米国の国防省においては、国防長官以下、国防副長官、国防次官、国防次官補に至るまで、幅広く政治任用が行われている。大統領が指名し、上院の承認を得て、任命する。National Defense Research Institute (U.S.) (Author), Cheryl Y. Marcum (Editor), Department of Defense Political Appointments: Positions and Process, RAND Corporation, May 2001, Chapter 2, p.5 参照、および、Title 10 of the United States Code, Subtitle A, Part I, Chapter 4 参照。Political appointees constitute the heart of civilian leadership in the Pentagon. Individuals who are appointed by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate occupy a total of 45 positions in the top echelons of the Department of Defense (DoD), including the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and the military departments – up from 12 a half-century ago. 上掲Department of Defense Political Appointments: Positions and Process, Summary, p.xi 参照。http://rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/MR1253/ において、上掲Department of Defense Political Appointments: Positions and Processの各Chapterの全文が、PDFで参照可能です。http://www.access.gpo.gov/uscode/title10/subtitlea_parti_chapter4_.html において、Title 10 of the United States Code, Subtitle A, Part I, Chapter 4 の各条文が参照可能です。
米国の国防省においては、国防長官以下、国防副長官、国防次官、国防次官補に至るまで、幅広く政治任用が行われている。大統領が指名し、上院の承認を得て、任命する。National Defense Research Institute (U.S.) (Author), Cheryl Y. Marcum (Editor), Department of Defense Political Appointments: Positions and Process, RAND Corporation, May 2001, Chapter 2, p.5 参照、および、Title 10 of the United States Code, Subtitle A, Part I, Chapter 4 参照。Political appointees constitute the heart of civilian leadership in the Pentagon. Individuals who are appointed by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate occupy a total of 45 positions in the top echelons of the Department of Defense (DoD), including the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and the military departments – up from 12 a half-century ago. 上掲Department of Defense Political Appointments: Positions and Process, Summary, p.xi 参照。http://rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/MR1253/ において、上掲Department of Defense Political Appointments: Positions and Processの各Chapterの全文が、PDFで参照可能です。http://www.access.gpo.gov/uscode/title10/subtitlea_parti_chapter4_.html において、Title 10 of the United States Code, Subtitle A, Part I, Chapter 4 の各条文が参照可能です。
アメリカのノース・カロライナ大学のリチャード・コーン教授によれば、シビリアン・コントロールの定義は、“In the theory and concept, civilian control is simple. Every decision of government, in peace and in war -- all choices about national security -- are made or approved by officials outside the professional armed forces: in democracies, by civilian officials elected by the people or appointed by those who are elected. In principle, civilian control is absolute and all-encompassing. In principle, no decision or responsibility falls to the military unless expressly or implicitly delegated to it by civilian leaders.”とされる。
Kohn, Richard H. 1997. “An Essay on Civilian Control of the Military”. 参照。（http://www.unc.edu/depts/diplomat/AD_Issues/amdipl_3/kohn.html）
なおKohn, Richard H. 1997. “How Democracies Control the Military”, Journal of Democracy, October 1997, Volume 8, Number 4.参照。
ハンチントンによると、“The concept of an impartial, nonpartisan, objective career service, loyally serving whatever administration or you party was in power, became the ideal for the military profession.” Huntington, Samuel. P. 1957. The Soldier and the State: The Theory and Politics of Civil-Military Relations. Cambridge, MA, and London: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press., Chapter 9: The American Military Profession, p.259.とされ、
また、ノース・カロライナ大学のコーン教授によると、“Therefore civilian control requires a military establishment trained, committed, and dedicated to political neutrality, that shuns under all circumstances any interference with the constitutional functioning or legitimate process of government, that identifies itself as the embodiment of the people and the nation, and that defines into its professionalism unhesitating loyalty to the system of government and obedience to whomever exercises legal authority.”Kohn, Richard H. An Essay on Civilian Control of the Military. 1997（http://www.unc.edu/depts/diplomat/AD_Issues/amdipl_3/kohn.html）とされる。
