Sec. 1536. Independent evaluation regarding potential establishment of United States Cyber Force
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The Secretary of Defense shall seek to enter into an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (in this section referred to as the National Academies ) for the National Academies to conduct the evaluation under subsection
(b)and submit the report under subsection (e). The Secretary shall seek to enter into the agreement described in paragraph
(1)by not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. Under an agreement between the Secretary and the National Academies entered into pursuant to subsection (a), the National Academies shall conduct an evaluation regarding the advisability of— establishing a separate Armed Force in the Department of Defense dedicated to operations in the cyber domain (in this section referred to as the United States Cyber Force ); or refining and further evolving the current organizational approach for United States Cyber Command, which is based on the Special Operations Command model. The evaluation conducted pursuant to paragraph
(1)shall include consideration of— the potential establishment of a United States Cyber Force as a separate Armed Force in the Department of Defense commensurate with the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Space Force, for the purpose of organizing, training, and equipping the personnel required to enable and conduct operations in the cyber domain through positions aligned to the United States Cyber Command and other unified combatant commands; a United States Cyber Force able to devise and implement recruiting and retention policies specific to the range of skills and career fields required to enable and conduct cyberspace operations, as determined by the United States Cyber Command and other unified combatant commands; the performance and efficacy of the Armed Forces in the Department of Defense in satisfying the requirements of the current Force Generation Model to enable and conduct operations in the cyber domain through positions aligned to the United States Cyber Command and other unified combatant commands; the historical performance and efficacy of the Armed Forces in the Department of Defense in devising and implementing recruitment and retention policies specific to the range of skills and career fields required to enable and conduct cyberspace operations, as determined by the United States Cyber Command and other unified combatant commands; potential and recommended delineations of responsibility between the other Armed Forces in the Department of Defense and a United States Cyber Force with respect to network management, resourcing, and operations; potential and recommended delineations of responsibility with respect to organizing, training, and equipping members of the Cyberspace Operations Forces, not serving in positions aligned under the Cyber Mission Force, to the extent necessary to support network management and operations; views and perspectives of members of the Armed Forces in the Department of Defense, in each grade, serving in the Cyber Mission Force with experience in operational work roles (as defined by the Commander of the United States Cyber Command), and military and civilian leaders across the Department regarding the establishment of a Cyber Force; the extent to which each of the other Armed Forces in the Department of Defense is formed towards, and organized around, operations within a given warfighting domain, and the potential applicability of such formation and organizing constructs to a United States Cyber Force with respect to the cyber domain; findings from previous relevant assessments, analyses, and studies conducted by the Secretary, the Comptroller General of the United States, or other entities determined relevant by the National Academies on the establishment of a United States Cyber Force; the organizing constructs for effective and operationally mature cyber forces of foreign countries, and the relevance of such constructs to the potential creation of a United States Cyber Force; lessons learned from the creation of the United States Space Force that should be applied to the creation of a United States Cyber Force; recommendations for approaches to the creation of a United States Cyber Force that would minimize disruptions to Department of Defense cyber operations; the histories of the Armed Forces in the Department of Defense, including an analysis of the conditions that preceded the establishment of each new Armed Force in the Department of Defense established since 1900; a comparison between the potential service secretariat leadership structures for a United States Cyber Force, including but not limited to, establishing the United States Cyber Force within an existing military department; and the cumulative potential costs and effects associated with the establishment for a United States Cyber Force The evaluation conducted pursuant to paragraph
(1)shall include an evaluation how a potential United States Cyber Force dedicated to the cyber domain would compare in performance and efficacy to the current model with respect to the following functions: Organizing, training, and equipping the size of a force necessary to satisfy existing and projected requirements of the Department of Defense. Harmonizing training requirements and programs in support of cyberspace operations. Recruiting and retaining qualified officers and enlisted members of the Armed Forces in the Department of Defense at the levels necessary to execute cyberspace operations. Using reserve component forces in support of cyberspace operations. Sustaining persistent force readiness. Acquiring and providing cyber capabilities in support of cyberspace operations. Establishing pay parity among members of the Armed Forces in the Department of Defense serving in and qualified for work roles in support of cyberspace operations. Establishing pay parity among civilians serving in and qualified for work roles in support of cyberspace operations. Establishing advancement parity for members of the Armed Forces in the Department of Defense serving in and qualified for work roles in support of cyberspace operations. Establishing advancement parity for civilians serving in and qualified for work roles in support of cyberspace operations. Developing professional military education content and curricula focused on the cyber domain. Providing robust and unique legal support to current and future operations in the cyber domain. Offering medical support to address unique psychological strains as a result of high operational tempo for cyberspace operations. The evaluation required under subsection
(b)shall include an analysis and consideration of how refining and further evolving the current organizational approach for United States Cyber Command, as presently modeled on United States Special Operations Command, may serve more optimally than a United States Cyber Force relative to each of the elements identified in paragraphs
(2)and (3). In this subsection, the term unified combatant command has the meaning given such term in section 161(c) of title 10, United States Code. Upon a request from the National Academies, the Secretary shall seek to enter into an agreement with a federally funded research and development center described in paragraph
(2)under which such federally funded research and development center shall support the National Academies in conducting the evaluation under subsection (b). A federally funded research and development center described in this paragraph is a federally funded research and development center the staff of which includes subject matter experts with appropriate security clearances and expertise in— cyber warfare; personnel management; military training processes; and acquisition management. Under an agreement entered into between the Secretary and the National Academies under subsection (a)— the Secretary shall agree to provide to the National Academies access to such personnel, information, and resources of the Department of Defense as may determined necessary by the National Academies in furtherance of the conduct of the evaluation under subsection (b); and if the Secretary refuses to provide such access, or any other major obstacle to such access occurs, the National Academies shall agree to notify, not later seven days after the date of such refusal or other occurrence, the congressional defense committees. Under an agreement entered into between the Secretary and the National Academies under subsection (a), the National Academies, not later than 270 days after the date of the execution of the agreement, shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report containing the findings of the National Academies with respect to the evaluation under subsection (b). No personnel of the Department of Defense, nor any other officer or employee of the United States Government (including the executive branch of the United States Government) may interfere, exert undue influence, or in any way seek to alter the findings of the National Academies specified in paragraph
(1)prior to the submission thereof under such paragraph. The report under paragraph
(1)shall be submitted in an unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.