Introduction Hurricane Condition (HURCON) is an alert scale used by the United States Armed Forces in the North Atlantic and the North Pacific to indicate the state of emergency or preparedness for an approaching hurricane. This designation is especially important to installations in the southern Atlantic region, as it is most affected by hurricanes. In… Read More
Introduction Watch Condition (WATCHCON) is an alert state system used by and coordinated between the South Korean armed forces and United States Department of Defence to measure reconnaissance posture, utilised often in matters concerning North Korea. Other Systems Should not be confused with similar systems used by the US military, such as: Alert Condition (LERTCON).… Read More
Introduction In United States military security parlance, force protection condition (FPCON) is a counter-terrorist threat system overseen by the United States Department of Defence directive. It describes the number of measures needed to be taken by security agencies in response to various levels of terrorist threats against military facilities, as opposed to DEFCON, which assesses… Read More
Introduction National Command Authority (NCA) is a term that was used by the Department of Defence of the United States of America to refer to the ultimate source of lawful military orders. Refer to DEFCON. Background The NCA was first alluded to in a 1960 Department of Defence document. It included at least the president… Read More
Introduction The defence readiness condition (DEFCON) is an alert state used by the United States Armed Forces. The DEFCON system was developed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and unified and specified combatant commands. It prescribes five graduated levels of readiness (or states of alert) for the US military. It increases in severity from… Read More
Introduction The United States Naval Observatory (USNO) is one of the oldest scientific agencies in the United States, with a primary mission to produce positioning, navigation and timing for the United States Navy and the United States Department of Defence. The observatory is located in Northwest Washington, D.C. at the Northwestern end of Embassy Row.… Read More
Introduction The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defence. As a symbol of the US military, the phrase The Pentagon is also often used as a metonym or synecdoche for the Department of Defence and its leadership. Located in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., the… Read More
