<P> The act is often misunderstood to prohibit any use of federal military forces in law enforcement, but this is not the case . For example, the President has explicit authority under the Constitution and federal law to use federal forces or federalized militias to enforce the laws of the United States . The act's primary purpose is to prevent local law enforcement officials from utilizing federal forces in this way by forming a "posse" consisting of federal Soldiers or Airmen . </P> <P> There are, however, practical political concerns in the United States that make the use of federal military forces less desirable for use in domestic law enforcement . Under the U.S. Constitution, law and order is primarily a matter of state concern . As a practical matter, when military forces are necessary to maintain domestic order and enforce the laws, state militia forces under state control i.e., that state's Army National Guard and / or Air National Guard are usually the force of first resort, followed by federalized state militia forces i.e., the Army National Guard and / or Air National Guard "federalized" as part of the U.S. Army and / or U.S. Air Force, with active federal forces (to include "federal" reserve component forces other than the National Guard) being the least politically palatable option . </P> <P> Maoist military - political theories of people's war and democratic centralism also support the subordination of military forces to the directives of the communist party (although the guerrilla experience of many early leading Communist Party of China figures may make their status as civilians somewhat ambiguous). In a 1929 essay On Correcting Mistaken Ideas in the Party, Mao explicitly refuted "comrades (who) regard military affairs and politics as opposed to each other and (who) refuse to recognize that military affairs are only one means of accomplishing political tasks", prescribing increased scrutiny of the People's Liberation Army by the Party and greater political training of officers and enlistees as a means of reducing military autonomy . In Mao's theory, the military--which serves both as a symbol of the revolution and an instrument of the dictatorship of the proletariat--is not merely expected to defer to the direction of the ruling non-uniformed Party members (who today exercise control in the People's Republic of China through the Central Military Commission), but also to actively participate in the revolutionary political campaigns of the Maoist era . </P> <P> Civilian leaders cannot usually hope to challenge their militaries by means of force, and thus must guard against any potential usurpation of powers through a combination of policies, laws, and the inculcation of the values of civilian control in their armed services . The presence of a distinct civilian police force, militia, or other paramilitary group may mitigate to an extent the disproportionate strength that a country's military possesses; civilian gun ownership has also been justified on the grounds that it prevents potential abuses of power by authorities (military or otherwise). Opponents of gun control have cited the need for a balance of power in order to enforce the civilian control of the military . </P>

What is an example of civilian control of the military