U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. John Millard, former executive officer to the commander at the U.S. Transportation Command, has been appointed as deputy director of strategic plans, requirements and programs at the Headquarters of the Air Mobility Command, the Defense Department said Monday.

Millard held various management and leadership positions across the Air Force including roles within the 89th Airlift Wing, 376th Air Expeditionary Wing, 60th Operations Group, Tanker Airlift Control Center, Naval War College and 21st Air Mobility Operations Squadron.

He was a chief operations analyst for the mission analysis branch at NATO Combined Air Operations Center Two and an executive officer to the commander of the Transportation Command.

The brigadier general was a command pilot who recorded more than 3,400 flight house onboard C-17, C-32, C-37, C-5, KC-10 and KC-135 aircraft.

The U.S. Navy has started to implement recommendations from a review of accidents involving the service branch’s surface ships in an effort to boost fleet safety and readiness.

Adm. Bill Moran, vice chief of naval operations, directed Adm. Phil Davidson, head of the U.S. Fleet Forces Command, to conduct the Comprehensive Review of Surface Force Incidents after the Navy faced three ship collisions and one grounding last year, the military branch said Monday.

“The comprehensive review found that over a sustained period of time, rising pressure to meet operational demands led those in command to rationalize declining standards – standards in fundamental seamanship and watchstanding skills, teamwork, operational safety, assessment and a professional culture,” said Adm. John Richardson, chief of naval operations.

The report assessed the Navy’s surface ship mishaps in the last decade and recommended the establishment of “firebreaks” and employment systems that can help prevent a decline in operational safety standards.

The Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific and U.S. Atlantic fleets will work together to lead the implementation of recommended actions and monitor changes across the Navy surface fleet.

The team will include representatives from the Naval Sea Systems Command, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, Naval Personnel Command, Naval Education and Training Command and other relevant commands.

The Navy has adopted 11 recommendations so far and is focused on applying all suggested changes.

Other initiatives that are under consideration include a bridge resource management workshop; a course for junior officers of the deck; evaluations of deck officers; and prospective commanding officer competency checkpoint assessments.

Maj. Gen. John Morrison, commander of the Cyber Center of Excellence and Fort Gordon, has said cyber-electromagnetic activities have begun to routinely operate alongside brigades from other domain specialties at combat training centers and home-station training environments.

The U.S. Army said Monday Morrison noted CEMA teams have merged with cyber, electronic warfare, military intelligence, signals intelligence and space specialists to provide capacities for the maneuver commander.

Morrison believes integration of capacities and formations can help establish a combined arms effect within the cyberspace.

George Lewis, vice president of CEMA initiatives at CACI International, suggested CEMA teams to work with the industry and academia to discover procedures, tactics, techniques and technologies that can support operations.

The report noted EW personnel will begin to support the newly established Cyber Branch and mobile training teams will be deployed across the Army to lay the foundations for full integration.

Brig. Gen. Neil Hersey, commandant of the Army Cyber Center and School, said a school at Fort Gordon utilized Soldiers from different CEMA specialties to support its program of instruction as well as help improve the training and education of the students.

The report said the cyber and intelligence centers of excellence have also worked together to develop a recent cyber requirement and the special operations CoE has the potential to work with a CEMA team on the formulation of future requirements.

Defense Secretary James Mattis has said the Defense Department aims to provide details of a national defense strategy by Jan. 19, Defense News reported Sunday.

Mattis told reporters Friday at the Pentagon that DoD will release a shorter and unclassified version of the document to the public.

The department also expects to release findings of its ballistic missile defense and nuclear posture reviews next month.

Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said last month he believes the national defense strategy would help drive allocation of resources throughout DoD.

In late 2017, the White House released a national security strategy that details the Trump administration’s strategies to bolster U.S. border security, economy, homeland defense, military power and trade.

The national security strategy also looks to streamline military modernization activities and supports the development of capacities in the cyber and space domains.

Connecticut Sen. Cathy Osten (D-Sprague) has proposed a bill that seeks to boost the state’s investment in manufacturing jobs within the defense sector.

The Submarine Jobs and Opportunities Building Success Act would allocate $100 million in funds in the next five years to infrastructure development efforts to help address submarine contracts-related requirements, the Connecticut Senate Democrats said Wednesday.

The proposed legislation would also spend $50 million over a decade on workforce programs, high schools and community colleges to help meet the demand for submarine design, repair and maintenance and construction work as part of defense contracts.

“It is an undeniable fact that building submarines is big business for hundreds of Connecticut’s small businesses, and ensuring that our state has a highly skilled and well prepared workforce is critically important in order to meet demand,” Osten said.

She noted that General Dynamics’ Electric Boat subsidiary has approximately 450 Connecticut-based suppliers.

Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney (D-New Haven) said the proposed Submarine JOBS Act comes as Electric Boat prepares to employ up to 15,000 workers in the next 15 years and establish new facilities to support development work on Columbia-class submarines.

The White House is close to finalizing a plan that would direct the Defense Department, diplomats and military attaches to help bring in foreign military sales deals and generate more jobs in the U.S., Reuters reported Monday.

Administration officials told Reuters that President Donald Trump is expected to introduce as soon as February a new initiative that would relax regulations related to U.S. military exports and would cover weapon systems such as fighter jets, warships, drones and artillery.

Under the new “Buy American” plan, embassy personnel would help secure weapons deals for defense contractors through collaboration with foreign counterparts.

The Trump administration’s initiative will also include an update of the International Trafficking in Arms Regulations, the report added.

The Surface Navy Association will host a national symposium Crystal City, Virginia, to discuss multiple strategies to address cross-domain warfare challenges.

The U.S. Navy said Monday SNA’s annual symposium, themed “Surface Forces and Cross-Domain Integration,” will feature common procedures and integrated exercises across the air, land, maritime, space and cyber domains.

“We’ll examine the requirements and operations; shipbuilding and maintenance; science and technology; research and development; and the manpower and training issues that impact our force and the Navy, as well as how we integrate with air, surface and expeditionary forces and our international allies and partners,” said Barry McCullough, SNA president and a retired Navy vice admiral.

SNA seeks to provide an opportunity for naval, government and industry representatives to tackle surface community professional and career issues through the symposium.