DEFCON

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This article is about a military term. For the hacker convention, see DEF CON. For the computer game, see DEFCON (computer game). For the political organization, see DefCon America.

Defense Condition is a measure of the activation and readiness level of the United States armed forces. DEF CON is the portmanteau of "DEFense [Readiness] CONdition". These defense conditions describe progressive postures for use between the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the commanders of unified commands. DEFCONs are matched to the situations of military severity. Standard peacetime protocol is DEFCON 5, which descends when plunged into increasingly severe situations. DEFCON 1 represents expectation of actual imminent attack, and has never been declared.

In a national state of emergency, seven different alert conditions (referred to as LERTCONs) can be issued. The seven LERTCONs are broken down into 5 Defense Conditions (referred to as DEFCONs) and two Emergency Conditions (referred to as EMERGCONs).

1 Descriptions of DEFCONs
2 Conditions
3 Homeland Security
4 See also
5 External link

[edit] Descriptions of DEFCONs

DEFCON 5 is the condition used to designate normal peacetime military readiness. An upgrade in military preparedness is typically made by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and announced by the United States Secretary of Defense.

DEFCON 4 refers to normal, increased intelligence and the heightening of national security measures. Readiness remained at this level throughout most of the Cold War. Ground combat authorized. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, one of the specific conditions of escalating to level 4 prompted the military to replace training (or "dummy") tips, with live nuclear warheads on all target selected ICBM's.
DEFCON 3 refers to an increase to force readiness above normal. Radio callsigns used by American forces change to currently-classified callsigns. United States military commands (except for the Strategic Air Command, which was already at heightened alert on DEFCON 2) went to this level in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis. All United States forces went on DEFCON 3 during the 1973 Yom Kippur War when Israel threatened to drop 13, 20-kiloton nuclear bombs on Egypt when it came close to all-out defeat. The third time the United States reached DEFCON 3 was during the September 11, 2001 attacks. Naval and Air combat authorized.

DEFCON 2 refers to a further increase in force readiness just below maximum readiness. It has only been declared once, during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

DEFCON 1 refers to maximum readiness. This has never (verifiably) been used but is reserved for imminent or ongoing attack on US military forces or US territory or soil by a foreign military power. Launch of nuclear missiles has been authorized.

[edit] Conditions

Different branches of the armed forces (e.g., army, navy, air force) and different bases or command groups can be activated at different defense conditions. For much of the Cold War, US ICBM sites were always at DEFCON 4 rather than 5.

The highest alert condition the US military has been at was DEFCON 2. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, Strategic Air Command (SAC) was ordered to 2 and the rest of the US military to 3 on October 22, 1962. SAC remained at 2 until November 15. Higher alert conditions were also ordered during the Yom Kippur War (1973).

It should be further noted that SAC's move to DEFCON 2 during the Cuban Missile Crisis was precipitated by General Thomas S. Power and General Curtis LeMay, and was done without consulting the Executive Branch.

The DEFCON level is controlled primarily by the President and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and each DEFCON level defines specific security, activation and response scenarios for the troops in question.

Some declassified documents suggest that DEFCON 1 was ordered and attained during the Gulf War of 1991. [1]. The next link (to the right) shows the exact time and date: [2] quoted as "USCINCCENT AND ALL COMPONENTS ATTAINED DEFCON 1 AT 0925C." dated 19 JAN 1991 (Note: USCINCCENT -- United States Commander in Chief Central Command, General Schwarzkopf. This is specific to a limited geographic area and not a general DEFCON-1 for all forces.)

[edit] Homeland Security

A separate code of five status levels, the Homeland Security Advisory System, is used by the Department of Homeland Security to indicate possible terrorist threats. These levels do not depend on the DEFCON level, and changes in the Homeland Security level do not necessarily correspond to increases in the DEFCON level.