Over a decade later, in 1973, President Richard Nixon put the U.S. The DEFCON 3 exercise term is “Round House.”Īt less-tense points during the Cuban Missile Crisis, various parts of the U.S. Two steps from war, DEFCON 3 is generally seen as a standby level of alert, and it is the highest level of alert during peacetime.ĭEFCON 3 represents “a readiness posture that requires certain portions of the assigned forces to assume an increased readiness posture above that of normal readiness,” according to the Joint Chiefs memo. Most forces are usually at DEFCON 4 or 5. The DEFCON 4 exercise term is “Double Take.” military complex ramps up intelligence gathering and shores up security.ĭEFCON 4 represents “a readiness posture requiring increased intelligence watch and a continuing analysis of the political/military situation in the area of tension,” according to the original Joint Chiefs of Staff memo. The DEFCON 5 exercise term is “Fade Out.” DEFCON 4ĭEFCON 4 describes the everyday operating procedures for fighting units.Īt DEFCON 4, the U.S. The highest state is DEFCON 1.DEFCON 5 represents “a normal readiness posture which can be sustained indefinitely and which represents an optimum balance between the requirements of readiness and the routine training and equipping of forces for their primary mission,” according to a Joint Chiefs of Staff description of this level when the DEFCON system was first introduced. In fact, DEFCON 5 is the lowest state of readiness.

What is the lowest DEFCON The US has been at? (DEFCON 2 was also declared in 1991, the opening phase of Operation Desert Storm). The United States and the Soviet Union stood closer to Armageddon than at any other moment in history.

The highest confirmed DEFCON ever was Level 2 declared during the Cuban Missile Crisis, a pivotal moment in the Cold War.

What is the highest DEFCON America has been in? The DEFCON 2 levels in the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis and 1991 Gulf War applied only to the U.S. DEFCON level has never been more severe than DEFCON 3. What is the highest DEFCON The US has been at?Īccording to Air & Space/Smithsonian, as of 2022, the U.S.

25, US forces, including SAC, Continental Air Defense Command, European Command and the Sixth Fleet, were placed at DEFCON 3. The United States became concerned that the Soviet Union might intervene, and on Oct.

What defcon level are we at today