From an AP story by Del Quentin Wilber headlined ‘You always hear about the ‘nuclear football.’ Here’s the behind-the-scenes story”:

The most important — and mysterious — “football” in the world isn’t a football at all.

Officially called the “ Presidential Emergency Satchel, ” the “nuclear football” is a bulky briefcase that contains atomic war plans and enables the president to transmit nuclear orders to the Pentagon. The heavy case is carried by a military officer who is never far behind the president, whether the commander-in-chief is boarding a helicopter or exiting meetings with world leaders.