H. R. 7776—512 
SEC. 1534. CORRECTING CYBER MISSION FORCE READINESS SHORT-
FALLS. 
(a) PLAN AND BRIEFING REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, 
the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Secretaries 
of the military departments shall jointly— 
(1) develop a near-term plan to correct readiness shortfalls 
in the Cyber Mission Forces over the period covered by the 
most recent future-years defense program submitted to Con-
gress under section 221 of title 10, United States Code; 
(2) develop recommendations for such legislative action 
as the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman, and the Secretaries 
of the military departments jointly consider appropriate to cor-
rect the readiness shortfalls described in paragraph (1); and 
(3) provide to the congressional defense committees a 
briefing on the plan under paragraph (1) and the recommenda-
tions under paragraph (2). 
(b) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 30 days after the date 
of the briefing provided under paragraph (3) of subsection (a), 
the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman shall commence 
implementation of the aspects of the plan developed under para-
graph (1) of such subsection that are not dependent upon legislative 
action. 
(c) MATTERS TO BE ADDRESSED.—In developing the plan under 
paragraph (1) of subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense, the Chair-
man, and the Secretaries of the military departments shall consider 
and explicitly address through analysis the following potential 
courses of action, singly and in combination, to increase the avail-
ability of personnel in key work roles: 
(1) Determining the correct number of personnel necessary 
to fill key work roles, including the proper force mix of civilian, 
military, and contractor personnel, and the means necessary 
to meet those requirements. 
(2) Employing civilians rather than military personnel in 
key work roles. 
(3) Expanding training capacity. 
(4) Modifying or creating new training models. 
(5) Maximizing use of compensation and incentive authori-
ties, including increasing bonuses and special pays, and alter-
native compensation mechanisms. 
(6) Modifying career paths and service policies to permit 
consecutive assignments in key work roles without jeopardizing 
promotion opportunities. 
(7) Increasing service commitments following training 
commensurate with the value of the key work role training. 
(8) Standardizing compensation models across the services. 
(9) Requiring multiple rotations within the Cyber Mission 
Forces for key work roles. 
(10) Adopting and implementing what are known as ‘‘rank 
in person’’ policies that enable civilian personnel to be promoted 
on the basis of skills and abilities demonstrated in a given 
position. 
(11) A review of departmental guidance and processes con-
sistent with section 167b(d)(2)(A)(x) of title 10, United States 
Code, with respect to the authority of the Commander of United 
States Cyber Command to monitor the promotions of certain 
cyber operations forces and coordinate with the Secretaries
H. R. 7776—513 
regarding the assignment, retention, training, professional mili-
tary education, and special and incentive pays of certain cyber 
operations forces, including— 
(A) the recruiting, retention, professional military edu-
cation, and promotion of certain cyber operations personnel; 
(B) the sharing of personnel data between the military 
departments and the United States Cyber Command; and 
(C) structures, departmental guidance, and processes 
developed between the military departments and the 
United States Special Operations Command with respect 
to the authority of the Commander of the United States 
Special 
Operations 
Command 
described 
in 
section 
167(e)(2)(J) of title 10, United States Code, that could be 
used as a model for the United States Cyber Command. 
(d) KEY WORK ROLES DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘key 
work roles’’ means work roles that consist of access development, 
tool development, and exploitation analysis. 
SEC. 1535. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE CYBER AND DIGITAL SERVICE 
ACADEMY. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense, in consultation 
with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Director 
of the Office of Personnel and Management, shall establish 
a program to provide financial support for pursuit of programs 
of education at institutions of high education in covered dis-
ciplines. 
(2) COVERED DISCIPLINES.—For purposes of the Program, 
a covered discipline is a discipline that the Secretary of Defense 
determines is critically needed and is cyber- or digital tech-
nology-related, including the following: 
(A) Computer-related arts and sciences. 
(B) Cyber-related engineering. 
(C) Cyber-related law and policy. 
(D) Applied analytics related sciences, data manage-
ment, and digital engineering, including artificial intel-
ligence and machine learning. 
(E) Such other disciplines relating to cyber, cybersecu-
rity, digital technology, or supporting functions as the Sec-
retary of Defense considers appropriate. 
(3) DESIGNATION.—The program established under para-
graph (1) shall be known as the ‘‘Department of Defense Cyber 
and Digital Service Academy’’ (in this section referred to as 
the ‘‘Program’’). 
(b) PROGRAM DESCRIPTION AND COMPONENTS.—The Program 
shall— 
(1) provide scholarships through institutions of higher edu-
cation to students who are enrolled in programs of education 
at such institutions leading to degrees or specialized program 
certifications in covered disciplines; and 
(2) prioritize the placement of scholarship recipients ful-
filling the post-award employment obligation under this section. 
(c) SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNTS.— 
(1) AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE.—(A) Each scholarship under 
the Program shall be in such amount as the Secretary deter-
mines necessary—
H. R. 7776—514 
(i) to pay all educational expenses incurred by that 
person, including tuition, fees, cost of books, and laboratory 
expenses, for the pursuit of the program of education for 
which the assistance is provided under the Program; and 
(ii) to provide a stipend for room and board. 
(B) The Secretary shall ensure that expenses paid are 
limited to those educational expenses normally incurred by 
students at the institution of higher education involved. 
(2) SUPPORT
FOR
INTERNSHIP
ACTIVITIES.—The financial 
assistance for a person under this section may also be provided 
to support internship activities of the person in the Department 
of Defense and combat support agencies in periods between 
the academic years leading to the degree or specialized program 
certification for which assistance is provided the person under 
the Program. 
(3) PERIOD OF SUPPORT.—Each scholarship under the Pro-
gram shall be for not more than 5 years. 
(4) ADDITIONAL STIPEND.—Students demonstrating finan-
cial need, as determined by the Secretary, may be provided 
with an additional stipend under the Program. 
(d) POST-AWARD EMPLOYMENT OBLIGATIONS.—Each scholarship 
recipient, as a condition of receiving a scholarship under the Pro-
gram, shall enter into an agreement under which the recipient 
agrees to work for a period equal to the length of the scholarship, 
following receipt of the student’s degree or specialized program 
certification, in the cyber- and digital technology-related missions 
of the Department, in accordance with the terms and conditions 
specified by the Secretary in regulations the Secretary shall promul-
gate to carry out this subsection. 
(e) HIRING AUTHORITY.—In carrying out this section, specifically 
with respect to enforcing the obligations and conditions of employ-
ment under subsection (d), the Secretary may use any authority 
otherwise available to the Secretary for the recruitment, employ-
ment, and retention of civilian personnel within the Department, 
including authority under section 1599f of title 10, United States 
Code. 
(f) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a scholarship under 
the Program, an individual shall— 
(1) be a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United 
States; 
(2) demonstrate a commitment to a career in improving 
the security of information technology or advancing the develop-
ment and application of digital technology; 
(3) have demonstrated a high level of competency in rel-
evant knowledge, skills, and abilities, as defined by the national 
cybersecurity awareness and education program under section 
303 of the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2014 (15 U.S.C. 
7443); 
(4) be a full-time student, or have been accepted as a 
full-time student, in a program leading to a degree or special-
ized program certification in a covered discipline at an institu-
tion of higher education; 
(5) enter into an agreement accepting and acknowledging 
the post award employment obligations, pursuant to section 
(d); 
(6) accept and acknowledge the conditions of support under 
section (g); and
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(7) meet such other requirements for a scholarship as deter-
mined appropriate by the Secretary. 
(g) CONDITIONS OF SUPPORT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of receiving a scholarship 
under this section, a recipient shall agree to provide the Office 
of Personnel Management (in coordination with the Department 
of Defense) and the institutions of higher education described 
in subsection (a)(1) with annual verifiable documentation of 
post-award employment and up-to-date contact information. 
(2) TERMS.—A scholarship recipient under the Program 
shall be liable to the United States as provided in subsection 
(i) if the individual— 
(A) fails to maintain an acceptable level of academic 
standing at the applicable institution of higher education, 
as determined by the Secretary; 
(B) is dismissed from the applicable institution of 
higher education for disciplinary reasons; 
(C) withdraws from the eligible degree program before 
completing the Program; 
(D) declares that the individual does not intend to 
fulfill the post-award employment obligation under this 
section; 
(E) fails to maintain or fulfill any of the post-gradua-
tion or post-award obligations or requirements of the indi-
vidual; or 
(F) fails to fulfill the requirements of paragraph (1). 
(h) MONITORING COMPLIANCE.—As a condition of participating 
in the Program, an institution of higher education shall— 
(1) enter into an agreement with the Secretary to monitor 
the compliance of scholarship recipients with respect to their 
post-award employment obligations; and 
(2) provide to the Secretary and the Director of the Office 
of Personnel Management, on an annual basis, the post-award 
employment documentation required under subsection (g)(1) 
for scholarship recipients through the completion of their post- 
award employment obligations. 
(i) AMOUNT OF REPAYMENT.— 
(1) LESS
THAN
YEAR
OF
SERVICE.—If a circumstance 
described in subsection (g)(2) occurs before the completion of 
1 year of a post-award employment obligation under the Pro-
gram, the total amount of scholarship awards received by the 
individual under the Program shall be considered a debt to 
the Government and repaid in its entirety. 
(2) 1 OR
MORE
YEARS
OF
SERVICE.—If a circumstance 
described in subparagraph (D) or (E) of subsection (g)(2) occurs 
after the completion of 1 or more years of a post-award employ-
ment obligation under the Program, the total amount of scholar-
ship awards received by the individual under the Program, 
reduced by the ratio of the number of years of service completed 
divided by the number of years of service required, shall be 
considered a debt to the Government and repaid in accordance 
with subsection (j). 
(j) REPAYMENTS.—A debt described subsection (i) shall be sub-
ject to repayment, together with interest thereon accruing from 
the date of the scholarship award, in accordance with terms and 
conditions specified by the Secretary in regulations promulgated 
to carry out this subsection.