Department of Defense
INSTRUCTION
NUMBER 3150.10 NUMBER 3150.10
July 2, 2010 July 2, 2010
USD(AT&L) USD(AT&L)
SUBJECT: DoD Response to U.S. Nuclear Weapon Incidents SUBJECT: DoD Response to U.S. Nuclear Weapon Incidents
References: See Enclosure 1 References: See Enclosure 1
1. PURPOSE1. PURPOSE. In accordance with the authority in DoD Directive (DoDD) 5134.01 (Reference
(a)), this Instruction:
a. Establishes policy and assigns responsibilities for the DoD response to U.S. nuclear
weapon incidents in accordance with DoDD 3150.08 (Reference (b)).
b. Authorizes DoD support for the Nuclear Weapons Accident Incident Response
Subcommittee (NWAIRS) to the Nuclear Command and Control System (NCCS) Committee of
Principals (CoP) to address the Federal Government response to U.S. nuclear weapon incidents.
2. APPLICABILITY. This Instruction applies to OSD, the Military Departments, the Office of
the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) and the Joint Staff, the Combatant Commands,
the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Defense, the Defense Agencies, the
DoD Field Activities, and all other organizational entities within the Department of Defense
(hereafter referred to collectively as the “DoD Components”).
3. DEFINITIONS
. See Glossary.
4. POLICY. It is DoD policy that:
a. The Department of Defense shall respond to and resolve U.S. nuclear weapon incidents
while nuclear weapons are in DoD custody.
b. All U.S. nuclear weapon incidents shall be considered to be the result of hostile acts until
proven otherwise.
