (with the exception ofUnited States Army Europe(USAREUR)) were ordered to DEFCON 3. On October 24,Strategic Air Command(SAC) was ordered to DEFCON 2, while the rest of the U.S. Armed Forces remained at DEFCON 3. SAC remained at DEFCON 2 until November 15.[1][10][11]While at DEFCON 2, 92.5% of SAC's weapons systems (approx. 1,479 strike aircraft; 182 Atlas, Titan, and Minuteman missiles; 2,962 total nuclear weapons; and 1,003 refueling tankers) were ready to launch within one hour, while itsairborne alert programexpanded to include 1/8th of SAC's bomber forces, allowing an average of 65 planes in the air in position to be directed at targets in the Soviet Union at any given time.[12]
DEFCON 3
[edit]Yom Kippur War
[edit]On October 6, 1973, Egypt and Syria launched a joint attack on Israel resulting in theYom Kippur War.The United States became concerned that the Soviet Union might intervene, and on October 25, US forces, includingStrategic Air Command,Continental Air Defense Command,European Commandand theSixth Fleet,were placed at DEFCON 3.[1]
According to documents declassified in 2016, the move to DEFCON 3 was motivated byCIAreports indicating that the Soviet Union had sent a ship to Egypt carrying nuclear weapons along with two other amphibious vessels.[13]Soviet troops never landed and the declassified documents did not disclose the fate of the ship and its cargo.
Over the following days, the various forces reverted to normal status with the Sixth Fleet standing down on November 17.[14]
Operation Paul Bunyan
[edit]Followingthe axe murder incidentatPanmunjomon August 18, 1976, readiness levels for US forces in South Korea were increased to DEFCON 3, where they remained throughoutOperation Paul Bunyan.[15]
September 11 attacks
[edit]During theSeptember 11 attacks,Secretary of DefenseDonald Rumsfeldordered the DEFCON level be increased to 3, and also a stand-by for a possible increase to DEFCON 2.[1]It was lowered to DEFCON 4 on September 14.[16]
See also
[edit]- COGCON– Continuity of government readiness level
- Combat readiness
- Doomsday Clock
- HURCON– Hurricane Condition threat rating (military-developed scale)
- National Command Authority (United States)
- National Military Command Center
- National Terrorism Advisory System
- Waffle House Index– Unofficial disaster recovery metric used byFEMA
- UK Threat Levels– Similar British system used for terrorism threats
Historic/Defunct:
References
[edit]- ^abcdefghijkTiffini Theisen (2023)."What is DEFCON?".Military.com.Retrieved19 November2023.
- ^ab"Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms"(PDF).12 April 2001 (As Amended Through 19 August 2009). Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 8 November 2009.Retrieved1 February2014.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: others (link) - ^abcSagan, Scott D. (Summer 1985)."Nuclear Alerts and Crisis Management"(PDF).International Security.9(4): 99–139.doi:10.2307/2538543.JSTOR2538543.S2CID154595250.Archived(PDF)from the original on 2016-03-04.Retrieved2013-05-04– viaProject MUSE.
- ^"Emergency Action Plan (SEAP)"(PDF).United States Army Corps of Engineers Savannah District (CESAS) Plan 500-1-12. 1 August 2001. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2013-02-03.
- ^Theisen, Tiffini (2023-01-24)."DEFCON Levels".Military.com.Retrieved2024-04-14.
- ^Mickeviciute, Rosita (2023-11-27)."From DEFCON 5 to DEFCON 1: understanding the DEFCON levels".Retrieved2024-04-14.
- ^"Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Instruction 6510.01F".jcs.mil.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-08-09.Retrieved2017-05-04.
- ^ab"Emergency Action Procedures of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Volume I - General"(PDF).US DoD FOIA Reading Room.April 24, 1981. pp. 4–7. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on January 13, 2014.
- ^abcdeNORAD/CONAD Historical Summary: July -December 1959(PDF)(Report).Archived(PDF)from the original on 2013-09-27.Retrieved2013-09-25.
- ^"DEFCON DEFense CONdition".fas.org.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-06-28.Retrieved2016-03-06.
- ^Norris, Robert S. (October 24, 2012)."The Cuban Missile Crisis: A Nuclear Order of Battle October/November 1962"(PDF).Wilson Center.Archived(PDF)from the original on October 20, 2018.RetrievedFebruary 8,2022.
- ^Strategic Air Command (1963)."Strategic Air Command Operations in the Cuban Crisis of 1962 (Historical Study No. 90 Vol. 1)"(PDF).US Strategic Air Command, via the National Security Archive. pp. 58, 66, 97.
- ^Naftali, Tim (26 August 2016)."CIA reveals its secret briefings to Presidents Nixon and Ford".CNN.Archivedfrom the original on 27 August 2016.Retrieved26 August2016.
- ^Goldman, Jan (16 June 2011).Words of Intelligence: An Intelligence Professional's Lexicon for Domestic and Foreign Threats.Scarecrow Press. pp. 93–.ISBN978-0-8108-7476-3.Archivedfrom the original on 18 November 2015.Retrieved6 March2016.
- ^Probst, Reed R. (16 May 1977)."Negotiating With the North Koreans: The U.S. Experience at Panmunjom"(PDF).Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania: U.S. Army War College. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on October 24, 2005.Retrieved17 December2009.
- ^"Complete 911 Timeline: Donald Rumsfeld's Actions on 9/11".www.historycommons.org.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-07-01.Retrieved2016-08-02.
External links
[edit]
Media related toDEFCONat Wikimedia Commons
