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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).
The DEFCON level is controlled primarily by the U.S. president and the U.S. secretary of defense through the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the combatant commanders; each level defines specific security, activation and response scenarios for the personnel in question.
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 to Air & 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 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis and 1991 Gulf War applied only to the U.S. Strategic Air Command (SAC).
DEFCONs should not be confused with similar systems used by the US military, such as Force Protection Conditions (FPCONS), Readiness Conditions (REDCONS), Information Operations Condition (INFOCON) and its future replacement Cyber Operations Condition (CYBERCON), and Watch Conditions (WATCHCONS), or the former Homeland Security Advisory System used by the U.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 the video game Defcon 5), or more figuratively, to describe an aggravated state of mind ("going to DEFCON five").
Defense readiness conditions vary between many commands and have changed over time, and the United States Department of Defense uses exercise terms when referring to the DEFCON levels during exercises. This is to prevent confusing exercise commands with actual operational commands.
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:
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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).
The DEFCON level is controlled primarily by the U.S. president and the U.S. secretary of defense through the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the combatant commanders; each level defines specific security, activation and response scenarios for the personnel in question.
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 to Air & 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 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis and 1991 Gulf War applied only to the U.S. Strategic Air Command (SAC).
DEFCONs should not be confused with similar systems used by the US military, such as Force Protection Conditions (FPCONS), Readiness Conditions (REDCONS), Information Operations Condition (INFOCON) and its future replacement Cyber Operations Condition (CYBERCON), and Watch Conditions (WATCHCONS), or the former Homeland Security Advisory System used by the U.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 the video game Defcon 5), or more figuratively, to describe an aggravated state of mind ("going to DEFCON five").
Defense readiness conditions vary between many commands and have changed over time, and the United States Department of Defense uses exercise terms when referring to the DEFCON levels during exercises. This is to prevent confusing exercise commands with actual operational commands.
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: