Critical skills for the Department of Defense

(a) Findings Congress makes the following findings: (1) The Department of Defense needs a workforce of skilled individuals to meet the national security challenges facing the United States. (2) As the Department develops tools to bring individuals with critical skills into civilian and military service, it must identify the type and number of critically skilled personnel that are needed. (b) Critical skills and skilled individuals (1) In general The Secretary of Defense, acting through the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, shall develop and maintain a list of the critical skills and numbers of skilled individuals needed for the Department of Defense, the Armed Forces, and the National Guard. (2) Critical skills For purposes of this section, critical skills are those skills for which the Department has a critical need, such as medical, dental, and nursing skills, language skills, cyber skills, and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics skills. (c) Responsibility (1) In general The Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness shall ensure that the list developed under subsection (b) is updated annually in accordance with paragraph (2). (2) Coordination The Under Secretary shall develop, maintain, and update the list of critical skills in close consultation with each military department, through its Assistant Secretaries for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, with the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, with the Director of the Selective Service System, and with the Council on Military, National, and Public Service established under section 201. (3) Implementation The Under Secretary shall implement the list of critical skills under this section not later than January 1, 2025.