When I was in the Coast Guard, we had three general readiness levels,
called "alpha", "bravo", and "charlie". Within each readiness level
was a number identifying time before we could actually leave the pier.
The cutter I was on would typically be assigned a "bravo-6" condition
when in port. This meant no one could be further away than would let
them get back to the ship, be at their duty station, and have all their
assigned areas ready to leave within 6 hours. Usually this was within
3 hours of the base.
Alpha periods were almost always assigned to short-endurance boats. The
readiness level depended on the weather and expected activity (they would
be expected to respond more quickly on say, memorial day, when there
was a lot of (drunk) people boating). IF there were a storm warning, or
whatever, typical response time was from 30 seconds to 5 minutes. The
longest "alpha" I ever heard of was 2 hours.
Charlie periods were typically time spent in the yard. No one expected
the ship to get underway at all. There was some fiction about being
able to get underway within two weeks. Of course you can guess how
likely this is if you're in dry dock, with engines dismantled, part
of the hull removed, and half the ship's wiring stripped out.
Richard
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