,,ii  #aahth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #ccec  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,november #bh1 
#bjbc,ms4 ,ernst introduced the         
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on ,armed   
,services  ,a ,,bill  ,to accelerate the
 identification of solutions to the     
challenges of the ,joint ,force by      
assigning to specific components of the 
,department of ,defense certain         
responsibilities for the delivery of    
essential integrated joint warfighting  
capabilities1 and for other purposes4   
#a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited
 as the ,,jadc#b ,implementation ,act4  
#b4 ,roles and responsibilities for     
components of ,office of ,secretary of  
,defense for joint all-domain command   
and control in support of integrated    
joint warfighting  7a7 ,in general ,the 
,secretary of ,defense shall establish  
the roles and responsibilities of       
components of the ,office of the        
,secretary of ,defense for development  

and delivery to combatant commands of   
capabilities that are essential to      
integrated joint warfighting            
capabilities1 as follows3 7#a7 ,the     
,deputy ,chief ,technology ,officer for 
,mission ,capabilities of the ,office of
 the ,under ,secretary of ,defense for  
,research and ,engineering 7in this     
section referred to as the ,deputy      
,chief7 shall be responsible for-- 7,a7 
identifying new technology and          
operational concepts for experimentation
 and prototyping for delivery to the    
,joint ,force to address key operational
 challenges2  7,b7 providing technical  
support for the ,joint ,force in        
exploring and analyzing new             
capabilities1 operational concepts1 and 
systems-of-systems composition1         
including through advanced modeling and 
simulation2 and  7,c7 executing         
associated experimentation1 through the 
,rapid ,defense ,experimentation        
,reserve 7,,rder7 or another mechanism4 
7#b7 ,the ,executive ,director for      

,acquisition1 ,integration1 and         
,interoperability of the ,office of the 
,under ,secretary of ,defense for       
,acquisition and ,sustainment shall be  
responsible for-- 7,a7 enabling the     
acquisition of cross-domain1 joint1 and 
cross-system kill chains and mission    
capabilities1 including resourcing of   
modifications necessary for integration 
and interoperability among kill chain   
and mission components2 and  7,b7       
ensuring the effectiveness of           
cross-domain1 joint1 and cross-system   
kill chains and mission capabilities    
through analysis and testing4  7#c7 ,the
 ,chief ,digital and ,artificial        
,intelligence ,officer shall be         
responsible for creating and operating a
 factory-based approach for software    
development that allows for iterative1  
secure1 and continuous deployment of    
developmental1 prototype1 and           
operational tools and capabilities from 
multiple vendors to test networks and   
operational networks for combatant      

commanders to-- 7,a7 gain operational   
awareness1 make decisions1 and take     
actions2  7,b7 integrate relevant data  
sources to support target selection1    
target prioritization1 and weapon-target
 pairing2 and  7,c7 prosecute targets   
through military service and combat     
support agency networks1 tools1 and     
systems4  7b7 ,additional ,deputy ,chief
 authorities  7#a7 ,in general ,the     
,deputy ,chief may exercise the         
authorities described in paragraph 7#b7 
in accordance with this subsection to   
carry out the responsibilities of the   
,deputy ,chief described in subsection  
7a77#a74  7#b7 ,authorities described   
,the authorities described in this      
paragraph are-- 7,a7 the authority to   
enter contracts to acquire goods and    
services2 and  7,b7 except as otherwise 
provided by this subsection1 the        
authority to appoint1 prescribe rates of
 pay for1 and provide additional pay to 
highly qualified experts4  7#c7         
,acquisition authority ,the laws and    

regulations applicable to acquisitions  
of goods and services by the ,secretary 
of ,defense shall apply to the          
acquisition of goods and services by the
 ,deputy ,chief pursuant to paragraph   
7#b77;,a74  7#d7 ,hiring authorities    
7,a7 ,appointment limits ,when          
exercising the authority described in   
paragraph 7#b77;,b71 the ,deputy ,chief 
may-- 7i7 appoint only individuals with 
demonstrated expertise in the           
development1 testing1 production1 and   
delivery or integration of modular      
systems and major system components 7as 
defined in section #ddja7;b7 of title   
#aj1 ,united ,states ,code71 including  
autonomous vehicles1 advanced sensors   
and radio systems1 and software systems2
 and  7ii7 appoint individuals to not   
more than #ab positions as program      
managers in the ,office of the ,under   
,secretary of ,defense for ,research and
 ,engineering4  7,b7 ,term extension    
,the ,deputy ,chief may extend the      
period which an employee appointed      

pursuant to paragraph 7#b77;,b7 may     
serve by up to seven additional years4  
7,c7 ,excepted service positions ,each  
position to which the ,deputy ,chief may
 appoint an individual pursuant to      
paragraph 7#b77;,b7 shall be in the     
excepted service4  7c7 ,coordination    
,the officials referred to in paragraphs
 7#a71 7#b71 and 7#c7 of subsection 7a7 
shall coordinate and align their plans  
and activities to implement subsection  
7a7 among themselves and with the       
combatant commanders4  7d7 ,initial     
prioritization ,in developing an initial
 set of capabilities described in       
subsection 7a71 the officials referred  
to in paragraphs 7#a71 7#b71 and 7#c7 of
 that subsection shall prioritize the   
requirements of the ,united ,states     
,indo-,pacific ,command4  7e7 ,briefings
 required ,not later than #ij days after
 the date of the enactment of this ,act1
 and every #ahj days thereafter through 
,december #ca1 #bjbf1 the officials     
referred to in paragraphs 7#a71 7#b71   

and 7#c7 of subsection 7a7 shall provide
 briefings to the congressional defense 
committees on their plans and activities
 to implement subsection 7a74  7f7      
,report required ,not later than ,march 
#a1 #bjbd1 the ,chief ,data and         
,artificial ,intelligence ,officer1 in  
consultation with the ,deputy ,chief and
 the ,executive ,director for           
,acquisition1 ,integration1 and         
,interoperability of the ,office of the 
,under ,secretary of ,defense for       
,acquisition and ,sustainment1 shall    
submit to the congressional defense     
committees a report that includes-- 7#a7
 a plan and associated timelines for    
deploying and demonstrating a joint data
 integration layer prototype in the     
,united ,states ,indo-,pacific ,command 
area of operations2  7#b7 a plan and    
associated timelines for transitioning  
such a prototype1 upon its successful   
demonstration1 to fielding as soon as   
practicable given the urgent need for a 
joint all-domain command and control    

7commonly referred to as ,,jadc#b7      
capability2  7#c7 a plan and associated 
timelines for reaching initial          
operational capability for a joint data 
integration layer within the ,united    
,states ,indo-,pacific ,command area of 
operations2  7#d7 a plan and associated 
timelines for scaling that capability to
 future areas of operation across the   
combatant commands2  7#e7 an assessment 
of the required type and number of      
personnel at the ,united ,states        
,indo-,pacific ,command to enable       
sustained growth in ,,jadc#b            
capabilities2 and  7#f7 a plan and      
associated timelines for-- 7,a7         
identifying specific critical effects   
chains necessary to overcome anti-access
 and area denial capabilities and       
offensive military operations of foreign
 adversaries2 and  7,b7 creating1       
demonstrating1 deploying1 and sustaining
 such chains4