EMERCON – Emergency Condition

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What Is EMERGCON? EMERGCON (Emergency Condition) is the United States’ highest national-level emergency posture, reserved for confirmed or imminent large-scale attacks against the nation or its allies. Unlike DEFCON—focused primarily on military readiness—EMERGCON integrates military, civilian, and continuity-of-government (COG) actions into a single, coordinated response framework. EMERGCON operates as a high-alert subset of the LERTCON (Alert Condition) system, designed to address scenarios where DEFCON alone is insufficient. While EMERGCON often places U.S. forces at DEFCON 1, its defining characteristic is the simultaneous activation of civilian emergency measures, national leadership relocation, and federal continuity operations. Developed during the Cold War (formalized in the late 1950s to early 1960s), EMERGCON was created for existential threats such as intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) attacks, mass bomber raids, or hybrid cyber-physical strikes against the homeland. As of November 1, 2025, EMERGCON has never been publicly declared, including during the Cuban Missile Crisis, which peaked at DEFCON 2. EMERGCON Levels and Thresholds Unlike DEFCON’s graduated 1–5 scale, EMERGCON consists of two distinct emergency thresholds, each tied to specific triggers and actions. EMERGCON Levels Overview EMERGCON LevelDescriptionKey ActionsPrimary TriggersDefense EmergencyA confirmed major hostile attack on U.S. or allied forces overseas, or overt action directly against the...