U.S. Army Secretary Mark Esper, a 2018 Wash100 recipient, has said the service is focusing on readiness more as it prioritizes the skills of U.S. warfighters instead of meeting the intended number of recruits.

The Defense Department said Friday the Army lowered its goal of recruits from 80,000 to 76,500 because the service planned to refine its retention rate, which is now at 86 percent.

Esper noted, however, that having a higher active duty retention rate compared to service expectations may possibly hinder with the recruitment into the U.S. National Guard and the Army Reserve.

The Army sees more demand for more troops in engineering, artillery, cyber and air defense for deployments to other countries such as in Afghanistan and Africa.

The service, along with the U.S. Marine Corps and Special Operations Command, is also working with the Close-Combat Lethality Task Force to determine the requirements for modern close combat.

“As we move forward, we need to synchronize our efforts with what the Marine Corps is doing, so we use all the capabilities our soldiers need,” Sergeant Major of the Army Daniel Dailey said.

Esper added the Army’s cross-functional teams are working on enhancing the survivability and lethality of individual warfighters and the squad.

President Donald Trump has signed a new memorandum that establishes a new policy on conventional arms transfers in support of the country’s economic and national security interests and in compliance with the Arms Export Control Act of 1976.

The new conventional arms transfer policy seeks to keep the U.S. technological edge over potential enemies; build up the defense industrial base to generate jobs; advance research and development; and expand partnerships that aim to extend the country’s global influence, according to the presidential memo published Thursday.

The memo calls for the secretary of State to work with secretaries of the departments of Defense, Energy and Commerce to develop and submit a proposed action plan for the policy’s implementation to the White House within the next two months.

The proposed plan should include short- and long-term measures the U.S. government should implement to build up its ability to communicate and support weapons transfers in support of national security interests and state the financial and staff resources to execute the policy “with minimal increase in the total of otherwise budgeted funds, with offsets identified if necessary.”

The policy also directs the secretaries of four federal agencies to draft a program that would align the country’s export policy for unmanned aircraft systems with economic and national security interests.

“The initiative should address the status of, and recommend next steps for, [Missile Technology Control Regime] adoption of revised controls for MTCR Category I UAS, consistent with the UAS export policy,” the memo added.

The U.S. Air Force plans to reorganize the Space and Missile Systems Center by fall 2018 in order to speed up the acquisition process and eliminate silos among organizations, Defense News reported Thursday.

“It will have a production corps. It will have a development corps. It will have an architect,” Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson told reporters during a roundtable Tuesday at the Space Symposium in Colorado.

The report said the chief architect will oversee the synchronization of programs across SMC.

Wilson, a 2018 Wash100 recipient, said the reorganization aims to set up offices that focus on partnerships and innovation and added that the service expects the new center to achieve initial operating capability in October.

U.S. Army and Marine Corps officials have said both service branches aim to prioritize modernization programs as part of efforts to help ground forces engage in complex security environments, DoD News reported Thursday.

Gen. John Murray, the Army’s deputy chief of staff for programs, told members of the House House Armed Services Committee’s tactical air and land forces subcommittee Wednesday the branch plans to modernize equipment to address near-term readiness goals.

Murray added that focus areas include next generation combat vehicle, long-range precision fires and soldier lethality.

Lt. Gen. Robert Walsh, commanding general for the Marine Corps Combat Development Command and deputy commandant for combat development and integration, told the subcommittee the branch plans to invest in information warfare, air defense command-and-control, mobility protection and force dynamics.

The U.S. Navy has announced it will commission the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock to be named USS Portland at the Port of Portland in Oregon during a ceremony to occur on Saturday.

The Defense Department said Thursday Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan will provide the commisionning’s principal address.

Bonny Amos, wife of the U.S. Marine Corps‘ 35th commandant, will order the ship’s activation as USS Portland’s sponsor.

San Antonio-class ships are made to support over 800 marines, and accommodate aircraft such as the CH-53E Sea Stallion and MV-22 Osprey.

The 27th Navy LPD will be the third ship to carry the name of Portland, the largest city in Oregon.

The first USS Portland was a heavy cruiser that served in World War II operations concerning Guadalcanal, Leyte Gulf, Corregidor and Okinawa; while the second was a dock landing ship that supported Lebanon peacekeeping missions and Operation Iraqi Freedom.