Nuclear Football

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The "Nuclear Football," otherwise known as the President's Emergency Satchel, and sometimes also referred to as The Button is a specially-outfitted, black-colored briefcase used by the President of the United States to authorize the use of nuclear weapons. Adopted to permit the President to make a nuclear attack order while away from fixed command centers, such as the White House Situation Room, it functions as a mobile node in the strategic defense system of the United States. While exact details about the Football are highly classified, several sources have provided information regarding the bag, its contents, and operation.

Contents

[edit] Contents

It is presumed to hold a secure SATCOM radio and handset for communication, the daily nuclear launch codes (known as the "Gold Codes"), and any other materials that the President would rely on should a decision to use nuclear weapons need to be made. These include summaries of various pre-determined attack options as well as plans to handle the national emergency that a nuclear attack, or possible nuclear retaliation, would provoke. These materials are generated by, respectively, the National Security Agency (Gold Codes contained in the "Play Book"), the United States Strategic Command (attack options), and the United States National Security Council (security plans).

The case itself is a metallic, possibly bullet-resistant, modified Zero-Halliburton briefcase which is carried inside a leather "jacket". The entire package weighs approximately 40 pounds (18 kg). A small antenna, presumably for the SATCOM radio, protrudes from the bag near the handle. Contrary to popular belief, the Football is not handcuffed to its carrier. Rather, a black cable is employed that loops around the handle of the bag and the wrist of the aide.

[edit] Operation

The Nuclear Football functions as the primary "trigger" on America's nuclear arsenal. According to experts, in the event the President elects to deploy nuclear arms, the commander-in-chief would be taken aside, where the aide would open the briefcase. At that point, the aide and the President would review the attack options and decide upon a particular plan, whether that be a single cruise missile, or a large-scale ICBM launch. Next, using the SATCOM radio, the aide would make contact with the National Military Command Center or, in a post first-strike situation, an airborne command post plane (likely a Boeing E-4B). Before the order is processed by the military, the President must positively identify himself using a special code issued to him on a plastic card, nicknamed the "biscuit". Once all the codes have been verified, the military will issue attack orders to the proper units.

The Football is carried by one of the rotating Presidential Military Aides (one from each of the five service branches), who occasionally is physically attached to the briefcase. This person is a commissioned officer in the U.S. military, pay-grade O-4 or above, who has undergone the nation's most rigorous background check (Yankee White). These officers, who are armed, are required to keep the Football within ready access of the President at all times. Consequently, an aide, Football in hand, is always either standing/walking near the President or riding in Air Force One/Marine One/Motorcade with him.

A popular notion is that the football includes a computerized feature that permits the president to directly launch nuclear missiles via remote-control. While it is certainly possible that the briefcase does contain a computer, it is extremely unlikely that the Nuclear Football has a "red-button". The procedure for launching an ICBM includes several human choice steps that make a computer glich incapable of causing a launch (a precaution a "red-button" system would threaten). Along similar lines, while the operation of the Football is the primary means of iniating a nuclear attack, it is not the only "trigger". The belief that the it is physically impossible for America's nuclear forces to attack without authorization from the Football/codes is a misconception. Ballastic missile submarines, for example, are capable of launching an attack in a post-first-strike situation in which communications between the vessels and military command-centers is certain to be extremely difficult, if not impossible.

[edit] History

The bag came about in the aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis, when President Kennedy worried about the commander-in-chief's ability to authorize a nuclear attack. First, he was worried that a nuclear attack order would be given without his permission, Secondly, in an era without cellular telephones, Kennedy felt that he would be unable to make and communicate a nuclear attack decision unless he was at a location hardwired to the Pentagon. The result of these concerns was an overhaul of America’s nuclear weapons command and control system, including the invention of a remote node for the decision making system. This node was the nuclear football, an innocent-looking breifcase has become a symbol of the terrible power and responsibility the office of the president.

[edit] Trivia

  • During their Presidencies, Jimmy Carter always carried the launch codes in his jacket, while Ronald Reagan prefered to keep the launch codes in his wallet.
  • It has been suggested that the nickname Football was derived from an attack plan codenamed Drop-Kick. [1]
  • The Football makes a brief appearance in the film Air Force One, when a terrorist hijacking of the President's plane results in the activation of a new football back in the White House.
  • The football played a small role within an episode of NCIS

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Military aides still carry the president's nuclear 'football'
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