Sec. 517. Digital engineering as a core competency of the Armed Forces
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It shall be a policy of the Department of Defense to promote and maintain digital engineering as a core competency of the civilian and military workforces of the Department, which policy shall be achieved by— the recruitment, development, and retention of civilian employees and members of the Armed Forces with aptitude, experience, proficient expertise, or a combination thereof in digital engineering in and to the Department; at the discretion of the Secretaries of the military departments, the development and maintenance of civilian and military career tracks on digital engineering, and related digital competencies (including data science, machine learning, software engineering, software product management, and artificial intelligence product management) for civilian employees of the Department and members of the Armed Forces, including the development and maintenance of training, education, talent management, incentives, and promotion policies in support of members at all levels of such career tracks; and the development and application of appropriate readiness standards and metrics to measure and report on the overall capability, capacity, use, and readiness of digital engineering civilian and military workforces to develop and deliver operational capabilities, leverage modern digital engineering technologies, develop advanced capabilities to support military missions, and employ modern business practices.
For purposes of this section, digital engineering is the discipline and set of skills involved in the creation, processing, transmission, integration, and storage of digital data. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall appoint a civilian official of the Department of Defense, at a level no lower than Assistant Secretary of Defense, for the development and discharge of the policy set forth in subsection (a). The official so designated shall be known as the Chief Digital Engineering Recruitment and Management Officer of the Department of Defense (in this section referred to as the Officer ).
In developing and providing for the discharge of the policy set forth in subsection (a), the Officer shall, in consultation with the Secretaries of the miliary departments, do the following: Develop recruitment programs with various core initiatives, programs, activities, and mechanisms to identify and recruit civilians employees of the Department of Defense and members of the Armed Forces with demonstrated aptitude, interest, proficient expertise, or a combination thereof, in digital engineering particularly, and in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
(STEM)generally, including initiatives, programs, activities, and mechanisms to target populations of individuals not typically aware of opportunities in the Armed Forces for a digital engineering career. Develop and maintain education, training, doctrine, and professional development activities to support digital engineering skills of civilian employees of the Department and members of the Armed Forces. Coordinate and synchronize digital force management activities throughout the Department, advise the Secretary of Defense on all matters pertaining to the health and readiness of digital forces, convene a Department-wide executive steering group, and submit to Congress an annual report on the readiness of digital forces and progress toward achieving the policy. Create a Department-wide mechanism to track digital expertise in the workforce, develop and maintain organizational policies, strategies, and plans sufficient to build, maintain, and refresh internal capacity at scale, and report to the Secretary quarterly on the health and readiness of digital forces. Assist the military departments in designing, developing, and executing programs and incentives to retain, track, and oversee digital expertise among civilian employees of the Department and members of the Armed Forces on active duty. At the request of the Chief of Staff of an Armed Force, or the head of another component or element of the Department, undertake an executive search for key leadership positions in digital engineering in such Armed Force, component, or element, and develop and deploy agile hiring and competitive compensation processes to fill such positions. Identify necessary changes in authorities, policies, resources, or a combination thereof to further the policy. Develop a definition for digital engineering consistent with and aligned to Department needs and processes. Not later than June 1, 2020, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a plan to meet the requirements of this section. The plan shall set forth the following: An identification of the Officer. A timeline for full implementation of the requirements of this section. A description of the career tracks authorized by this section for both the civilian and military workforces of the Department of Defense. Recommendations for such legislative or administrative action as the Secretary considers appropriate in connection with implementation of such requirements.