Reagan- U.S. Command and Control Directive

Description

The focus of this 1987 detective issued by Reagan is to support strong command and control (NC2) systems in the United States: 

 

“I am issuing this directive to ensure that the United States continues to maintain effective command and control of nuclear weapon operations by building systematically on present capabilities.”

 

Reagan accomplishes this task by establishing the Nuclear Command and Control System. It is stated that the purpose of this system is to “…provide the President with all capabilities required to exercise his authority over nuclear weapon operations.” The directive continues to delineate responsibility for the NCCS to several departments and high ranking officials to ensure its implementation within 120 days of issuance. 

 

Reagan places emphasis on the NCSS creating survivability and endurance in the command and control system of the United States through continued review and the implementation of exercises on systems to ensure all processes work at maximum efficiency. 

 

The report also focuses extensively on the personnel involved in the handling of nuclear weapons, and the procedures to handle these devices and related equipment throughout their life cycles (i.e. creation, storage, transportation, and implementation).  This is not a scientific approach to procedures, rather, a security oriented approach to standardizing these procedures.  Extensive background checks for anyone working closely with these systems are required, and many of the specific objectives of the report remain classified.  

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Document entry started by Michael Gajdosik on August 11, 2020. Entry last updated by Michael Gajdosik on August 11, 2020.