STUDY ON THE RECRUITMENT, RETENTION, AND CAREER PROGRESSION OF UNIFORMED AND CIVILIAN MILITARY CYBER OPERATIONS PERSONNEL.

SEC. 934. STUDY ON THE RECRUITMENT, RETENTION, AND CAREER PROGRESSION OF UNIFORMED AND CIVILIAN MILITARY CYBER OPERATIONS PERSONNEL.(a) Report.—Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report assessing the challenges to retention and professional development of cyber operations personnel within the Department of Defense.(b) Matters to Be Addressed.—The assessment by the Secretary of Defense shall address the following matters:(1) The sufficiency of the numbers and types of personnel available for cyber operations, including an assessment of the balance between military and civilian positions and the availability of personnel with expertise in matters related to cyber operations from outside of the Department of Defense.(2) The definition and coherence of career fields for both members of the Armed Forces and civilian employees of the Department of Defense, including the sufficiency of training and experience levels required, and measures to improve them if necessary.(3) The types of recruitment and retention incentives available to members of the Armed Forces and civilian employees of the Department of Defense.(4) Identification of legal, policy, or administrative impediments to attracting and retaining cyber operations personnel.(5) The standards used by the Department of Defense to measure effectiveness at recruiting, retaining, and ensuring an adequate career progression for cyber operations personnel.(6) The effectiveness of educational and outreach activities used to attract, retain, and reward cyber operations personnel, including how to expand outreach to academic institutions and improve coordination with other civilian agencies and industrial partners.(7) The management of educational and outreach activities used to attract, retain, and reward cyber operations personnel, such as the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education.(8) Efforts to establish public-private partnerships to meet the needs of the Department with respect to cyber operations personnel and training.(9) Recommendations for legislative changes necessary to increase the availability of cyber operations personnel.(c) Cyber Operations Personnel Defined.—In this section, the term “cyber operations personnel” refers to members of the Armed Forces and civilian employees of the Department of Defense involved with the operations and maintenance of a computer network connected to the global information grid, as well as offensive, defensive, and exploitation functions of such a network.