Defense Condition

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Defense readiness conditions (Engl. Defense readiness condition ), also with DEFCON abbreviated, refers to the alarm status of the armed forces of the United States of America .

In the event of a national emergency, seven different alert levels ( Alert Conditions , also LERTCONs ) are available. The seven LERTCONs were broken down into five Defense Conditions and two Emergency Conditions (also EMERGCONs ). In Great Britain the BIKINI state was used analogously .

The five DEFCON levels

  • DEFCON 5 - Peace Time
  • DEFCON 4 - Peace Time, Enhanced Reconnaissance and Enhanced Security Measures
  • DEFCON 3 - Increased operational readiness, standard radio callsigns of US troops are replaced by secret callsigns
  • DEFCON 2 - increased operational readiness, mobilization of the reserve
  • DEFCON 1 - Maximum operational readiness, all available troops are deployed.

The latter has never been declared before, but is reserved for an imminent or ongoing attack by an enemy military power on the US military or US territory. DEFCON 1 also provides for the possibility of a massive nuclear strike against a potential opponent.

Alert levels

Different parts of the US military (e.g. US Army , US Navy , US Air Force , bases or command groups) can be activated in different DEFCON levels.

The highest alert state ever declared by the US military was DEFCON 2. During the Cuban Missile Crisis on October 23, 1962, the Strategic Air Command was transferred to DEFCON 2; the rest of the military had been on DEFCON 3 since October 22nd. DEFCON 2 was retained until November 15, 1962. During the 1973 Yom Kippur War , DEFCON 3 was proclaimed from October 25 to 26, 1973. DEFCON 3 was also proclaimed on September 11, 2001 by the then Chief of Staff Richard Myers .

The DEFCON levels are primarily controlled by the US President . They came into being after the Second World War and are still in use today.

See also

Web links

Commons : Defense Condition  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files