So I was reading about DEFCON levels at Wikipedia, and they mention how we were on DEFCON level 2 during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and DEFCON level 3 during the Yom Kippur War. I was wondering if there is a compiled history of the dates that our Defense Condition level was raised or lowered. I gather that it is a rather serious thing to raise DEFCON levels and not one that happens often. For example, even after Reagon was shot, we still remained at DEFCON level 5. On 9/11, we went to DEFCON 3. (There, that link should make all Bush haters happy 
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I searched the SDMB and did some googling, but was unable to find a defcon timeline, except for this one, in which Aerosia and The Rebulic of Ebres engage in a conventional non-nuclear land war for global supremecy in the year 2196. So I think that’s not it. And no, they do not have 2190s style death rays.