On 15 January 1991, the Joint Chiefs of Staff declared DEFCON 2 in the opening phase of Operation Desert Storm during the Persian Gulf War. SAC remained at DEFCON 2 until 15 November. On 24 October, Strategic Air Command (SAC) was ordered to DEFCON 2, while the rest of the US Armed Forces remained at DEFCON 3.
Instances of DEFCON 2 or 3 DEFCON 2 Cuban Missile Crisisĭuring the Cuban Missile Crisis on 16 to 28 October 1962, the US Armed Forces (with the exception of United States Army Europe (USAREUR)) were ordered to DEFCON 3.
#ARE WE IN DEFCON 2 PLUS#
The initial DEFCON system had “Alpha” and “Bravo” conditions (under DEFCON 3) and Charlie/Delta under DEFCON 4, plus an “Emergency” level higher than DEFCON 1 with two conditions: “Defence Emergency” and the highest, “Air Defence Emergency” (“Hot Box” and “Big Noise” for exercises). had signed an agreement on increasing the operational readiness of NORAD forces during periods of international tension.” After the agreement became effective on 02 October 1959, the JCS defined a system with DEFCONs in November 1959 for the military commands. In October 1959, the JCS Chairman informed NORAD “that Canada and the U.S. the “Maximum Readiness” level had two conditions “Air Defence Readiness” and “Air Defence Emergency”. Increased intelligence watch and strengthened security measures.Īfter the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) was created, the command used different readiness levels (Normal, Increased, Maximum) subdivided into eight conditions, e.g. Increase in force readiness above that required for normal readiness.Īir Force ready to mobilise in 15 minutes. Nuclear war is imminent or has already begun.Īrmed forces ready to deploy and engage in less than six hours. On 12 January 1966, NORAD “proposed the adoption of the readiness conditions of the JCS system”, and information about the levels was declassified in 2006: Readiness Condition
This is to preclude the possibility of confusing exercise commands with actual operational commands. Levelsĭefence readiness conditions vary between many commands and have changed over time, and the United States Department of Defence uses exercise terms when referring to the DEFCON levels during exercises. The DEFCON 2 levels in the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis and 1991 Gulf War were not worldwide. According to Air & Space/Smithsonian, as of 2014, the worldwide DEFCON level has never been more severe than DEFCON 3. In general, there is no single DEFCON status for the world or country and it may be set to only include specific geographical areas. The DEFCON level is controlled primarily by the US president and the US Secretary of Defence through the Chairman of the JCS and the Combatant Commanders each level defines specific security, activation and response scenarios for the personnel in question.ĭifferent branches of the US Armed Forces (US Army, US Navy, US Air Force, US Marine Corps, US Coast Guard, and US Space Force) and different bases or command groups can be activated at different defence conditions. Hurricane Condition (HURCON), a military developed scale.Watch Condition (WATCHCON), or the former Homeland Security Advisory System used by the United States Department of Homeland Security.Information Operations Condition (INFOCON), and its future replacement Cyber Operations Condition (CYBERCON).Force Protection Condition (FPCON), previously THREATCON.Should not be confused with similar systems used by the US military, such as: Refer to National Command Authority (NCA).
#ARE WE IN DEFCON 2 SERIES#
It increases in severity from DEFCON 5 (least severe) to DEFCON 1 (most severe) to match varying military situations, with DEFCON 1 signalling the outbreak of nuclear warfare.ĭEFCONs are a subsystem of a series of Alert Conditions, or LERTCONs, which also include Emergency Conditions (EMERGCONs). It prescribes five graduated levels of readiness (or states of alert) for the US military.
The DEFCON system was developed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and unified and specified combatant commands. The defence readiness condition (DEFCON) is an alert state used by the United States Armed Forces.
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