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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).
Descriptions of DEFCONs 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. *. The next link (to the right) shows the exact time and date: * quoted as "USCINCCENT AND ALL COMPONENTS ATTAINED DEFCON 1 AT 0925C." dated 19 JAN 1991 (Note: USCINCCENT -- US Central Command. This is specific to a limited geographic area and not a general DEFCON-1 for all forces.) 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. See also | ||||||||
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