There are five Force Protection Conditions; the commander of
U.S. Northern Command determines what the minimum force protection level will be for every American installation in the continental United States. They set the force protection condition level for so many installations because it is the
Unified Combatant Command whose geographic area of responsibility is in North America. Other combatant commands, such as
U.S. European Command and
U.S. Southern Command, set the force protection condition levels for local American military installations in their areas of responsibility. Individual facility and installation commanders may increase their local force protection levels as they feel is necessary, but they must adhere to at least the minimum level prescribed by the US Northern Command. Force protection can include procedures as basic as checking identification cards at the entrance to an installation and requiring credentials to get inside a building. However, when necessary, force protection procedures can become as stringent as inspecting every vehicle, person, and bag entering an installation. Sites may have their own FPCON levels as well as have locally specific AT measures for an FPCON, which must be classified
CONFIDENTIAL; otherwise, if separated from the AT or Physical Security Plan, they can be downgraded to
FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY if deemed appropriate. The key significant difference between FPCON DELTA and other, more general FPCONs, is that DELTA will reference a specific, known threat, whereas others are used for preparing for imminent or possible threats of a non-targeted nature. Other FPCONs can also be maintained for a significant length of time, possibly lasting for several weeks, while DELTA is generally only maintainable for several days. An FPCON level may also be designated as "+", meaning the facility shall institute extra security measures beyond those specified for the FPCON level. Generally, this is used to provide an extra layer of security for FPCON ALPHA. There is a list of extra security measures that may be initiated for a "+" security level; normally the facility Force Protection NCO will choose two or three for their installation, and switch them out randomly to prevent a predictable response. Some, however, are nearly always used. For instance, 100% ID checks of all incoming persons are almost always used at FPCON ALPHA+, while armed fence line patrols may be done for two days, then stopped and replaced with anti-surveillance measures to increase randomness and decrease the predictability of defense. FPCON levels can also be raised in a non-progressive manner; for example, the FPCON level can jump from FPCON NORMAL to CHARLIE, completely skipping the ALPHA and BRAVO levels. == Popular culture ==