Defcon system how to#
Defcon system code#

The Secretary of Defense announces the country was now at 'Defcon Delta, our highest alert level.' The oddness is reconciled given the depth of cooperation he received from the United States armed forces: in the real world, Threat Conditions Alpha through Delta are used in the military to denote the likelihood of a terrorist/surprise attack (as opposed to a general state of hostilities and war), with 'Alpha' meaning 'remotely possible' and Delta meaning 'attack imminent or has just taken place'.

The 2007 Transformers film handled this in an interesting fashion.The 1985 Canadian post-apocalyptic film Def-Con 4 incorrectly gave Defcon 4 as the highest state of alert.In Canadian Bacon, Defcon 4 means 'imminent nuclear attack.'.Hey y'all! It's revolution up in this Bitch! Set the alarm for Defcon 5! It's on, baby. Undercover Brother: 'That's Right! It's goin' to the streets.It's not funny.' Which possibly makes sense in this context, since Ben is doing everything he can to keep the relationship peaceful while Andie is trying to get dumped. I mean, this is Defcon Five, and I have to do something truly appalling.

Defcon system how to#

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days: 'I have to crack this guy.Other nations have similar alert systems.Ĭompare with The War on Terror, for the color system that is often parodied for its vagueness. On the other hand, nuclear missile forces - designed to launch at a moment's notice - are essentially at DEFCON 1 at all times, even if the current status is DEFCON 5. An armoured division in the US is going to take several weeks at best to move and engage an enemy (unless the Russians are hitting Long Island right now), even at DEFCON 1. It should be pointed out that alert levels mean different things to different forces.

Defcon system code#

Only the Strategic Air Command (the nuclear bombers) were at DEFCON 2, the rest of the military was maintained at DEFCON 3 throughout the crisis Code Name: FAST PACE note This would have been during the Cuban Missile Crisis on October 22, 1962. Armed Forces ready to deploy and engage in less than 6 hours this is the highest level ever reached in history.

DEFCON 2: Conventional warfare is imminent.

Air Force ready to mobilize in 15 minutes this is the first truly 'shit is about to get real' phase of the levels.

DEFCON 3: Increase in force readiness above that required for normal readiness.

Code Name: DOUBLE TAKE note seems that someone in the military had an odd sense of humor

DEFCON 4: Increased intelligence watch and strengthened security measures.

The highest that the worldwide DEFCON level has ever risen to is 3. It's important to note that DEFCON levels can be limited to geographical regions, DEFCON 2 during the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Gulf War were limited to the affected regions. The Yom Kippur War of 1973 saw a brief period at DEFCON 3 (codename 'ROUND HOUSE', with some forces in the Middle East being at 2), as did 9/11. The highest state reached for the Strategic Air Command in US history was DEFCON 2 (codename 'FAST PACE', during the Cuban Missile Crisis), the Gulf War also led to forces in the Middle East reaching DEFCON 2, for obvious reasons i.e., actually being at war. The use of nuclear weapons is authorized here, but they will still require unlock codes from high authority. DEFCON 1 (codename 'COCKED PISTOL') is the highest, referring to a confirmed state of nuclear war. DEFCON 5 (codename 'FADE OUT' note These codenames are used during exercises to avoid confusion with the real deal) is the lowest state of alert, aka completely tranquil peace time. This is incorrect, and this trope is about the misuse of these terms. In some movies, the phrase 'Defcon 5' or Defense Readiness Condition 5 is used to refer to the highest state of alert for the United States Armed Forces.