A predecessor program, the National Mobile Land Command Post (NMLCP), had been considered as far back as the 1960s, but was shelved.
[1] Developed by TRW Inc. under a government contract awarded during the administration of Ronald Reagan, ground-mobile command centers were, or are, an army counterpart to the better-known "Nightwatch", the U.S. Air Force's National Emergency Airborne Command Post, a fleet of hardened aircraft designed to allow the president to remain airborne and mobile during a severe crisis to minimize the possibility of a decapitation strike.
[2][3] Ground-mobile command centers were, or are, 18-wheel tractor-trailers outfitted with defensive systems and sophisticated communications equipment that permits the president or his successor to directly command American nuclear retaliation against another nation while "on the road" in an irradiated and devastated post-attack environment.
[3] The United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) operates a "mobile consolidated control center" (MCCC) for use by the combatant commander (CCDR) as an "alternative HQ" for coordination of emergency and counteroffensive operations following a mainland invasion of the United States.
[6] The MCCC consists of a convoy of trucks described as a "survivable, road-mobile backup" from which the CCDR can command U.S. military forces in repelling an attack, should primary and secondary facilities be destroyed or overrun.