The ‘nuclear football’ — the mysterious briefcase that follows the U.S. president
- 7 years ago
WASHINGTON — The mysterious “nuclear football” that contains classified information to allow the U.S. president to order a nuclear attack at anytime and from anywhere in the world is about to be handed over to president-elect Donald Trump.
The “nuclear football” is formally known as the Presidential Emergency Satchel. It contains four things: a folder of instructions for the Emergency Broadcast System; a black book of strike options, another book that lists secure shelters for the president, and a card with authentication codes for the president to confirm his identity. It also allows the president to communicate with the Pentagon from any location.
The briefcase is hand-carried by one of five military aides. In order to qualify for the responsibility, the candidate must pass a special security investigation known as “Yankee White.” The criteria for the position includes having U.S. citizenship, possessing unquestionable loyalty to the country, and the individual, his or her family or anyone the individual is closely linked with must be absolutely devoid of foreign influence. The officer carrying the ‘football’ must always be within reach of the president.
If the president decides to deploy nuclear weapons, he must use a special code on the card to verify his identity, which has to be confirmed by the Secretary of Defense. However, the Secretary of Defense no veto power over the president’s decision.
The black book contains a menu of nuclear strike options, allowing the president to choose to eliminate all of the country’s enemies at once, or to only target individual countries. Once the orders have been verified, the military issues the attack.
The “nuclear football” is formally known as the Presidential Emergency Satchel. It contains four things: a folder of instructions for the Emergency Broadcast System; a black book of strike options, another book that lists secure shelters for the president, and a card with authentication codes for the president to confirm his identity. It also allows the president to communicate with the Pentagon from any location.
The briefcase is hand-carried by one of five military aides. In order to qualify for the responsibility, the candidate must pass a special security investigation known as “Yankee White.” The criteria for the position includes having U.S. citizenship, possessing unquestionable loyalty to the country, and the individual, his or her family or anyone the individual is closely linked with must be absolutely devoid of foreign influence. The officer carrying the ‘football’ must always be within reach of the president.
If the president decides to deploy nuclear weapons, he must use a special code on the card to verify his identity, which has to be confirmed by the Secretary of Defense. However, the Secretary of Defense no veto power over the president’s decision.
The black book contains a menu of nuclear strike options, allowing the president to choose to eliminate all of the country’s enemies at once, or to only target individual countries. Once the orders have been verified, the military issues the attack.