Existing comment:
High Alert!
DEFCON-3
While millions of Americans listened spellbound to the President's address, the US military was roused from DEFCON-5, a peacetime military posture (defense condition), to a heightened alert. At DEFCON-3, the country's fleet of nuclear bombers were dispersed and made ready to be launched within 15 minutes of an order from the President.
On October 24, the Strategic Air Command (SAC), the nation's nuclear arsenal, moved to DEFCON-2, more than 1,400 US bombers loaded with nuclear weapons were on airborne alert, with one-eighth of the bombers in the air at all times -- some ready to strike targets inside the Soviet Union. More than 130 Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs), deployed in bunkers and silos across the United States, were also ready for launching.
The nation's massive military machine would remain at this maximum state of military readiness for the next 30 days. |