85-691: The nuclear football , officially the Presidential Emergency Satchel , is a briefcase , the contents of which are to be used by the president of the United States to communicate and authorize a nuclear attack while away from fixed command centers , such as the White House Situation Room or the Presidential Emergency Operations Center . Functioning as a mobile hub in the strategic defense system of
170-556: A "short scuffle" with Chinese security officials, after the latter tried to bar the former access to the Great Hall of the People auditorium. Political correspondent Jonathan Swan , who reported the incident, wrote, "I'm told that at no point did the Chinese have the nuclear football in their possession or even touch the briefcase. I'm also told the head of the Chinese security detail apologised to
255-621: A Lincoln Continental that the President had given him, Nixon was separated from the Secret Service and presumably the bagman. One president may have been unwilling to accommodate the football holder when traveling from the White House. Reportedly, Jimmy Carter refused to let the military aide stay in a trailer at his residence in Plains, Georgia , although Carter later denied the allegation. When Carter
340-406: A challenge code of two phonetic letters . The president will read, from the biscuit, the daily phonetic letters, and the deputy director will confirm or deny that it is correct, confirmation indicating the person is the president and the attack orders can be given. Down the chain of command, the United States has a two-man rule in place at nuclear launch facilities. This verification process ensures
425-543: A court, hence the name. Businesspeople and other white collar professionals also use briefcases to carry papers, and since the 1980s, electronic devices such as laptop computers and tablet computers. Some briefcases have only a main internal space, while others may have subsections, accordion sections, small pockets, or dividers. Briefcases may be made from leather, vinyl, durable fabric, thin metal (such as aluminium), or plastic. Leather, vinyl, or fabric briefcases may have externally-accessible pockets or sleeves in addition to
510-624: A document authorizing nuclear weapons use in a crisis. That was the Joint Chief of Staff Emergency Actions File, which included instructions for U.S. commanders to transfer nuclear weapons to NATO allies and arrangements to enable the president to participate in an emergency telephone conference with the defense secretary and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Goodpaster also showed Kennedy a booklet of instructions for military commanders providing advanced authorization (pre-delegation) for nuclear weapons use in
595-491: A letter requesting that President Biden give up sole authority to use the nuclear launch codes. The letter asked Biden "to install checks [and] balances in our nuclear command-and-control structure" and proposed alternatives to the existing structure. The 1986 Goldwater–Nichols Act streamlined the military chain of command, which now runs from the president through the secretary of defense directly to combatant commanders (CCDRs, all four-star generals or admirals ), bypassing
680-554: A nuclear response during a military confrontation and how he would direct the Pentagon to do so. Shepard formulated questions that Kennedy could use during a meeting with the Joint Chiefs on methods for communicating and authenticating presidential instructions in a crisis. The questions concerned procedures for contacting the Joint War Room at the Pentagon if the president believed it necessary to "launch an immediate nuclear strike against
765-456: A nuclear-capable Pukguksong-2 ballistic missile over the Sea of Japan . U.S. military officials clarified that it was neither illegal nor against proper procedure for the officer to appear in such a photo, although they conceded that the situation was strange. On November 8, 2017, when President Trump made a state visit to China , U.S. military aides carrying the football were reportedly involved in
850-522: A ruler commanding the armed forces derives from Imperator of the Roman Kingdom , Roman Republic and Roman Empire , who possessed imperium (command and other regal) powers. In English use, the term was first used during the English Civil War . A nation's head of state (monarchical or republican) usually holds the position of commander-in-chief, even if effective executive power is held by
935-447: A separate head of government . In a parliamentary system , the executive branch is ultimately dependent upon the will of the legislature ; although the legislature does not issue orders directly to the armed forces and therefore does not control the military in any operational sense. Governors-general and colonial governors are also often appointed commander-in-chief of the military forces within their territory. A commander in chief
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#17328591903291020-502: A source, that the term "football" was derived from a nuclear attack plan codenamed "Dropkick." When and where McNamara made such a statement has not been cited nor is there an original source for the "Dropkick" reference. That claim may have a fictitious premise because "Dropkick" appears distinctively in the film Dr. Strangelove when the character General Buck Turgidson ( George C. Scott ) informs President Merkin Muffley ( Peter Sellers ) that
1105-504: A state of emergency ( Finnish : valmiustila , literally, "state of preparedness") and state of war ( Finnish : puolustustila , lit. "state of defence") are declared by a presidential decree, given after a motion by the government, which is then submitted to the Parliament for ratification. The president has, in a state of emergency, the right to transfer the position of the commander-in-chief to another Finnish citizen. In France ,
1190-474: A traveling president with a special satchel for such purposes was the creation of White House naval aide Edward L. Beach Jr. On 19 January 1961, the day before his inauguration, president-elect John F. Kennedy received a briefing from President Eisenhower and his staff secretary General Andrew Goodpaster on emergency procedures in a nuclear crisis. Goodpaster described the contents of the "satchel," which plans for implementing Federal Emergency Plan D-Minus , and
1275-476: Is sometimes referred to as supreme commander , which is sometimes used as a specific term. The term is also used for military officers who hold such power and authority, not always through dictatorship, and as a subordinate (usually) to a head of state (see Generalissimo ). The term is also used for officers who hold authority over an individual military branch , special branch or within a theatre of operations . This includes heads of states who: According to
1360-713: The Convention , as well as later to the Directoire , before being regained in the hands of Consul Napoléon Bonaparte , later Emperor Napoléon I , alone. The Restoration restored the authority of the King, first in an absolute monarchy, then the constitutional July Monarchy of Louis Philippe , before it was overthrown in turn by the Second Republic and later the Second Empire of Napoleon III . The following Third Republic
1445-806: The Armed Forces , the National Police and all other state's security agencies. In Egypt , the president of the Republic holds the ceremonial title of Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. A member of the government, usually defence minister, is commander-in-chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces . The president is the only individual capable of declaring war. With the exception of Mohamed Morsi , who briefly served as president from 2012 to 2013, all Egyptian presidents have been former military officers. During
1530-712: The Australian Defence Force 's command structure, and the democratically accountable Australian Cabinet (chaired by the Prime Minister ) de facto controls the ADF. The Minister for Defence and several subordinate ministers exercise this control through the Australian Defence Organisation . Section 8 of the Defence Act 1903 states: The Minister shall have the general control and administration of
1615-590: The Constitution of Albania , the president of the Republic of Albania is the commander-in-chief of Albanian Armed Forces . Under part II, chapter III, article 99, subsections 12, 13, 14 and 15, the Constitution of Argentina states that the president of the Argentine Nation is the "Commander-in-chief of all the armed forces of the Nation ". It also states that the president is entitled to provide military posts in
1700-512: The Minister of Defence and is responsible for advising the Minister, for the implementation of defence policy and for the administration of the department. According to the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina , the collective Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina . In peace, the commander-in-chief exercises his command through
1785-607: The Parliament must give consent to the dispatch of Czech military forces outside the territory of the Czech Republic. The Ministry of Defence is the central authority of the state administration for the control of the Armed Forces. The actual day-to-day management is vested in the chief of the general staff, the Czech chief of defence equivalent. The position of the Danish monarch as
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#17328591903291870-622: The Royal Brunei Armed Forces . The powers of command-in-chief over the Canadian Armed Forces are vested in the Canadian monarch , and are delegated to the governor general of Canada , who also uses the title Commander-in-Chief . In this capacity, the governor general is entitled to the uniform of a general/flag officer, with the crest of the office and special cuff braid serving as rank insignia. By constitutional convention,
1955-604: The Single Integrated Operational Plan ). A two-person verification procedure would precede the entering of the codes into a Permissive Action Link . Before the order can be followed by the military, the president must be positively identified using a special code issued on a plastic card, nicknamed the " biscuit ". The authentication is conducted between the president and the National Military Command Center deputy director of operations, using
2040-400: The U.S. Congress that they would refuse to carry out an unlawful order for a nuclear strike. In addition, off-the-shelf strike packages are pre-vetted by lawyers to confirm that they are legal and, thus, such a strike would be presumed to be a lawful order. Military service members have been reprimanded for questioning U.S. protocols for nuclear strike authority. In 1975, Major Harold Hering
2125-777: The Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force . The president of Ethiopia is the Supreme Commander of the Ethiopian Armed Forces which is the ceremonial role that is limited to granting high military titles and awards. The prime minister of Ethiopia is the commander-in-chief of the Ethiopian National Defense Force . According to the Finnish constitution , the president of Finland is the commander-in-chief of all Finnish military forces . In practice,
2210-472: The United States , the football is carried by a military aide when the president is traveling. The briefcase is officially named the "Presidential Emergency Satchel". During the administration of Dwight Eisenhower , the briefcase was most commonly nicknamed the "satchel" or the "black bag." By the time of President John F. Kennedy 's assassination , if not earlier, the briefcase was also becoming known as
2295-576: The United States Strategic Command and perhaps the Joint Chiefs of Staff . The president would review the attack options with others such as the defense secretary and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and decide on a plan, which could range from the launch of a single ICBM or nuclear-armed bomber to options for multiple, even hundreds of ICBMs or bombers. These are among the preset war plans developed under OPLAN 8010 (formerly
2380-462: The Yom Kippur War , the president played a major role at all levels of the planning of the war, and was, in a literal sense, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, giving direct orders to the commanders from the headquarters during the war as field marshal of the army , marshal of the air force and air defence forces and admiral of the navy . The king of Eswatini is the commander in chief of
2465-561: The countersignature of the prime minister for decisions concerning the above-mentioned provisions as per Articles 63(3–4), or otherwise, they are not valid. The prime minister may delegate to other ministers the right to countersign these decisions of the president. The political responsibility for the Armed Forces is borne by the Government , which in Article 67 is defined as the "supreme body of executive power". According to Articles 39 & 43,
2550-417: The head of state , the president of the Republic , in accordance to Article 53 of the Constitution of India . The president exercises supreme command with accordance to the law. As commander in chief, the president has the power to declare war however they must subject to the approval of the Parliament of India . The commander in chief also appoints the chiefs of each branch of the armed forces as well as
2635-582: The minister of defence . In war and in cases where the minister of defence is not fulfilling orders, the commander-in-chief exercises his command directly through the Chief of Joint Staff . Article 142 of the Brazilian Constitution of 1988 states that the Brazilian Armed Forces is under the supreme command of the president of the Republic . The sultan of Brunei is the commander-in-chief of
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2720-532: The president of Barbados is the commander-in-chief of Barbados Defense Force . Between 1966 and 2021, prior to the transition to a republican system, the monarch of Barbados , Queen Elizabeth II , was head of the Defense Force, with the Governor-General of Barbados as her viceroy. The president adopted these powers. First President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was the Supreme Commander of all the Armed Forces of
2805-643: The president of Ghana is the commander-in-chief of the Ghana Armed Forces . He holds the rank of Field Marshal . According to the Guyanese constitution, the president is commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. There is a rank insignia for the position. The supreme commander of the Indian Armed Forces is the principal commanding authority of the Indian Armed Forces , a position that is vested in
2890-631: The president of the Republic is designated as " Chef des Armées " (literally "Chief of the Armies") under article 15 of the Constitution ; the officeholder is as such the supreme executive authority in military affairs. Article 16 provides the president with extensive emergency powers . However, owing to the nature of the semi-presidential system , the prime minister also has key constitutional powers under article 21: "He shall be responsible for national defence" and has "power to make regulations and shall make appointments to civil and military posts". Since
2975-508: The "football." General Chester Clifton stated in his 1986 interview that the term was used "jokingly", and he described how warrant officers , who were on a twenty-four hour schedule, would regularly hand-off the briefcase to the next person. That routine could have inspired the football metaphor, which dovetailed with the Kennedy clan's penchant for touch football . Various sources claim, often mentioning Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara as
3060-578: The Americans afterwards for the misunderstanding." On January 6, 2021, during the storming of the United States Capitol by rioters, security footage, displayed during the subsequent Trump impeachment trial , showed Vice President Mike Pence along with the aide carrying the backup football being hastily evacuated from the Senate chamber . While the vice president was sheltering with his team and family,
3145-522: The Canadian Armed Forces. According to the Croatian constitution , the president of Croatia is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia . There was originally a rank insignia and name for the position, known as "Vrhovnik". This was held by former President Franjo Tudjman and was abolished after his death. In peace, the commander-in-chief exercises his command through
3230-659: The Communist Bloc"—for example, If the president used the "red button" on the telephone to contact the War Room, what would he say to make such a request and how would the instructions be verified. A record of the Kennedy-Joint Chiefs of Staff conference has not been disclosed, but according to National Security Adviser McGeorge Bundy , one takeaway from the discussion was that the president expected to be able "to initiate, as well as participate in, an emergency conference with
3315-600: The Crown's prerogative powers over the armed forces and constitutional powers as commander-in-chief are exercised on the advice of the prime minister and the rest of Cabinet , the governing ministry that commands the confidence of the House of Commons . According to the National Defence Act , the Minister of National Defence is responsible and accountable to the Parliament of Canada for all matters related to national defence and
3400-567: The Defence Force, and the powers vested in the Chief of the Defence Force , the Chief of Navy , the Chief of Army and the Chief of Air Force by virtue of section 9, and the powers vested jointly in the Secretary and the Chief of the Defence Force by virtue of section 9A, shall be exercised subject to and in accordance with any directions of the Minister. According to the Constitution of Barbados ,
3485-449: The Republic. In absence of him, then Vice President Syed Nazrul Islam was acting President and acting Supreme Commander of all the Armed Forces of the Republic. The commander-in-chief of Bangladesh Armed Forces is the president , although executive power and responsibility for national defense resides with the prime minister . This is discharged through the Ministry of Defence , headed by
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3570-490: The aide carrying the football returns to Washington, D.C. In the meantime, the incoming president receives one of the spare footballs at the pre-inauguration nuclear briefing, as well as a "biscuit" with codes that become active at 12:00:00 p.m. According to military analyst and whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg , presidents beginning with Eisenhower have in fact delegated nuclear launch authority to military commanders who may then sub-delegate authority further. In Ellsberg's view,
3655-417: The aides carrying it frequently appear in press photographs. In February 2017, a guest at President Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort posed for a photo with the military aide carrying the football, posting the image to Facebook and identifying the aide by his first name. The photo was posted while Trump was hosting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe , around the same time as news broke that North Korea had fired
3740-565: The armed forces ( Army , Navy and Air Force ). Under chapter II of section 68 titled Command of the naval and military forces , the Constitution of Australia states that: The command in chief of the naval and military forces of the Commonwealth is vested in the Governor-General as the Queen's representative. In practice, however, the Governor-General does not play an active part in
3825-645: The consent of the Folketing . Any measure which the King may take in pursuance of this provision shall forthwith be submitted to the Folketing". However, when reading the Danish Constitution, it is important to bear in mind that the k ing in this context is understood by Danish jurists to be read as the government (consisting of the prime minister and other ministers). This is a logical consequence of articles 12, 13 and 14, all of which in essence stipulates that
3910-524: The denial, the syndicated "Allen-Scott Report," is perhaps the earliest public reference to the "football," quoting Valenti as saying that "The 'black bag' or 'football', as we call it, goes wherever the President travels." In his 1980 book Breaking Cover , Bill Gulley , former director of the White House Military Office , wrote: There are four things in the Football. The Black Book containing
3995-417: The emergency department floor. During the incident, Reagan was separated from the rest of the football as well, because the officer who carried it was left behind as the motorcade sped away with the wounded president. It was reported that President Bill Clinton left his nuclear football aide by leaving a NATO summit meeting in haste. As the nuclear football is required to be near the president at all times,
4080-533: The event that the President had not survived a nuclear attack and communications with Washington, D.C., were cut off. During his administration, President Kennedy routinized the satchel, which was known as the "black bag". When the Berlin Crisis raised questions about a possible nuclear emergency in January 1962, Kennedy discussed with White House Naval Aide Tazewell Shepard what procedures would be necessary for making
4165-549: The everyday command and control is in the hands of the chief of defence and the commander of the Finnish Border Guard . The economic administration of the Finnish Defence Force is the responsibility of Ministry of Defence . The duty of the president is to decide upon Since the constitutional reform of 2000, the minister of defence has the right to be present when the president uses his command powers, unless
4250-434: The football came within 100 feet (30 m) of the approaching rioters. Its capture during the event could have resulted in the loss of sensitive intelligence surrounding pre-planned nuclear strike options. It was later reported that military officials were unaware of the danger to the football during the riot. Following President Trump's failure to secure a second term, he did not attend President Biden's inauguration , when
4335-505: The football either standing or walking near the president at all times, including riding on Air Force One , on Marine One , or in the presidential motorcade with the president. There are three nuclear footballs in total; two are allocated to the president and vice president, with the last being stored in the White House . The practice of also providing an aide with a football to the vice president, to whom command authority would devolve if
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#17328591903294420-449: The football is normally handed over. Instead, Trump's football remained with him while a second one accompanied Biden. At the noon EST transition time, the codes in the footballs accompanying Trump and Pence (who did attend the inauguration) were deactivated, and those in Biden's and incoming Vice President Kamala Harris 's were activated. In February 2021, a group of 31 Congress members signed
4505-408: The granting of the jobs or grades of senior officers of the armed forces, and by itself on the battlefield; runs with its organization and distribution according to needs of the Nation and declares war and orders reprisals with the consent and approval of the Argentine National Congress . The Ministry of Defense is the government department that assists and serves the president in the management of
4590-418: The head of the military is deeply rooted in tradition. While the 1953 constitution does not explicitly designate the monarch as commander-in-chief; it is implicit, given the general provision in article 12 and the more specific wording of article 19 (2): "Except for purposes of defence against an armed attack upon the Realm or Danish forces, the King shall not use military force against any foreign state without
4675-480: The latter. A small antenna protrudes from the bag near the handle, suggesting that it also contains communications equipment of some kind. It is a popular misconception that the football contains a large red button , which when pressed, launches a nuclear attack. If the U.S. president, who is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, decides to order the use of nuclear weapons, the briefcase would be opened. A command signal, or "watch" alert, would be issued to
4760-542: The launch codes could be transmitted in a crisis and on the systems that were in place at the Pentagon to verify presidential orders. Public officials hosting presidents sometimes noticed an aide carrying the football. When President Richard Nixon attended the ceremonial opening of the Bay Area Rapid Transit in September 1972, his hosts were aware of a "peculiar briefcase" carried by a U.S. Marine officer. Mishaps could occur. At Camp David in 1973, when Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev spontaneously drove off with Nixon in
4845-494: The main storage space. Some briefcases made of fabric may have a shoulder strap. Briefcases typically have a lock to protect the contents. Nowadays, briefcases may have padded internal pouches to protect laptop computers. Briefcases are descendants of the limp satchel used in the fourteenth century for carrying money and valuables. It was called a "budget", derived from the Latin word "bulga" or Irish word "bolg", both meaning leather bag (in Irish it also means 'stomach'), and also
4930-404: The matter is of immediate concern. In questions of strategic importance, the prime minister has the same right. The president commissions and promotes officers and decides on activating reservists for extraordinary service and on the mobilisation of the Defence Forces. If Parliament is not in session when a decision to mobilise is taken, it must be immediately convened. Declarations of
5015-423: The military. The role of commander in chief is laid out in Article 28 of the Constitution of Belarus , which states that he/she has the authority to "appoint and dismiss the high command of the Armed Forces". Article 167 of the Constitution of Belgium designates the king as the commander-in-chief. In practice, the Chief of Defence is the head and commander of the Belgian Armed Forces . He reports directly to
5100-415: The minister is the chief of defence , the senior-ranking professional military officer heading the Defence Command , who commands the Army , the Navy , the Air Force and other units not reporting directly to the Ministry of Defence . According to the Constitution , Article 128, Section II, Title IV, the president is the head of foreign policy, the civil administration and the commander-in-chief of
5185-417: The minister of defence, which provides the policy framework and resources to the Armed Forces to discharge their responsibilities in the context of the defence of the country. The first commander-in-chief, General M. A. G. Osmani , during Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, who was commander of Muktibahini/ Bangladesh Forces , reinstated to active duty by official BD government order, which after independence
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#17328591903295270-430: The minister of defence. In war and in cases where the minister of defence is not fulfilling orders, the commander-in-chief exercises his command directly through the chief of General Staff . According to the 1992 constitution , the president of the Czech Republic is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces according to Article 63(1)(c), and appoints and promotes generals under Article 63(1)(f). The president needs
5355-400: The nuclear football is primarily a piece of political theater , a hoax that obscures the real chain of nuclear command and control. The nuclear football dates to the last years of the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower , when it became an instrument for White House emergency preparations and presidential control over nuclear weapons. The notion that a designated military aide should accompany
5440-406: The oath at noon". If the outgoing president is not present at the inauguration — as happened in 2021 when Donald Trump did not attend the inauguration of Joe Biden but stayed in Florida — one football is kept with him and remains active until 11:59:59 a.m. on inauguration day. After that point, the now-former president is denied access to the football, its codes are automatically deactivated, and
5525-592: The order came from the actual president. Many sources show that the president has sole launch authority, and the defense secretary has no veto power . However, it has been argued that the president may not have sole authority to initiate a nuclear attack because the defense secretary is required to verify the order but cannot veto it. U.S. law dictates that the attack must be lawful; military officers are required to refuse to execute unlawful orders, such as those that violate international humanitarian law . Military officials, including General John Hyten , have testified to
5610-420: The powers vested in the monarch can only be exercised through ministers, who are responsible for all acts. Thus, the Government, in effect, holds the supreme command authority implied in articles 12 and 19(2). The Danish Defence Law ( Danish : Forsvarsloven ) designates in article 9 the minister of defence as the supreme authority in Defence ( Danish : højeste ansvarlige myndighed for forsvaret ). Under
5695-424: The president is disabled or deceased, began during the Carter administration . In presidential transitions , the president-elect does not receive the actual nuclear code card until after the nuclear briefing, which usually occurs when "he meets with the outgoing president at the White House just before the actual inauguration ceremony. The code card is activated electronically right after the president-elect takes
5780-427: The reign of Louis XIV , France has been strongly centralised. After crushing local nobles engaged in warlord-ism, the kings of France retained all authority with the help of able yet discreet Prime ministers ( Mazarin , Richelieu ). The French Revolution transferred the supreme authority to the King (in the context of the short-lived constitutional monarchy), then to the multi-member Comité de Salut Public during
5865-414: The retaliatory options, a book listing classified site locations, a manila folder with eight or ten pages stapled together giving a description of procedures for the Emergency Alert System , and a three-by-five-inch [7.5 × 13 cm] card with authentication codes . The Black Book was about 9 by 12 inches [23 × 30 cm] and had 75 loose-leaf pages printed in black and red. The book with classified site locations
5950-408: The satchel, but never received a briefing on it before he became president. As President Johnson possibly found stressful the presence of the military aide carrying the football, on one trip during his 1964 campaign, the aide flew on a separate plane. As the football became a routine element of the presidential entourage some information about it appeared. A 1965 Baltimore Sun article reported on how
6035-421: The secretary of defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff." Bundy expected the Pentagon to cooperate by holding practice drills so that that War Room staff could handle a presidential request. Another administrative response may have been the inclusion in the "Black Bag" of a card, later known as the "Biscuit," with the codes needed to authorize launches of nuclear weapons. According to William Manchester 's account, by
6120-429: The service chiefs. The service chiefs were assigned to an advisory role to the president and the secretary of defense and given the responsibility for training and equipping personnel in the unified combatant commands. Briefcase A briefcase is a narrow hard-sided box-shaped bag or case used mainly for carrying papers and equipped with a handle. Lawyers commonly use briefcases to carry briefs to present to
6205-402: The six armed forces service branches ), whose work schedule is described by a top-secret rota. This person is a commissioned officer in the U.S. military , pay-grade O-4 or above, who has undergone the nation's most rigorous background check ( Yankee White ). These officers are required to keep the football readily accessible to the president at all times. Consequently, this officer carries
6290-521: The source of the financial term " budget ". Godillot of Paris was the first to use a hinged iron frame on a carpet bag in 1826. There then followed the Gladstone bag and the Rosebery, an oval-top bag. Eventually these became the modern metal-framed briefcase. The first of what is known as the modern rectangular briefcase is said to have been invented in the late 1850s. In 2014, the global business bag market
6375-526: The supreme authority in Vichy France , while Général Charles de Gaulle , acting on behalf of the previous regime, founded the Free French Forces , upon which he held supreme authority all through the war. The following and short-lived Fourth Republic was a parliamentary system, which was replaced by the present Fifth Republic , a semi-presidential system . According to the Constitution of Ghana ,
6460-466: The time of Kennedy's assassination, the "Black Bag" included such codes, as well as contact details for communicating with the British Prime Minister and the President of France in a nuclear crisis. It also included several dozen Emergency Action Papers, later known as Presidential Emergency Action Documents (PEADs) , including proclamations for martial law. A major component of the "Black Bag"
6545-513: The wayward B-52s headed to the Soviet Union "were part of a special exercise we were holding called Operation Dropkick." During 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson discussed with Robert McNamara an arrangement to eliminate the "need for an aide to be in constant attendance upon him." Word of that proposal began to circulate in the media prompting White House aide Jack Valenti to deny that it had been under consideration. The newspaper article citing
6630-463: Was $ 9.4 billion. Commander-in-chief#United States A commander-in-chief or supreme commander ( supreme commander-in-chief ) is the person who exercises supreme command and control over an armed force or a military branch . As a technical term, it refers to military competencies that reside in a country's executive leadership, a head of state , head of government , or other designated government official . The formal role and title of
6715-538: Was a parliamentary system, where the military authority was held by the president of the Council of Ministers , head of government, although the president, head of state, retained ceremonial powers. During World War I , the many visits to the trenches by the elder statesman Georges Clemenceau impressed the soldiers and earned him the nickname Father of Victory ( French : Le Père de la Victoire ). During World War II , Maréchal Philippe Pétain assumed power and held
6800-516: Was about the same size as the Black Book, and was black. It contained information on sites around the country where the president could be taken in an emergency. The president is always accompanied by a military aide carrying the nuclear football with launch codes for nuclear weapons . It has been described both as a metal Zero Halliburton briefcase and as a leather briefcase weighing about 45 pounds (20 kg), with photographic evidence existing of
6885-467: Was discharged from the Air Force for asking, "How can I know that an order I receive to launch my missiles came from a sane president?" Nevertheless, the president, once in office, as noted by former Defense Secretary William Perry and Tom Z. Collina, retains the sole authority to launch a nuclear strike or attack. The football is carried by one of the rotating presidential military aides (one from each of
6970-571: Was gazetted in 1972. He retired on 7 April 1972 and relinquished all authority and duties to the president of Bangladesh. The president of Belarus is the Commander-in-Chief of the Belarusian Armed Forces ( Belarusian : Галоўнакамандуючы Узброенымі Сіламі Рэспублікі Беларусь ). The Belarusian commander in chief has an official uniform befitting of the rank, which the president wears on official occasion and ceremonies in relation to
7055-492: Was president, he began to carry the "biscuit" in a jacket pocket. Carter supposedly lost the card in a suit that went to the dry cleaner. The "biscuit" was separated from a severely wounded Ronald Reagan immediately after the 1981 assassination attempt when the George Washington University hospital emergency department trauma team cut into his clothing. It was later discovered lying unsecured in one of his shoes on
7140-579: Was some consideration during 1965 of finding ways to reduce the weight, apparently to no avail because recent accounts describe the weight as 45 pounds (20 kg). During the Eisenhower administration, Vice President Richard Nixon had an emergency satchel assigned to him. When Kennedy became president, one of the White House military aides sent a satchel to Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson , but his office returned it for unexplained reasons. According to JCS Chairman General Maxwell D. Taylor , Johnson knew about
7225-459: Was the "SIOP Execution Handbook," also known as the "Gold Book," with details on the Single Integrated Operational Plan attack options available to decision-makers. Kennedy had received several briefings on the SIOP, which acquainted him with its basic features. To protect such sensitive contents, the "Black Bag" was by November 1963 a "thirty-pound metal suitcase with an intricate combination lock." There
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