The Government Accountability Office has recommended that the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army modify the service branches’ respective human capital planning strategies to address unmanned aerial system pilot shortages and training shortfalls.

GAO said in a report published Tuesday both service branches should also evaluate workforce mixes for UAS pilot positions as well as analyze the cost effectiveness of workforce decisions.

The watchdog agency also found that the Air Force and Army did not fully apply four out of five principles for effective strategic human capital planning on the management of the service branches’ UAS pilots.

Thirsty-seven percent of the personnel filling UAS pilot positions as of March 2016 were temporarily assigned manned-aircraft pilots, GAO added.

According to the agency, the Air Force complied with the first principle for strategic human capital planning, which was to involve top senior leaders, employees and stakeholders, in a push to address UAS pilot shortage.

The Army was able to comply with the third principle, which was to monitor progress toward meeting human capital goals, but 61 out of 73 units flew less than half of the 340-flight-hour per unit annual minimum training goal, GAO said.

Both service branches only partially applied the other three principles that cover the development of strategies tailored to address gaps in critical skills and competencies, determination of critical skills and competencies needed as well as the development of capability to support human capital strategies by using flexibilities.

GAO urged the two branches to modify current strategies to address risks of continued training at a level lower than current goals and the potential loss of experience from temporarily assigned manned-aircraft pilots.

The Defense Department has implemented a mandatory training program on the updated military retirement system for eligible service members ahead of the system’s Jan. 1, 2018 effective date, DoD News reported Wednesday.

Lisa Ferdinando writes Anthony Kurta, acting undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said the Blended Retirement System is designed to help military personnel select a retirement plan that fits them and their family members best.

Andrew Corso, assistant director of military compensation policy and project lead for the Blended Retirement System implementation, told DoD News in an interview that the system features a traditional benefit annuity, automatic and matching Thrift Savings Plan contributions and an incentive payment.

“The goal of modernizing the retirement system was to go from a system that benefits about 20 percent of all service members to one that benefits about 85 percent of all service members,” added Corso.

Corso explained the opt-in training course for the blended system can be accessed via the Joint Knowledge Online  and Military OneSource wesbites.

All service members who will join the military on or after Jan. 1, 2018 will immediately be enrolled in the new system and required to take the training within the first year in service, the report noted.

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the unclassified provisions of the 2017 Intelligence Authorization Act will cost $454 million to implement from 2017 to 2022.

CBO said Monday the bill would authorize a $562 million budget for the Intelligence Community Management Account for fiscal year 2017.

The legislation would also permit agency and office leaders in the intelligence community to offer higher pay rates for employees who provide science, technology, engineering or math expertise.

CBO added the bill calls for the formation of an interagency committee that would enlist at least seven members and develop initiatives to address Russia’s activities meant to influence individuals or other governments.

The legislation does not contain intergovernmental or private-sector mandates and would not affect state, local or tribal government budgets if implemented, according to the agency.

The bill would affect direct spending and revenues but the impact would not be significant over the 2017-2027 period, CBO noted.

A group of 19 House Republican members has called on President Donald Trump to clarify his presidential memorandum that imposes a hiring freeze on federal civilian employees.

The lawmakers said in letter published Wednesday the implementation of the federal job freeze “negatively” affected Defense Department acquisition personnel who negotiate national security-related contracts.

They added that military departments believe the hiring freeze includes contracting personnel at the department and urged Trump to “support the complete resourcing for DoD contracting offices.”

The letter was signed by Reps. Vicky Hartzler, Rob Bishop, Mike Turner, Rob Wittman, Joe Wilson, Mo Brooks, Bradley Byrne, Walter Jones, Steve Knight, Elise Stefanik, Sam Graves, Mike Gallagher, Scott Taylor, Scott DesJarlais, Neal Dunn, Trent Franks, Ralph Abraham, Paul Cook and Tom Cole.

Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) said certain positions should be exempted from the freeze due to “consequences for readiness and a variety of issues,” Defense News reported.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Trump ordered the freeze on Jan. 23 in a bid to address federal bureaucracy.

Defense Secretary James Mattis has issued a memo that outlines a spending plan that seeks to prioritize near-term readiness and postpone equipment modernization efforts until 2019, Breaking Defense reported Wednesday.

Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. writes the Defense Department will submit to the Office of Management and Budget by March 1 its fiscal year 2017 budget amendment request that aims to address “urgent warfighting readiness shortfalls” and requirements related to the campaign against the Islamic State militant organization.

The FY 2017 amendment may include a rise in force structure in areas that would have an impact on immediate readiness efforts.

The memo states that DoD will submit to OMB by May 1 its proposed budget for FY 2018 that seeks to rebuild readiness, address programmatic shortfalls and balance the program such as an increase in the force’s size at the “maximum responsible rate.”

The document also authorizes Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work to prepare the FY 2017 budget amendment and FY 2018 budget request, Freedberg reports.

The Pentagon will draft the National Defense Strategy in 2018 and a defense program for FY 2019 through 2023 with a focus on efforts to increase the joint force’s lethality against high-end rivals and potential threats and advance investments in the development of new capabilities, the report added.