The defense readiness condition (DEFCON) is an alert state used by the United States Armed Forces.[1][2] For security reasons, the US military does not announce a DEFCON level to the public.[1]
The DEFCON system was developed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and unified and specified combatant commands.[3] 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.[1][2]
DEFCONs are a subsystem of a series of "Alert Conditions", or LERTCONs, which also include Emergency Conditions (EMERGCONs).[4]
- ^ a b c Tiffini Theisen (2023). "What is DEFCON?". Military.com. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
- ^ a b "Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms" (PDF). 12 April 2001 (As Amended Through 19 August 2009). Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 November 2009. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ Sagan, Scott D. (Summer 1985). "Nuclear Alerts and Crisis Management" (PDF). International Security. 9 (4): 99–139. doi:10.2307/2538543. JSTOR 2538543. S2CID 154595250. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2013-05-04 – via Project MUSE.
- ^ "Emergency Action Plan (SEAP)" (PDF). United States Army Corps of Engineers Savannah District (CESAS) Plan 500-1-12. 1 August 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-02-03.