The Football is a secure briefcase that contains the information needed to enable the President to authorize and initiate a nuclear weapons strike. It follows the President where ever he goes and is never more that a few steps from his side. A military officer carries the Football and undergoes the nation's most rigorous security background check, "Yankee White".
The contents of the Football are believed to include:
- The "black book" of nuclear weapons launch options as formulated in the Single Integrated Operational Plan (SIOP). The current SIOP is SIOP 04.
- The Emergency Action Message (EAM) or "go codes" needed to authorize use of nuclear weapons;
- A booklet on "Emergency Procedures White House" outlining secure locations to which the President could be directed and describing use of the Emergency Broadcast System;
- A secure telephone.
The concept of the football came about in the aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis. President Kennedy was concerned that some Soviet commander in Cuba might launch their missiles without authorization from Moscow. After the crisis, Kennedy ordered a review of the U.S. Nuclear Command and Control system. The result was the highly classified National Security Action Memorandum that created the Football.
Sources and Resources
- Nuclear Command and Control in NATO: Nuclear Weapons Operations and the Strategy of Flexible Response, by Shaun R. Gregory, 1996
- The Button, Daniel Ford
- Managing Nuclear Operations, Ashton B. Carter, John D. Steinbruner, Charles A. Zraket, Eds.
- Nuclear Battlefields - Global Links in the Arms Race, William M. Arkin, Richard W. Fieldhouse
- DoD Instruction 5210.87
- DoD Instruction SIOP-ESI
- Joint Pub 1-02
Maintained by Steven Aftergood
Originally created by John Pike
Updated January 15, 2004