The Department of Defense has concluded the opt-in enrollment of a new military retirement system with over half a million servicemen registered in total. The Blended Retirement System fuses traditional pension with a thrift savings plan, allowing members to receive retirement benefits before reaching 20 years in service, the DoD said Monday.

The department allotted $300M to cover TSP accounts of BRS-enrolled members in the program’s first year. Over 400,000 existing members registered under the program, and more than 150,000 new servicemen automatically enrolled upon enlistment. The DoD advised servicemen to undergo BRS training and financial counseling before deciding to register or not. Some members with special cases are given extensions to register after the opt-in period due to law-based provisions.

The Department of Defense has released a report assessing China’s military and non-military expansion efforts worldwide and their implications for the U.S.

DoD said in the report released Monday that China has expanded through Digital Silk Road and One Belt, One Road initiatives; military access and engagement; economic presence; and technology acquisition.

According to the report, the Asian country’s growing activities worldwide present implications for the U.S. and China across military access, logistics, force posture and training areas.

The document states that DoD has responded to the implications of China’s growing global activities in accordance with the National Defense Strategy while backing a whole-of-government measure.

The report also outlines DoD’s interagency programs such as efforts to align NDS with the National Security Strategy; continuous aerial and maritime operations in areas covered by international law; and collaboration with Congress and executive branch to safeguard the country’s national security innovation base.
 

Reps. Jerry McNerney (D-Calif.) and Bob Latta (R-Ohio) have introduced two bills that aim to protect the U.S. electric infrastructure from cyber threats.

The Enhancing Grid Security through Public-Private Partnerships Act would require the Department of Energy to advance public-private partnerships and facilitate data collection and sharing of best practices to build up the cybersecurity posture of electric utilities, according to a joint release published Wednesday.

The Cyber Sense Act would establish a voluntary program within DOE to help promote the use of cyber products in the bulk power system and create a testing process for those offerings.

McNerney said the electric grid serves as the U.S. economy’s backbone and the bills seek to strengthen the electric infrastructure and promote partnerships between industry and DOE.

“Improving cooperation is key to ensuring the best information, products, and practices are being used to guard against cyberattacks, and these bills will foster a collaborative relationship between DOE and utilities that will help accomplish this goal,” Latta said.

Latta and McNerney serve as co-chair of the Grid Innovation Caucus, which aims to offer a forum to discuss ways to address challenges facing the electric grid.
 

Jeffery Green, president of Washington, D.C.-based government relations firm J.A. Green & Co., has said lawmakers should advance bipartisan cooperation to support the defense industrial base.

Green wrote in a Defense News commentary published Friday about the non-security benefits of the Defense Production Act of 1950 and other industrial base initiatives.

“For instance, a strong defense-industrial base expands opportunities by assisting women and minority-owned businesses to establish a presence in the market, diversifying local economies across the U.S. and indirectly sustaining a large number of jobs outside of the defense industry,” he noted.

He said the gaps identified in the defense industrial base report and mine permitting reform provide Congress an opportunity to pursue bipartisan action in support of the industrial base.

“In conclusion, both Democrats and Republicans have common ground in the area of industrial-base policy and should seek to cooperate to advance their goals,” wrote Green, who previously worked at the Department of Defense and the House Armed Services Committee.

“This cooperation should include commitments from both sides to not intentionally create legislative gridlock in order to advance partisan political agendas that stand little chance of becoming law.”
 

The U.S. Army’s assistant secretary for acquisition, logistics and technology has said that the service will soon deploy an air defense system that can address increasingly complex airborne threats, Military .com reported Friday.

Bruce Jette said during a Defense Writers Group meeting on Jan. 10 that, by “next December,” the service expects to roll out the Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System, which Northrop Grumman developed.

Jette explained that the system will make it possible to integrate command-and-control mechanisms, sensors and different types of missiles, allowing warfighters to respond to various types of airborne threats, such as drones, ballistic missiles, artillery and combat aircraft.

The Army official added that, down the road, the service intends to augment air defense with artificial intelligence.

Jette noted that AI would enable warfighters to respond to threats at greater speed.