Nuclear football

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This article is about the United States. For similar objects worldwide, see Nuclear briefcase

The Nuclear Football (also called the Atomic Football, President's Emergency Satchel, The Button, The Red Button, The Black Box, or just The Football) is a black briefcase meant to be used by the President of the United States of America to authorize a nuclear attack while away from fixed command centers, such as the White House Situation Room. It functions as a mobile hub in the strategic defense system of the United States.

Contents 1 Contents 2 Operation 3 History 4 In popular culture 5 See also 6 Notes 7 Further reading 8 External links

[edit] Contents

According to a Washington Post article, the President is always accompanied by a military aide carrying a "football" with launch codes for nuclear weapons.^[1]

It is a metallic Zero Halliburton briefcase carried in a black leather "jacket". The package weighs 40 pounds (18 kg). A small antenna protrudes from the bag near the handle. A black cable is employed that loops around the handle of the bag and the wrist of the aide.^{[citation needed]}

In his book Breaking Cover, Bill Gulley, the former director of the White House Military Office stated, "There are four things in the Football. The Black Book containing the retaliatory options, a book listing classified site locations, a manila folder with eight or ten pages stapled together giving a description of procedures for the Emergency Broadcast System, and a three-by-five inch card with authentication codes. The Black Book was about 9 by 12 inches and had 75 loose-leaf pages printed in black and red. On the 'vital' page listing possible responses to a nuclear attack, retaliatory options appear in red" and were labeled: 'Rare, Medium or Well Done.' The book with classified site locations was about the same size as the Black Book, and was black. It contained information on sites around the country where the president could be taken in an emergency."^{[Full citation needed][2]}

[edit] Operation

If the President, who is Commander-in-Chief, decides to order the use of nuclear weapons, he would be taken aside by the "carrier" and the briefcase opened. Once opened, a command signal or (watch) alert is issued to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The aide and the President would review the attack options and decide upon a plan, such as a single cruise missile or a large ICBM launch. These are precoded, preset war plans, developed under the SIOP, or Single Integrated Operational Plan, which at one time represented the entire joint US/UK plan for "disassembling" the USSR by means of nuclear weapons. It is unclear if it uses SATCOM (satellite communications), or VLFT (very low frequency transmission) or VHFT (very high frequency transmission). 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 would be processed by the military, the President must be positively identified using a special code issued on a plastic card, nicknamed the "biscuit". The United States has a two-man rule in place, and while only the President can order the release of nuclear weapons, the order must be confirmed by the Secretary of Defense. Once all the codes had been verified, the military would issue attack orders to the proper units. These orders are given and reverified for authenticity.

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 or walking near the President or riding in Air Force One, Marine One, or the presidential motorcade with the President.^{[citation needed]} There are three such "footballs" in existence—the first travels with the President, a spare is kept at the White House, and the third is with the Vice President.^[2]

[edit] History

The football dates back to Dwight D. Eisenhower, but its current usage came about in the aftermath of the Cuban missile crisis, when John F. 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. Second, in an era before 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.^{[citation needed]}

It has been stated in an Associated Press article that the nickname "football" was derived from an attack plan codenamed "dropkick".^[2]

During their presidencies, Jimmy Carter always kept the codes in his jacket, while Ronald Reagan preferred to keep the launch codes in his wallet.^{[citation needed]} On one occasion, Jimmy Carter left nuclear launch codes in his suit when it was sent in for dry cleaning.^[3] Congressman John Kline served as a colonel in the United States Marine Corps and carried the football for Presidents Carter and Reagan.

On occasion the President has left his aide carrying the football behind. This happened to Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush^[4] and, most recently, Bill Clinton on April 24, 1999.^[3] In none of these cases was the integrity of the football breached. The football was separated from Ronald Reagan immediately after an assassination attempt.^[3]

[edit] In popular culture

This "In popular culture" section may contain too many minor or trivial references. Please reorganize this content to explain the subject's impact on popular culture rather than simply listing appearances, and remove trivia references. (September 2009)

The nuclear football has been featured in a variety of films, including the 1983 film adaptation of Stephen King's novel The Dead Zone, the 1997 films The Peacekeeper and Air Force One, the 1999 films Chain of Command and Deterrence, the 2002 film The Sum of All Fears, and the 2008 films Swing Vote and Get Smart. In Watchmen, the football is made to resemble a metalized version of an American football—this might be an affectation of the film's version of Richard Nixon, who in real life was fanatic about the sport.

It is featured in books (Area 7, The Kid Who Became President), and television (the fourth season of 24; JAG season 6, episode 19, in which Lt. Bud Roberts was assigned to carry the nuclear football, and the pilot episode of NCIS, "Yankee White"; and Seven Days). The football plays a large role in the Tom Clancy video game Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter. In Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, the football is stolen when the President is kidnapped.

[edit] See also

• Cheget, the Russian counterpart
• Permissive Action Link
• Nuclear briefcase

[edit] Notes

[edit] Further reading

• Ford, Daniel F. (1985). The Button: The Pentagon's Strategic Command and Control System. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN-10: 0671500686. OCLC 11533371.
• Gulley, Bill, and Mary Ellen Reese. (1980). Breaking Cover. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN-10: 0671245481. OCLC 6304331.

[edit] External links

• The Football—GlobalSecurity.org article including images of Smithsonian Institution retired "football"
• The Nuclear Football, a History Channel Special