The highest state is DEFCON 1.Īfter NORAD was created, the command used different readiness levels (Normal, Increased, Maximum) subdivided into eight conditions, e.g., the 'Maximum Readiness' level had two conditions 'Air Defense Readiness' and 'Air Defense Emergency'. In fact, DEFCON 5 is the lowest state of readiness.

Movies and popular culture often misuse the DEFCON system by 'going to DEFCON 5' during a state of emergency. Increased intelligence watch and strengthened security measures Increase in force readiness above that required for normal readinessĪir Force ready to mobilize in 15 minutes On 12 January 1960, NORAD 'proposed the adoption of the readiness conditions of the JCS system', and information about the levels was declassified in 2006: Readiness conditionĪrmed Forces ready to deploy and engage in less than 6 hours This is to preclude the possibility of confusing exercise commands with actual operational commands. 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 United States Department of Homeland Security.ĭEFCONs vary between many commands and have changed over time, and the United States Department of Defense uses exercise terms when referring to the DEFCONs. DEFCONs should not be confused with similar systems used by the U.S. There is no single DEFCON status for the country, and in fact different branches of the military can be at different levels of DEFCON at the same time. ĭEFCONs are a subsystem of a series of Alert Conditions, or LERTCONs, that also includes Emergency Conditions (EMERGCONs). military, and increase in severity from DEFCON 5 (least severe) to DEFCON 1 (most severe) to match varying military situations. It prescribes five graduated levels of readiness (or states of alert) for the U.S. The DEFCON system was developed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and unified and specified combatant commands. The defense readiness condition ( DEFCON) is an alert state used by the United States Armed Forces. For other uses, see Defcon (disambiguation).

What defcon level are we in now