Combat readiness is a condition of the armed forces and their constituent units and formations, warships, aircraft, weapon systems or other military technology and equipment to perform during combat military operations, or functions consistent with the purpose for which they are organized or designed, or the managing of resources and personnel training in preparation for combat.Andrews & Shambo, p. 2
Different armed forces maintain different levels of readiness for the troops to engage in combat, varying from minutes to months; economic considerations are a major factor in explaining the variation.Jordan, pp. 2–3
See also Alert crew Alert state COGCON DEFCON Mobilization Scrambling (military) List of established military terms
References
Citations Andrews, Robert P. & Shambo, James F., (thesis), A system dynamics analysis of the factors affecting combat readiness, Faculty of the School of Systems and Logistics of the Air Force Institute of Technology, Air University, June 1980
Kruys, G.P.H., Combat readiness with specific reference to armies, (Chapter Five), Institute for Strategic Studies, University of Pretoria, Institute for Strategic Studies 2001
Further reading Pry, Peter Vincent, War Scare: Russia and America on the Nuclear Brink, Greenwood Publishing Group, 1999 Betts, Richard K., Military Readiness: Concepts, Choices, Consequences, Brookings Institution Press, 1995