
Most popular games and media like this misinterpret DEFCON in a similar manner. The DEFCON concept is misunderstood by players as they are raising the DEFCON level to 5 instead of going down.

During the Cuban Missile Crisis on October 22, 1962, the U.S. The highest confirmed DEFCON ever was Level 2. The highest level of DEFCON known to have been used military have been placed at higher readiness levels on numerous instances. Since the system was introduced, portions of the U.S.

In November 1959, the Joint Chiefs of Staff created the DEFCON system so that a uniform readiness posture could be prescribed in the various military commands. In fact, DEFCON 5 is the lowest state of readiness. Movies and popular culture often misuse the DEFCON system by "going to DEFCON 5" during a state of emergency. Increase in force readiness above that required for normal readiness Increased intelligence watch and strengthened security measures The five DEFCONs, their exercise terms, and their general descriptions are shown below. The current exercise terms have been used since at least 1960, when they were used in a North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) exercise. This is to preclude the possibility of confusing exercise commands with actual operational commands. Additionally, during nuclear / normal tests, exercises, or drills, the United States Department of Defense uses exercise terms when referring to the DEFCONs.

The preparations that take place under the five DEFCONs are difficult to describe because they vary between many commands, they have changed over time as new weapon systems were deployed, and the precise details remain classified.
