Pentagon - Pentagon (English spelling)

Japanese: ペンタゴン - ぺんたごん（英語表記）Pentagon

The nickname for the Department of Defense. It is called this because the building is pentagonal. It is one of the largest offices in the world, with a space of about 340,000 square meters on a land area of about 2.36 million square meters. It was completed in January 1943. It is located in Arlington, Virginia. About 23,000 people work there, and because of the structure of the building, it takes about 7 minutes to get to the farthest point. Based on the National Security Act of 1947, the Department of Defense established a Secretary of Defense above the Chiefs of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, and only the Secretary of Defense (a civilian) is allowed to attend cabinet meetings. It can be said that the three services have been politically integrated. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) provides military advice to the Secretary of Defense and the President, and is composed of the Chairman, Vice Chairman, the Chiefs of Staff of the Army and Air Forces, the Chief of Naval Operations, and the Commandant of the Marine Corps (who only attends on matters related to the Marine Corps). Under the 1986 Department of Defense Reorganization Act, the JCS cannot issue direct operational orders, and each branch of the military receives its orders from the President (Commander in Chief) via the Secretary of Defense.

(Masahiro Hosoya, Professor, Graduate School of American Studies, Doshisha University / 2007)

Source : "Chiezo" published by Asahi Shimbun Publications Co., Ltd. About Chiezo

Japanese:

国防総省の通称。建物が五角形(pentagon)であることから、こう呼ばれる。約236万平方メートルの土地に約34万平方メートルのスペースを持つ世界最大級のオフィス。完成したのは1943年1月。バージニア州アーリントンにある。約2万3000人が働き、建物の構造上、一番遠いところでも約7分で行けるという。国防総省は47年の国家安全保障法に基づき、陸海空三軍の長官の上に国防長官を設け、閣議に出席するのは国防長官(文民)のみとした。三軍を政治的に統合したといえよう。国防長官や大統領に軍事的な助言を行うのが統合参謀本部(JCS:Joint Chiefs of Staff)で、本部議長、副議長、陸空両軍の参謀総長、海軍作戦部長、海兵隊司令官(海兵隊に関する事項のみ出席)とで構成する。なお、86年の国防総省再編法により、JCSは直接作戦命令を行うことができず、各軍は大統領(最高司令官)から国防長官を経て命令を受ける。

(細谷正宏同志社大学大学院アメリカ研究科教授／ 2007年)

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