DEFCON 3

I just learned that our country has been at DEFCON 3 since June of this year. DEFCON is a U.S. military term that stands for Defense Readiness Condition. This is part of a system that indicates the level of threat the U.S. faces, or may face, from other countries and the readiness of a potential military response to such threat. DEFCON 5 is the lowest state of readiness indicating minimal threat, whereas DEFCON 1 indicates maximum threat and readiness.

DEFCON 3 indicates that select forces are ready to deploy where needed in 15 minutes. This level means that there is an increase in the readiness of U.S. forces above what would be considered normal. Such response readiness would most likely apply to relevant and necessary security forces as opposed to the military as a whole. I am surprised at how little coverage this has gotten from the media.