National Command Authority (NCA) is a term that was used by the

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

of the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

to refer to the ultimate source of lawful military orders. The NCA was first alluded to in a 1960 Department of Defense document. It included at least the

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

as commander-in-chief and the secretary of defense. The term has no statutory or constitutional basis and was replaced in 2002 in favor of explicitly referring to the president and/or the secretary of defense. The term also refers to communications with the

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

s of the

Unified Combatant Command A unified combatant command (CCMD), also referred to as a combatant command, is a joint military command of the United States Department of Defense that is composed of units from two or more service branches of the United States Armed Forces, an ...

s to put U.S. forces into action.

Authorization of a nuclear or strategic attack

Only the president can direct the use of

nuclear weapons A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...

by U.S. Armed Forces, through plans like

OPLAN A military operation plan (also called a war plan before World War II) is a formal plan for military, military armed forces, their military organizations and units to conduct operations, as drawn up by commanders within the combat operations proce ...

8010-12. The president has unilateral authority as commander-in-chief to order that nuclear weapons be used for any reason at any time.

Notes and references

{{reflist Presidency of the United States Command and control in the United States Department of Defense Continuity of government in the United States Command and control systems of the United States military

Authorization of a nuclear or strategic attack

See also

Notes and references