<P> The DEFCON level is controlled primarily by the U.S. president and the U.S. Secretary of Defense through the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Combatant Commanders; each DEFCON level defines specific security, activation and response scenarios for the personnel in question . </P> <P> Different branches of the U.S. Armed Forces (i.e. U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Coast Guard) and different bases or command groups can be activated at different defense conditions . In general, there is no single DEFCON status for the world or country and it may be set to only include specific geographical areas . According to Air & Space / Smithsonian, as of 2014, the worldwide DEFCON level has never been more severe than DEFCON 3 . The DEFCON 2 levels in the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis and 1991 Gulf War were not worldwide . </P> <P> DEFCONs should not be confused with similar systems used by the U.S. military, such as Force Protection Conditions (FPCONS), Readiness Conditions (REDCONS), Information Operations Condition (INFOCON) and its future replacement Cyber Operations Condition (CYBERCON), and Watch Conditions (WATCHCONS), or the former Homeland Security Advisory System used by the United States Department of Homeland Security . </P> <P> Defense readiness conditions vary between many commands and have changed over time, and the United States Department of Defense uses exercise terms when referring to the DEFCONs . This is to preclude the possibility of confusing exercise commands with actual operational commands . On 12 January 1966, NORAD "proposed the adoption of the readiness conditions of the JCS system", and information about the levels was declassified in 2006: </P>

When has the us been at defcon 2