The United States Armed Forces uses a number of terms to define the magnitude and extent of nuclear and radiation accidents and incidents in order to reduce the time taken to report the type of incident, thus streamlining the radio communications in the wake of the event.
The term "Pinnacle" denotes an incident of interest to the Major Commands, Department of Defense and National Command Authority, in that it: All of the following reporting terms are classified Pinnacle, with the exception of Bent Spear, Faded Giant and Dull Sword.
AFI 10-206 notes that the flagword Pinnacle may be added to Bent Spear or Faded Giant to expedite reporting to the National Military Command Center (NMCC).
[citation needed] Empty Quiver refers to the seizure, theft, or loss of a functioning nuclear weapon.
Dull Sword refers to reports of minor incidents involving nuclear weapons, components or systems, or which could impair their deployments.