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X Research source X Research source However, the most important alert scale besides DEFCON is likely the EMERGCON scale. These include LERTCON (used by the US and NATO allies), REDCON (used by individual US military units), and more. The DEFCON scale is not the only measure that the US government and military use to rate their readiness against external and internal dangers. X Research sourceīe aware of other US alert scales. Though some non-military, non-government sources may claim to know the current DEFCON level, there is no way to verify this. Thus, most of the information that the general public has on the DEFCON scale is based on old declassified documents or historical DEFCON "spikes" revealed to the public after the fact.
#WHAT DOES DEFCON STAND FOR UPGRADE#
It is usually assumed that an upgrade in military preparedness is made by the Joint Chiefs of Staff (the highest commanders in the American military) with the approval of the president. The exact process that the military uses to declare a DEFCON increase is not perfectly-understood by the public. Understand how DEFCON levels are assigned. In this case, a DEFCON 3 was issued because of the possibility that any errors in the resulting standoff might trigger open war across the Korean border (a politically and militarily tense area then, as it is today). For instance, during Operation Paul Bunyan, which resulted in a DEFCON 3, two American officers were killed by North Korean forces in the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).
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