Nuclear football
Encyclopedia
- This article is about the United States. For similar objects worldwide, see Nuclear briefcaseNuclear briefcaseNuclear briefcase is a specially outfitted briefcase used to authorize the use of nuclear weapons.-United States:The Nuclear Football is a black briefcase, the contents of which is to be...
The nuclear football (also known as the atomic football, the president's emergency satchel, the button, the black box, or just the football) is a briefcase
Briefcase
A briefcase is a narrow box-shaped bag or case used mainly for carrying papers and other documents and equipped with a handle. Lawyers commonly use briefcases to carry briefs to present to a court, hence the name...
, the contents of which are to be used by the President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
of the United States of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to authorize a nuclear attack
Nuclear warfare
Nuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...
while away from fixed command center
Command center
A command center is any place that is used to provide centralized command for some purpose.While frequently considered to be a military facility, these can be used in many other cases by governments or businesses...
s, such as the White House Situation Room
White House Situation Room
The White House Situation Room is a conference room and intelligence management center in the basement of the West Wing of the White House. It is run by the National Security Council staff for the use of the President of the United States and his advisors to monitor and deal...
. It functions as a mobile hub in the strategic defense system of the United States.
Contents
According to a Washington PostThe Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
article, the President is always accompanied by a military aide carrying a "football" with launch codes for nuclear weapons.
It is a metallic Zero Halliburton
Zero Halliburton
Zero Halliburton is a company which manufactures hard-wearing travel cases and briefcases, mainly of aluminum. It was originally a metal fabrication company called Zierold Company, which in 1946 changed its name to Zero Corporation. In 1952 Zero, which until then had no relation to Halliburton,...
briefcase carried in a black leather "jacket". The package weighs around 45 pounds
Pound (mass)
The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...
(20 kilograms). A small antenna protrudes from the bag near the handle.
In his book Breaking Cover, Bill Gulley, the former director of the White House Military Office
White House Military Office
The White House Military Office , an entity of the Executive Office of the President, provides military support for White House functions, including food service, Presidential transportation, medical support and emergency medical services, and hospitality services...
wrote:
Operation
If the President (who is Commander-in-Chief) decided to order the use of nuclear weapons, he would be taken aside by the "carrier" and the briefcase opened. Then a command signal or "watch" alert would be issued to the Joint Chiefs of StaffJoint Chiefs of Staff
The Joint Chiefs of Staff is a body of senior uniformed leaders in the United States Department of Defense who advise the Secretary of Defense, the Homeland Security Council, the National Security Council and the President on military matters...
. The President would then review the attack options with the aide and decide upon a plan which could range from a single cruise missile
Cruise missile
A cruise missile is a guided missile that carries an explosive payload and is propelled, usually by a jet engine, towards a land-based or sea-based target. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhead over long distances with high accuracy...
to multiple ICBM
Intercontinental ballistic missile
An intercontinental ballistic missile is a ballistic missile with a long range typically designed for nuclear weapons delivery...
launches. These are preset war plans developed under the SIOP
Single Integrated Operational Plan
The Single Integrated Operational Plan was the United States' general plan for nuclear war from 1961 to 2003. The SIOP gave the President of the United States a range of targeting options, and described launch procedures and target sets against which nuclear weapons would be launched...
(Single Integrated Operational Plan) which at one time represented the entire joint US/UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
plan for "disassembling" the USSR
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
by means of nuclear weapons. It is unknown if it uses SATCOM (satellite communications), VLFT (very low frequency
Very low frequency
225px|thumb|right|A VLF receiving antenna at [[Palmer Station]], Antarctica, operated by Stanford UniversityVery low frequency or VLF refers to radio frequencies in the range of 3 kHz to 30 kHz. Since there is not much bandwidth in this band of the radio spectrum, only the very simplest signals...
transmission) or VHFT (very high frequency
Very high frequency
Very high frequency is the radio frequency range from 30 MHz to 300 MHz. Frequencies immediately below VHF are denoted High frequency , and the next higher frequencies are known as Ultra high frequency...
transmission), although the briefcases have been seen with an antenna protruding from them on more than one occasion. Next, using whatever communications technology the satchel has, the aide would then presumably make contact with the National Military Command Center
National Military Command Center
Located in the Pentagon, the National Military Command Center houses the logistical and communications center for the National Command Authority of the United States of America. The facility, which is composed of several war rooms, is the principal command and control center of the Department of...
or, in a retaliatory strike situation, multiple airborne command posts (who likely fly Boeing E-4B
Boeing E-4
The Boeing E-4 Advanced Airborne Command Post, with a project name of "Nightwatch", is an aircraft operated by the United States Air Force...
) and/or nuclear armed submarines.
Before the order can be processed by the military, the President must be positively identified using a special code issued on a plastic card, nicknamed the "biscuit
Gold Codes
The Gold Codes are the nuclear launch codes that are purportedly provided to the President of the United States of America in his role as Commander in Chief. Prepared by the National Security Agency, the code sequence is printed on a plastic card, nicknamed "the biscuit", which is similar to a...
". The United States has a two-man rule
Two-man rule
The two-man rule is a control mechanism designed to achieve a high level of security for especially critical material or operations. Under this rule all access and actions requires the presence of two authorized people at all times.-Nuclear weapons:...
in place, and while only the President can order the release of nuclear weapons, the order must be confirmed by the Secretary of Defense
United States Secretary of Defense
The Secretary of Defense is the head and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in other countries...
(there is a hierarchy of succession in the event that the President has been killed in an attack). Once all the codes have been verified, the military would issue attack orders to the proper units. These orders are given and then re-verified for authenticity.
The football is carried by one of the rotating presidential military aides, whose work schedule is described by a top-secret rota (one from each of the five service branches). They are occasionally physically attached to the briefcase via a security cable around the wrist. This person is a commissioned officer
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
in the U.S. military
Military of the United States
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
, pay-grade O-4 or above, who has undergone the nation's most rigorous background check
Background check
A background check or background investigation is the process of looking up and compiling criminal records, commercial records and financial records of an individual....
(Yankee White
Yankee White
Yankee White is an administrative nickname for a background check given in the United States for Department of Defense personnel and contractor employees working with the President and Vice President. Obtaining such clearance requires, in part, a Single Scope Background Investigation which is...
). These armed officers are required to keep the football readily accessible to the President at all times. Consequently, an aide, football in hand, is always either standing or walking near the President or riding in Air Force One
Air Force One
Air Force One is the official air traffic control call sign of any United States Air Force aircraft carrying the President of the United States. In common parlance the term refers to those Air Force aircraft whose primary mission is to transport the president; however, any U.S. Air Force aircraft...
, Marine One
Marine One
Marine One is the call sign of any United States Marine Corps aircraft carrying the President of the United States. It usually denotes a helicopter operated by the HMX-1 "Nighthawks" squadron, either the large VH-3D Sea King or the newer, smaller VH-60N "WhiteHawk", both due to be replaced by the...
, or the presidential motorcade with the President.
There are three such "footballs" in existence. The first travels with the President, a spare is kept at the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, and the third is with the Vice President
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
.
History
The football dates back to Dwight D. EisenhowerDwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
, but its current usage came about in the aftermath of the Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n missile crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
, when John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
was concerned that a Soviet commander in Cuba might launch their missiles without authorization from Moscow.
It has been stated in an Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
article that the nickname "football" was derived from an attack plan codenamed "Dropkick". The nickname has led to some confusion as to the nature—and even the shape—of the device; in the graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
series Watchmen
Watchmen
Watchmen is a twelve-issue comic book limited series created by writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colourist John Higgins. The series was published by DC Comics during 1986 and 1987, and has been subsequently reprinted in collected form...
, President Richard Nixon, fictionally depicted as still being President in 1985, was depicted with a literal "nuclear football"—a metal device shaped like a football—handcuffed to his wrist. While it is never explicitly stated what it is, it is implied that the device is the electronic activation source for the nuclear option.
During their presidencies, both Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
and Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
preferred to keep the launch codes in their jacket pocket. On one occasion, Jimmy Carter left nuclear launch codes in his suit when it was sent in for dry cleaning
Dry cleaning
Dry cleaning is any cleaning process for clothing and textiles using a chemical solvent other than water. The solvent used is typically tetrachloroethylene , abbreviated "perc" in the industry and "dry-cleaning fluid" by the public...
. Congressman John Kline
John Kline (politician)
John Paul Kline is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2003. The district includes most of the southern suburbs of the Twin Cities, including Apple Valley, Inver Grove Heights, Burnsville and Eagan. He is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life, education and career:Kline was born...
served as a colonel in the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
and carried the football for Presidents Carter and Reagan.
The football was separated from Ronald Reagan immediately after the 1981 assassination attempt
Reagan assassination attempt
The Reagan assassination attempt occurred on Monday, March 30, 1981, just 69 days into the presidency of Ronald Reagan. While leaving a speaking engagement at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C., President Reagan and three others were shot and wounded by John Hinckley, Jr...
against him. Reagan, like his predecessor Carter, preferred to carry the card in his pocket. He was separated from it when his clothing was cut off by the emergency room trauma team. It was later discovered unsecured lying in one of his shoes on the emergency room floor. This led to an urban legend that Reagan carried the code in his sock. Reagan was separated from the rest of the football as well because the officer who carried it was left behind as the motorcade sped away with the wounded President.
On occasion the President has left his aide carrying the football behind. This happened to Presidents Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
, Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
, Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
, George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
and, most recently, Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
on April 24, 1999. In none of these cases was the integrity of the football breached.
See also
- ChegetChegetCheget is a "nuclear briefcase" and a part of the automatic system for the pinnacle command and control of Russia's Strategic Nuclear Forces named Kazbek ....
, the Russian counterpart - Permissive Action LinkPermissive Action LinkA Permissive Action Link is a security device for nuclear weapons. Its purpose is to prevent unauthorized arming or detonation of the nuclear weapon.The United States Department of Defense definition is:...
- Nuclear briefcaseNuclear briefcaseNuclear briefcase is a specially outfitted briefcase used to authorize the use of nuclear weapons.-United States:The Nuclear Football is a black briefcase, the contents of which is to be...
Further reading
- Ford, Daniel F. (1985). The Button: The Pentagon's Strategic Command and Control System. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0671500686. .
- Gulley, Bill, and Mary Ellen Reese. (1980). Breaking Cover. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0671245481. .
External links
- The Football—GlobalSecurity.orgGlobalSecurity.orgGlobalSecurity.org, launched in 2000, is a public policy organization focusing on the fields of defense, space exploration, intelligence, weapons of mass destruction and homeland security...
article including images of Smithsonian InstitutionSmithsonian InstitutionThe Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
retired "football" - The Nuclear Football, a History Channel Special