10 U.S.C. § 384 — Department of Defense security cooperation workforce development
submitted 10 years ago by Pub. L. 114-328 to r/title-10-ARMED-FORCES · 2,629 words · no verdicts yet
The Defense Department must run a Security Cooperation Workforce Development Program. It builds a professional workforce that plans, trains, and evaluates security cooperation activities. The Defense Security Cooperation University manages the program, and Congress gets regular reports on the workforce.
(a) Program required. The Secretary of Defense must carry out a program called the "Department of Defense Security Cooperation Workforce Development Program" (called "the Program" in this section), to oversee the development and management of a professional workforce supporting the Department's security cooperation programs and activities. This includes (1) assessment, planning, monitoring, execution, evaluation, and administration of such programs and activities under this chapter, and (2) executing security assistance programs and activities under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Arms Export Control Act.
(b) Purpose. The Program exists to improve the quality and professionalism of the security cooperation workforce, so the workforce (1) has the people and skills needed to do its job, support the planning and evaluation work described in subsection (a), and get the best value for public money spent on these programs; and (2) is staffed with the right number of appropriately expert and experienced people to meet the Department's needs.
(c) Elements. The Program must include elements on training*, certification, assignment, career development, and tracking of security cooperation personnel: (1) a comprehensive system to track and account for all Department personnel in this workforce, using existing records systems across the military departments*, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, combatant commands, Defense Agencies, Field Activities, and the National Guard*; (2) a management information system, set up by regulation, requiring all parts of the Department to give the Secretary standardized data on people in security cooperation positions — covering at least their qualifications, assignments, and tenure; (3) implementing and managing the security cooperation human capital initiative described in subsection (e); (4) a defense security cooperation service ensuring that security cooperation organizations at overseas U.S. missions have the personnel and skills they need, covering (A) armed forces* members and civilians assigned to those overseas organizations and (B) Department personnel working under section 515 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961; and (5) any other elements the Secretary decides are appropriate.
(d) Management. (1) The Program is managed by the Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency. (2) The Secretary must designate the Defense Security Cooperation University (DSCU) as the lead entity managing the Program's implementation, including (i) comprehensively tracking all Department employees in the security cooperation field and (ii) setting training requirements at the right proficiency level for each position. Each military department, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and each combatant command, Defense Agency*, Field Activity, and National Guard unit must, at least twice a year, send DSCU a formal manpower document that (i) lists every position in its security cooperation workforce and (ii) uniquely codes every such position for workforce management and career development. (3) The Secretary must also issue regulations making sure these same organizations provide standardized data to the Secretary on people in security cooperation workforce positions.
(e) Security Cooperation Human Capital Initiative. (1) The Secretary must run this initiative within DSCU to identify, account for, and manage the career progress of security cooperation personnel. (2) The initiative must: (A) set direction on professional career paths, covering training and education standards, promotion opportunities, retention policies, and workforce demand; (B) create a way to identify training and certification requirements and track workforce skills and certifications; (C) create a professional certification program for different career tracks and competency levels; (D) set training and professional-development requirements for each certification level; (E) create a way to assign properly certified people to key security cooperation positions; (F) identify the right mix of career and temporary personnel; (G) identify specific positions to be managed through the Program; (H) map out career paths based on competencies; (I) build a competency-based approach that other parts of the Department can use in recruiting and retention tools, such as job descriptions and training plans; (J) align with the Department's and Agency's strategic planning, budgeting, and performance goals; and (K) include measures to assess how well the workforce initiative is being implemented.
(f) Foreign Military Sales Center of Excellence. (1) The Secretary must direct a Department educational institution with the right expertise to serve as a Foreign Military Sales Center of Excellence, to improve training for people who plan and carry out foreign military sales. (2) Its objectives include (A) researching and promoting best practices for making foreign military sales timely and effective, and (B) improving training curricula for the foreign military sales workforce.
(g) Defense Security Cooperation University. (1) The Secretary must write and issue a charter for how DSCU operates. (2) That charter must set DSCU's mission, including (A) managing international military training and education security cooperation programs, (B) providing institutional capacity-building services, and (C) advancing the security cooperation profession through research, data collection, analysis, publication, and learning. (3) When entering research and development contracts, cooperative agreements, or grants under section 4001 of this title, the Secretary may do so through DSCU, which is treated as a government-operated federal laboratory under the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980. (4) The Secretary may let DSCU's President accept qualifying research grants — grants awarded competitively by a corporation, fund, foundation, educational institution, or similar entity organized mainly for scientific, literary, or educational purposes, for work by a DSCU professor or instructor with a scientific, literary, or educational purpose. The Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency must set up an account to administer these grant funds, DSCU's President must use them according to the grant terms and applicable regulations, appropriated funds may be used to cover expenses of pursuing such grants, and the Secretary must issue regulations to administer all of this.
(h) Source of Funds. (1) Funds already available to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, and other Department funds for security cooperation programs, may be used for the Program. (2) The funds needed for the Program in a fiscal year must be identified, with justification, in the consolidated budget required by section 381 of this title.
(i) Use of Funds. Money available for the Program may be transferred to any account of the military departments or Defense Agencies for Program purposes.
(j) Security Cooperation Workforce Defined. This term covers: (1) armed forces members and civilian employees working in security cooperation organizations at overseas U.S. missions; (2) armed forces members and civilian employees in combatant commands who plan, monitor, or conduct security cooperation activities; (3) armed forces members and civilian employees in the military departments doing security cooperation work, including technology-release-policy work; (4) other military and civilian personnel of Defense Agencies and Field Activities who do security cooperation work; (5) personnel who assess, monitor, or evaluate security cooperation programs, including assessments under section 383 of this title; and (6) other armed forces members or civilian employees who significantly contribute to security cooperation work because of their assigned duties, as determined under the human capital initiative in subsection (e).
(k) Report on Security Cooperation Workforce. (1) Starting no later than 2 years after this subsection's enactment, and at least every 2 years after that, the Secretary must report to the Senate and House Armed Services Committees on the security cooperation workforce. (2) Each report must (A) identify current and projected workforce staffing needs; (B) identify critical skill gaps and strategies to close them; (C) address developing, validating, and assessing workforce competencies; (D) compare actual competency levels against targets to identify and close gaps; (E) identify any exceptions or waivers granted from qualification, assignment, and tenure policies; (F) show relative promotion rates for this workforce; (G) identify funds requested or allocated for this workforce and whether they're enough to (i) address skill gaps and (ii) recruit and retain high-quality personnel; and (H) include any other matters the Secretary considers appropriate.
(l) Comptroller General Evaluation. (1) The Comptroller General of the United States (GAO) must independently evaluate what the Secretary has done to carry out this section. (2) Within 2 years after this subsection's enactment, the Comptroller General must report to the Armed Services Committees, including (A) an analysis of how effective the Secretary's actions have been, and (B) any legislative and administrative recommendations the Comptroller General considers appropriate.
The Secretary of Defense shall carry out a program to be known as the “Department of Defense Security Cooperation Workforce Development Program” (in this section referred to as the “Program”) to oversee the development and management of a professional workforce supporting security cooperation programs and activities of the Department of Defense*, including—
assessment, planning, monitoring, execution, evaluation, and administration of such programs and activities under this chapter; and
execution of security assistance programs and activities under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Arms Export Control Act by the Department of Defense.
The purpose of the Program is to improve the quality and professionalism of the security cooperation workforce in order to ensure that the workforce—
has the capacity, in both personnel and skills, needed to properly perform its mission, provide appropriate support to the assessment, planning, monitoring, execution, evaluation, and administration of security cooperation programs and activities described in subsection (a), and ensure that the Department receives the best value for the expenditure of public resources on such programs and activities; and
is assigned in a manner that ensures personnel with the appropriate level of expertise and experience are assigned in sufficient numbers to fulfill requirements for the security cooperation programs and activities of the Department of Defense and the execution of security assistance programs and activities described in subsection (a)(2).
The Program shall consist of elements relating to the development and management of the security cooperation workforce for the purposes specified in subsection (b), including the following elements on training*, certification, assignment, career development, and tracking of personnel of the security cooperation workforce:
Establishment of a comprehensive system to track and account for all Department of Defense personnel in the security cooperation workforce, using systems of record in the military departments*, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the combatant commands, Defense Agencies, Department of Defense Field Activities, and the National Guard*.
Establishment of a management information system, pursuant to regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, acting through the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and the Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, to ensure that all organizations and elements of the Department provide standardized information and data to the Secretary on persons serving in security cooperation positions. Such management information system shall, at a minimum, provide for the collection and retention of information concerning the qualification, assignments, and tenure of persons in the security cooperation workforce.
Implementation and management of the security cooperation human capital initiative under subsection (e).
Establishment of a defense security cooperation service, pursuant to regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, acting through the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and the Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, to ensure that security cooperation organizations of the United States located at overseas missions possess the requisite personnel, and that such personnel possess the skills needed, to properly perform their missions, which shall include—
members of the armed forces* and civilians assigned to security cooperation organizations of United States missions overseas who are performing security cooperation functions, regardless of funding source; and
personnel of the Department of Defense performing functions in furtherance of section 515 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2321i).
Such other elements as the Secretary of Defense determines appropriate.
The Program shall be managed by the Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.
The Secretary of Defense, acting through the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and the Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, shall designate the Defense Security Cooperation University to serve as the lead entity for managing the implementation of the Program.
The Defense Security Cooperation University shall carry out the management and implementation of the Program, consistent with objectives formulated by the Secretary of Defense, which shall include the following:
Providing for comprehensive tracking of and accounting for all Department of Defense employees engaged in the security cooperation enterprise.
Providing training requirements specified at the requisite proficiency levels for each position.
The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that, not less frequently than semi-annually, each military department, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and each combatant command, Defense Agency*, Department of Defense Field Activity*, and unit of the National Guard submits to the Defense Security Cooperation University a formal manpower document as determined by the Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency that—
lists each position in the security cooperation workforce of the organization concerned as determined by the Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency; and
uniquely codes every position within component manpower systems for the security cooperation workforce for the management and career development of the security cooperation workforce, as determined by the Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.
The Secretary of Defense, acting through the Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, shall prescribe regulations to ensure that each military department, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and each combatant command, Defense Agency, Department of Defense Field Activity, and unit of the National Guard provides standardized information and data to the Secretary on persons serving in positions within the security cooperation workforce.
The Secretary shall implement a security cooperation human capital initiative within the Defense Security Cooperation University to identify, account for, and manage the career progression of personnel in the security cooperation workforce.
The security cooperation human capital initiative shall do the following:
Provide direction to the Department of Defense on the establishment of professional career paths for the personnel of the security cooperation workforce, addressing training and education standards, promotion opportunities and requirements, retention policies, and scope of workforce demands.
Provide for a mechanism to identify and define training and certification requirements for security cooperation positions in the Department and a means to track workforce skills and certifications.
Provide for a mechanism to establish a program of professional certification in Department of Defense security cooperation for personnel of the security cooperation workforce in different career tracks and levels of competency based on requisite training and experience.
Establish requirements for training and professional development associated with each level of certification provided for under subparagraph (C).
Provide for a mechanism for assigning appropriately certified personnel of the security cooperation workforce to assignments associated with key positions in connection with security cooperation programs and activities.
Identify the appropriate composition of career and temporary personnel necessary to constitute the security cooperation workforce.
Identify specific positions throughout the security cooperation workforce to be managed and assigned through the Program.
Identify career paths that provide a competency-based road map for security cooperation employees to aid in their career planning and professional development.
Develop a competency-based approach to the security cooperation workforce that enables components of the Department of Defense to incorporate competencies in recruitment and retention tools such as job analysis, position descriptions, vacancy announcements, selection assessment questionnaires, and employee training and development plans.
Align with the Department of Defense and Defense Security Cooperation Agency strategic planning, budget process, performance management goals, and metrics to ensure the appropriate workforce mix and skill sets to accomplish the security cooperation mission.
Include assessment measures intended to assess progress in implementing the security cooperation workforce using results-oriented performance measures.
The Secretary of Defense shall direct an educational institution of the Department of Defense with the requisite expertise in foreign military sales and in education, training, research, and analysis of the security cooperation workforce within the Department of Defense to serve as a Foreign Military Sales Center of Excellence to improve the training and education of personnel engaged in foreign military sales planning and execution.
The objectives of the Foreign Military Sales Center of Excellence shall include—
conducting research on and promoting best practices for ensuring that foreign military sales are timely and effective; and
enhancing existing curricula for the purpose of ensuring that the foreign military sales workforce is fully trained and prepared to execute the foreign military sales program.
The Secretary of Defense shall develop and promulgate a charter for the operation of the Defense Security Cooperation University.
The charter required by paragraph (1) shall set forth the mission, and associated structures and organizations, of the Defense Security Cooperation University, which shall include—
management and implementation of international military training and education security cooperation programs and authorities executed by the Department of Defense;
management and provision of institutional capacity-building services executed by the Department of Defense; and
advancement of the profession of security cooperation through research, data collection, analysis, publication, and learning.
In engaging in research and development projects pursuant to subsection (a) of section 4001 of this title by a contract, cooperative agreement, or grant pursuant to subsection (b)(1) of such section, the Secretary of Defense may enter into such contract or cooperative agreement, or award such grant, through the Defense Security Cooperation University.
The Defense Security Cooperation University shall be considered a Government-operated Federal laboratory for purposes of section 12 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3710a).
The Secretary of Defense, through the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, may authorize the President of the Defense Security Cooperation University to accept qualifying research grants. Any such grant may only be accepted if the work under the grant is to be carried out by a professor or instructor of the Defense Security Cooperation University for a scientific, literary, or educational purpose.
A qualifying research grant under this paragraph is a grant that is awarded on a competitive basis by an entity described in subparagraph (C) for a research project with a scientific, literary, or educational purpose.
A grant may be accepted under this paragraph only from a corporation, fund, foundation, educational institution, or similar entity that is organized and operated primarily for scientific, literary, or educational purposes.
The Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency shall establish an account for administering funds received as research grants under this section. The President of the Defense Security Cooperation University shall use the funds in the account in accordance with applicable provisions of the regulations and the terms and condition of the grants received.
Subject to such limitations as may be provided in appropriations Acts, appropriations available for the Defense Security Cooperation University may be used to pay* expenses incurred by the Defense Security Cooperation University in applying for, and otherwise pursuing, the award of qualifying research grants.
The Secretary of Defense, through the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, shall prescribe regulations for the administration of this subsection.
Funds available to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, and other funds available to the Department of Defense for security cooperation programs and activities of the Department of Defense, may be used to carry out the Program.
Funds necessary to carry out the Program as described in paragraph (1) for a fiscal year shall be identified, with appropriate justification, in the consolidated budget for such fiscal year required by section 381 of this title.
Amounts available for use for the Program may be transferred to any account of the military departments or the Defense Agencies for purposes of the Program.
In this section, the term “security cooperation workforce” means the following:
Members of the armed forces and civilian employees of the Department of Defense working in the security cooperation organizations of United States missions overseas.
Members of the armed forces and civilian employees of the Department of Defense in the geographic combatant commands and functional combatant commands responsible for planning, monitoring, or conducting security cooperation activities.
Members of the armed forces and civilian employees of the Department of Defense in the military departments performing security cooperation activities, including activities in connection with the acquisition and development of technology release policies.
Other military and civilian personnel of Defense Agencies and Field Activities who perform security cooperation activities.
Personnel of the Department of Defense who perform assessments, monitoring, or evaluations of security cooperation programs and activities of the Department of Defense, including assessments under section 383 of this title.
Other members of the armed forces or civilian employees of the Department of Defense who contribute significantly to the security cooperation programs and activities of the Department of Defense by virtue of their assigned duties, as determined pursuant to the security cooperation human capital initiative under subsection (e).
Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this subsection, and not less frequently than once every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report on the Department of Defense security cooperation workforce.
Each report under paragraph (1) shall—
identify current and projected security cooperation workforce manpower requirements, including expeditionary requirements within the context of total force planning, needed to meet the security cooperation mission;
identify critical skill gaps (such as recruitment in the existing or projected workforce) and development of strategies to manage the security cooperation workforce to address those gaps;
address development, validation, implementation, and assessment of security cooperation workforce and Department-wide competencies for security cooperation and associated occupational series using the Department taxonomy;
produce a comparison between competency proficiency levels against target proficiency levels at enterprise and individual levels to identify competency gaps and gap closure strategies, for competencies needed at the time of the report and in the future;
identify any exceptions and waivers granted with respect to the application of qualification, assignment, and tenure policies, procedures, and practices to persons, billets or positions;
indicate relative promotion rates for security cooperation workforce personnel;
identify the funds requested or allocated for the Department of Defense security cooperation workforce and address whether such funds are sufficient to—
address the critical skill gaps identified pursuant to subparagraph (B); and
provide incentives to recruit and retain high-quality personnel in the security cooperation workforce; and
include any other matters the Secretary of Defense determines appropriate.
The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct an independent evaluation of the actions taken by the Secretary of Defense to carry out the requirements of this section.
Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this subsection, the Comptroller General shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representatives a report on the evaluation conducted under paragraph (1). Such report shall include—
an analysis of the effectiveness of the actions taken by the Secretary to carry out the requirements of this section; and
such legislative and administrative recommendations as the Comptroller General considers appropriate to meet the objectives of this section.
Source credit: (Added Pub. L. 114–328, div. A, title XII, § 1250(a), Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2526; amended Pub. L. 118–31, div. A, title XII, § 1204(a), Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 442.)
- 2016Enacted · Pub. L. 114-328 · 130 Stat. 2526
- 2023Amended · Pub. L. 118-31 · 137 Stat. 442
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 114-328 on 2016-12-23.
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