Continuity of Government

Background

Since the days of the Cold War, the United States has had a plan in place to continue the operation of the government following a catastrophic attack on the nation's capital. The 2007 "National Security Presidential Directive 51" directs the geographic dispersion of leadership, staff, and infrastructure in order to maintain the functions of the United States Government in the event the nation’s capital is “decapitated” by a terrorist attack.

Buried deep within the 102-page National Continuity Plan is the strategy for the mass evacuation and relocation of every federal government agency including The White House and the military in response to an exceptional catastrophic event within the National Capital Region. Each agency is required to have a detailed Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) in place.

 

The Shadow Government

Following a catastrophic national emergency, the President, or his successor can authorize the establishment of a temporary "shadow government" to maintain control of the essential functions of the Federal Government. President Bush activated the shadow government on September 11, 2001 shortly after the second attack on the World Trade Center.

Every federal agency has designated key individuals to be part of an "Emergency Relocation Group". These ERGs are assigned to an alternate secure location on a rotating basis and are ready to take over the duty of supporting the National Essential Functions of this nation in an emergency.

COGCON Levels

The Continuity of Government Readiness Conditions (COGCON) system establishes executive branch readiness levels based on possible threats to the National Capital Region. The President alone determines and issues the COGCON Level.

COGCON 4:  Federal executive branch government employees at their normal work locations. Maintain alternate facility and conduct periodic continuity readiness exercises.
COGCON 3:  Federal agencies and departments Advance Relocation Teams “warm up” their alternate sites and capabilities, which include testing communications and IT systems. Ensure that alternate facilities are prepared to receive continuity staff. Track agency leaders and successors daily.
COGCON 2:  Deployment of 50-75% of Emergency Relocation Group continuity staff to alternate locations. Establish their ability to conduct operations and prepare to perform their organization’s essential functions in the event of a catastrophic emergency.
COGCON 1:  Full deployment of designated leadership and continuity staffs to perform the organization’s essential functions from alternate facilities either as a result of, or in preparation for, a catastrophic emergency.

 

Official COGCON matrix

View full-size detailed COG Readiness Matrix

 

COGCON Alert and Notification Process

When the President directs a COGCON change, all executive departments and agencies are notified:

  1. White House Military Office Director notifies Presidential Emergency Operations Center (PEOC) located in the bunker under the East Wing
  2. PEOC notifies the FEMA Operations Center (codename Bluegrass) located at Mount Weather in Bluemont, Virginia
  3. Bluegrass notifies Department and Agency COOP Emergency Points of Contact and/or Emergency Operations Centers ("This is Bluegrass with a COGCON")

National Essential Functions (NEFs)

The National Continuity Policy Implementation Plan identifies eight national essential functions which represent the overarching responsibilities of the federal government during a crisis.

Ensure the continued functioning of the three separate branches of government
Provide leadership visible to the Nation and the world
Defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic
Maintain and foster effective relationships with foreign nations
Protect against threats to the homeland and bring perpetrators to justice
Respond to and recover from domestic consequences of an attack
Protect and stabilize the Nation’s economy
Provide for critical national health, safety, and welfare needs of the United States

The Evacuation

E4B national emergency airborne command post

 

Evacuating the President

The President would evacuate via the White House Tunnel System to the Marine One hangar at the Anacostia Naval Support Facility. His ultimate destination would be onboard the E-4B National Airborne Operations Center (NAOB), a highly survivable militarized version of the Boeing 747-200 capable of being refueled in flight.

After several days in the air, the President could choose to go to one of the Presidential Emergency Facilities at Mount Weather, Site R, the underground bunker at Camp David, the bunker at Offutt Air Force Base, the new bunker under the Denver International Airport, or other still-classified locations.

 

Evacuating the Presidential Line of Succession

The U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) is responsible for evacuating government officials under the guidance of the classified Concept of Operations Plan CONPLAN 3600: Emergency Preparedness in the National Capital Region. The executive agency and department heads along with designated emergency relocation group (ERG) members would be transported to classified locations around the country above ground, below ground, and at sea.

The secret evacuation plan includes a nearby fleet of specialized vans and trucks that can be dispatched on a moment's notice to secret campgrounds located within the Shenandoah Valley and in nearby federal park lands in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia containing underground hardened facilities with emergency communication systems.

An Emergency Action Alert sent by the FEMA Alternate National Warning Center in Olney would direct the 1st Helicopter Squadron from Andrews Air Force Base to the Capitol to evacuate the top congressional leaders to the Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center. The Secret Service would take the Vice President and top-ranking White House officials down into the underground bunker in the White House.

 

Secret C-20C "Senex" Aircraft

Three Air Force C-20C aircraft (85-0049, 85-0050, and 86-0403) based at Andrews AFB are operated by the Presidential Airlift Group (PAG) of the 89th Airlift Wing. The C-20C aircraft are a secret part of the COG program and are designed to move senior executives (Senex) quickly in the event of a national emergency.

The three C-20C aircraft are equipped with a comprehensive hardened communication system installed by E-Systems and designed to enable operations in a post-nuclear environment. Whenever the President travels away from Washington, a C-20C is positioned discretely at an adjacent airfield in case the President has to suddenly depart and Air Force One has been disabled.
C-20C aircraft - Coop evacuation

Pentagon Relocation to Site R

Raven Rock Mountain Complex helipad and tunnel entrances

Site R, also known as the Raven Rock Mountain Complex, is located six miles north of Camp David and serves as the Alternate National Military Command Center. The deep underground facility can fully support the Pentagon's mission essential functions including nuclear command and control. Army helicopters are on standby at Davison Army Airfield to evacuate senior Defense officials from the Pentagon to Site-R providing hasty access to the secret facility by following Blue Light and Iron Gate procedures.

This Site R Relocation Handbook describes the procedures for relocating to the Raven Rock Mountain Complex.

 



View photos of Site R

 

Executive Powers

In 2012, President Obama issued two Executive Orders that will greatly expand the presidential powers in the event of a national emergency.

The March 2012 Executive Order gives the President the authority to commandeer all U.S. domestic resources, including food and water, and seize all energy and transportation infrastructure within the United States. The order also allows authorizes the U.S. Government to force its citizens to fulfill labor requirements for the purposes of national defense.

The July 2012 Executive Order gives the Department of Homeland Security authority over private communication networks in emergency situations.

The White House National Continuity Coordinator

The operational authority for the Continuity of Government was shifted from the civilian Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to the White House Military Office in early 2009, giving the White House full control over this important national security program.

The Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism serves as the current National Continuity Coordinator.

25th Amendment

The 25th Amendment defines the procedures for replacing the president in the event of death, removal, resignation, or incapacitation.

 

Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.

Presidential Line of Succession

The Presidential Succession Act of 1947 sets the order of Presidential Succession. This order is followed if the President dies or is incapacitated. The order of cabinet officers included in the list is determined by the dates on which each of their positions was created:

Orders of succession are also established for each of above Cabinet officials within their own departments. Ten successors residing within the National Capital Region (NCR) and three successors outside the NCR are identified for all executive departments and agencies. Here is an example of a 2013 Secretarial Order of Succession.

State of the Union Address

Every year, U.S. federal agencies quietly prepare for the change in the Continuity of Government Condition (COGCON) level during the annual State of the Union Address.

Because the full Presidential Line of Succession is in attendance at this NSSE event (except for a designated survivor Cabinet Secretary hiding out in the White House bunker), the COGCON level for the United States Government secretly drops from Level 4 to Level 3 in preparation for the President's State of the Union Address to our nation.



 

National Level Exercise

The National Exercise Program consists of a two-year progressive exercise cycle that culminates in the National Level Exercise held in even-numbered years. Here's a first-hand account of what it's like to be at COGCON 1 in a National Level Exercise.

The 2024 National Level Exercise (NLE 2024) will examine the impact of a large hurricane in Hawaii (Oahu) including wind, flooding, and storm surge affecting critical infrastructure, businesses, residents, and visitors.

EAGLE HORIZON : Annual continuity exercise for all federal executive branch departments and agencies.

ARDENT SENTRY: Focuses on the Department of Defense "Support to Civilian Authorities" mission.

VIGILANT GUARD : Large-scale, multi-state disaster response exercise sponsored by USNORTHCOM and the National Guard Bureau.

CYBER STORM IX (Spring 2024): An extensive DHS cybersecurity exercise designed to strengthen cyber preparedness in the public and private sectors.

NUWAIX: Nuclear Weapons Accident/Incident Exercise tests how well emergency responders can safely mitigate a scenario involving potential damage to a U.S. nuclear weapon in DOD custody.

VIGILANT SHIELD: NORTHCOM exercise focusing on the homeland defense mission against threats in all domains.

VITAL ARCHER : NORTHCOM exercise testing WMD counterterrorism response

VIBRANT RESPONSE : NORTHCOM exercise testing the response to an improvised nuclear device (IND) detonation in a metropolitan area.

MARBLE CHALLENGE: FBI-led domestic render safe exercises that approximate the complexity of conducting operations on a chemical/nuclear/radiological device in the United States. A previous exercise simulated a terrorist use of an explosive release of sulfur mustard at Kings' Dominion amusement park.

Full schedule of every exercise held in 2023



FEMA national exercise program for continuity of government - COG

EAGLE HORIZON 2024

The Eagle Horizon exercise requires each federal executive branch department and agency to test their Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) by deploying their Emergency Relocation Groups (ERG) to secret remote locations where they will perform their essential functions ensuring the preservation of our government.

In addition to all executive departments and agencies, the White House offices and senior staff also participate in this exercise.

Eagle Horizon uses scenarios such as hurricanes, improvised nuclear device detonations, earthquakes and cyber-attacks.

Previous year's Eagle Horizon exercise Atlantic Fury had the following objectives:

Continuity of Operations Plans (COOP)


Below is a list of executive departments and agencies with links to their continuity efforts:



Department of Agriculture

Department of Commerce

Department of Defense

Central Inteligence Agency

Department of Education

Department of Energy

Department of Health & Human Services

Department of Homeland Security

Department of Housing & Urban Dev

Department of Justice

Department of Labor

Department of State

Department of the Interior

Department of the Treasury

Department of Transportation

Department of Veterans Affairs

Environmental Protection Agency

Federal Communications Commission

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Federal Reserve System

General Services Administration

National Aeronautics and Space Admin

National Archives and Records Admin

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Office of Personnel Management

Securities and Exchange Commission

Social Security Administration

US Army Corps of Engineers

White House

 

 

Sample Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP)


Additional Continuity of Government Resources