RESERVE MOBILIZATION EXERCISE TO ASSESS THE CAPABILITY OF THE ARMED FORCES TO RESPOND TO A HIGH-INTENSITY CONTINGENCY IN THE INDO-PACIFIC REGION.

SEC. 383. RESERVE MOBILIZATION EXERCISE TO ASSESS THE CAPABILITY OF THE ARMED FORCES TO RESPOND TO A HIGH-INTENSITY CONTINGENCY IN THE INDO-PACIFIC REGION. (a) Indo-pacific Mobilization and Readiness Study Required. Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Commander of United States Indo-Pacific Command, shall conduct a comprehensive joint mobilization and sustainment readiness study (modeled on the 1978 exercise referred to as “Nifty Nugget”) to assess the capability of the Armed Forces to respond to a high-intensity contingency in the Indo-Pacific region. (b) Elements of the Study.—The study required under subsection (a) shall include the following: (1) An assessment of the ability to rapidly mobilize, deploy, and sustain active and reserve component forces in response to a conflict scenario involving the Taiwan Strait, South China Sea, or similar Indo-Pacific flashpoint. (2) An evaluation of strategic lift and sustainment capabilities across military departments, including maritime sealift, airlift, rail, road networks, and prepositioned stocks. (3) Identification of critical logistics vulnerabilities, mobilization bottlenecks, and command and control challenges. (4) Analysis of interagency coordination procedures and integration with civilian emergency support capabilities. (5) An evaluation of joint and allied interoperability, with particular attention to coordination mechanisms with Japan, Australia, the Philippines, and Taiwan. (6) The civilian skills inventory described in subsection (c). (c) Civilian Skills Inventory of the Reserve Component.—As part of the study required under subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense, acting through the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, shall conduct a civilian skills inventory of the reserve components of the Armed Forces to identify and assess the non-military qualifications and talents of reservists, including— (1) foreign language proficiency and cultural expertise; (2) advanced academic credentials, including master’s degrees, doctoral degrees, and scientific research experience; (3) industrial and technical skills, including cybersecurity, software development, engineering, logistics, manufacturing, and data science; (4) critical infrastructure and emergency response expertise; and (5) private-sector leadership and innovation experience relevant to defense mobilization and sustainment. (d) Reporting Requirements.—Not later than two years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report that includes— (1) the results, findings, and recommendations of the mobilization and readiness study required under subsection (a); (2) a summary of the civilian skills inventory of the reserve components conducted under subsection (c), including recommendations for how such skills can be leveraged to support contingency planning, civil-military integration, and surge operations; (3) a comparative analysis of best practices by each Armed Force with respect to— (A) mobilizing members of the reserve components for wartime or emergency augmentation; (B) identifying, tracking, and using civilian-acquired skills of reservists; and (C) executing logistical lift and sustainment operations, including Navy-led maritime port operations, Army-managed rail and overland transport, Air Force strategic airlift capacity, and Marine Corps expeditionary logistics; and (4) an estimate of— (A) the number of members of the reserve components who are likely to be available and required to reinforce forward-deployed active duty units during the first 30, 60, and 90 days of a major Indo-Pacific contingency; and (B) the number of members of the reserve components required to support full-scale mobilization and logistics surge operations within the United States, including domestic transportation nodes, sustainment hubs, ports of embarkation, mobilization training centers, and other homeland support functions necessary to enable and sustain global operations.