Nuclear football

See also: 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 specially outfitted black briefcase used by the President of the United States of America 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 hub in the strategic defense system of the United States. While exact details about the football are highly classified, several sources have provided information about the bag, its contents, and its operation.

Contents

According to a Washington Post article, "the President is accompanied at all times by a military aide carrying a 'football' that contains launch codes for nuclear weapons."

The specific contents of the briefcase are highly classified and have lead to much speculation. It holds a secure satellite communication (SATCOM) radio and handset for communication, 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 predetermined attack options (commonly referred to as the "playbook") as well as plans to handle the national emergency that would follow a nuclear attack and retaliation. These materials are generated by, respectively, the National Security Agency, the United States Strategic Command (attack options), and the United States National Security Council (security/continuity-of-government plans). The attack options provided in the football are part of the Single Integrated Operational Plan (SIOP), which contains different scenarios that involve the use of nuclear weaponry.

The case itself is a metallic, possibly bullet-resistant, modified Zero Halliburton briefcase which is carried inside a black 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. A common misconception is that the football is handcuffed to its carrier. Rather, a black cable is employed that loops around the handle of the bag and the wrist of the aide.

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."

Operation

The nuclear football functions as a "trigger" for the United States nuclear arsenal. According to experts, 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 would be opened. Once the briefcase is opened, a command signal or (watch) alert is issued to the Joint Chiefs. At that point, 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. It is unclear if it uses SATCOM 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 another approved official in the United States government most namely 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.

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.

It has been stated in an AP article that the nickname "football" was derived from an attack plan codenamed "Drop-Kick."

During their presidencies, Jimmy Carter always kept the codes in his jacket, while Ronald Reagan preferred to keep the launch codes in his wallet. On one occasion, Jimmy Carter once left nuclear launch codes in his suit when it was sent in for dry cleaning.

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 and, most recently, Bill Clinton on April 24, 1999. In none of these cases was the integrity of the football breached. Congressman John Kline served as a colonel in the United States Marine Corps and carried the football for Presidents Carter and Reagan. The football was separated from Ronald Reagan immediately after an assassination attempt.

In his book Dereliction of Duty: The Eyewitness Account of How Bill Clinton Compromised America's National Security, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Buzz Patterson writes of his experiences as one of the individuals who carried the football for President Clinton.

In popular culture

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 movie Swing Vote.

It has also been featured in several books, such as the Matthew Reilly novel Area 7 and Dan Gutman's novel The Kid Who Became President. In television it has been featured in the fourth season of 24, the pilot episode of NCIS ("Yankee White"), and an episode of the series Seven Days. The football also plays a large role in the Tom Clancy video game Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter.

See also

• Cheget, the Russian counterpart
• Nuclear briefcase

References

• GlobalSecurity.org article including images of Smithsonian Institution retired "football"
• History Channel Special on the Nuclear Football [1]
• Ford, Daniel. 1985. The Button. New York: Simon and Schuster.