Five thousand U.S. military personnel are stationed in Saudi Arabia and more than 4,000 are in Kuwait. They dwarf the 1,300-plus personnel in Bahrain, the region's U.S. military headquarters, and the 50 or so in Qatar. Military personnel in Yemen went to Threat Con Delta after the bombing of the Cole. The 1,100 U.S. military in Bahrain and the 50 or so in Qatar, both Persian Gulf states, went to Delta on Oct. 24. Threat conditions are measured by military commanders in the field based on intelligence reports and local conditions.
Local commanders decide what to do under each condition.
During the Cole's Threat Con Bravo, for instance, rifle-wielding sailors mounted watch from the deck of the ship, but no moves were taken to prevent small boats from approaching the Cole. Now, under Threat Con Delta, crew members are manning machine guns on board and an armed inflatable boat is patrolling around the Cole. There is an increased and more predictable threat of terrorist activity even though no particular target has been identified. Click here for Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and Internet Safety Information applicable to this site.