DEFCON
Sign in to savethumb|DEFCON levels|355x355px 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
Article
13 sectionsContents
- Definition
- Levels
- History
- Instances of DEFCON 2 or 3
- DEFCON 2
- Cuban Missile Crisis
- DEFCON 3
- Yom Kippur War
- Operation Paul Bunyan
- September 11 attacks
- See also
- References
- External links
thumb|DEFCON levels|355x355px 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).