The DEFCON 4 exercise term is “Double Take.” military complex ramps up intelligence gathering and shores up security.ĭEFCON 4 represents “a readiness posture requiring increased intelligence watch and a continuing analysis of the political/military situation in the area of tension,” according to the original Joint Chiefs of Staff memo. The DEFCON 5 exercise term is “Fade Out.” DEFCON 4ĭEFCON 4 describes the everyday operating procedures for fighting units.Īt DEFCON 4, the U.S. DEFCON 5 represents “a normal readiness posture which can be sustained indefinitely and which represents an optimum balance between the requirements of readiness and the routine training and equipping of forces for their primary mission,” according to a Joint Chiefs of Staff description of this level when the DEFCON system was first introduced.