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Civilian vs government - notably including NASA; not just military.

• abeppu 2y ago
  1. I've checked multiple places and consistently "civilian" is defined in contrast to military / armed forces/ police, but not in contrast to government in general. 2. But even among non-governmental groups, this claim doesn't make sense. Northrop Grumman, Arianespace and a bunch of other companies that are not governmental organizations (but may have government customers). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_spacecraft_manufacturers#Launch_vehicle_manufacturers_and_providers_of_third_party_services https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_spacecraft_manufacture...
  • seadan83 2y ago
    Government contractors are working on behalf of the government. Ergo, not civilian. What sources have you checked for (1)? A counter example I would put forward is a police officer. They are not a civilian, nor are they military. What are they? Civilians in government can be a thing to distinguish military, but the actions of civilians on behalf of government are not civilian actions. Eg: "I am a civilian, I work for the government. When I do things on behalf of the government, it is not as a civilian."