United States military nuclear incident terminology
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The United States military uses a number of terms to define the magnitude and extent of nuclear indicents. Several of these terms have, in various forms, entered popular culture. [1] (http://www.deadprogrammer.com/?p=1469) [2] (http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/experience/the.bomb/broken.arrows/intro.html)
They derive from the United States Department of Defense directive 5230.16, Nuclear Accident and Incident Public Affairs (PA) Guidance, [3] (http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/html/523016.htm) and the United States Air Force Operation Reporting System (AFOREPS), as set out in AFMAN 10-206. [4] (http://www.fas.org/spp/military/docops/usaf/10-206.htm) The terms are used in press releases, accident reports, and internal DoD communications.
These terms include but are not limited to the following. Any incident falling under PINNACLE is of "national-level interest":
BENT SPEAR - "...incidents involving nuclear weapons that are of significant interest but are not categorized as PINNACLE NUCFLASH OR PINNACLE BROKEN ARROW";
PINNACLE - BROKEN ARROW - "...an accidental event involving nuclear weapons or nuclear components but does not create the risk of nuclear war";
PINNACLE - NUCFLASH - "...the actual or possible detonation of a nuclear weapon which risks the outbreak of nuclear war";
PINNACLE - EMERGENCY DISABLEMENT - "...operations involving the command disablement or nonviolent disablement of a nuclear weapon";
PINNACLE - EMERGENCY EVACUATION - "...reports the evacuation of nuclear weapons";
PINNACLE - EMPTY QUIVER - "the seizure, theft, or loss of a nuclear weapon or nuclear component";
FADED GIANT - a "nuclear reactor and or radiological accident and incident" which does not involve nuclear weapons.
DULL SWORD is an Air Force reporting term which does not appear derive from a single source. It is used to mark reports of minor incidents involving nuclear weapons, components or systems, or which could impair the deployment of same.
In popular lore, ROGUE SPEAR is supposedly a means of flagging incidents in which nuclear weapons come under the control of non-governmental groups. It is however entirely an invention of American thriller writer Tom Clancy; the correct term is EMPTY QUIVER.
The John Woo action film Broken Arrow is partially correct, as it features an "unauthorized detonation ... of a nuclear weapon", albeit that it is not accidental, and is as part of an 'Empty Quiver' incident.
The above are used by the United States of America, and are neither NATO nor global standards.
See also
Sources
- Department of Defense directive 5230.16 (http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/html/523016.htm)
- AFMAN 10-206 (http://www.fas.org/spp/military/docops/usaf/10-206.htm)