Defense Secretary Ash Carter has introduced a national discussion that works to establish a diverse recruitment pool through proposals designed to help attract recruits aged 17 to 24 from across the country, DoD News reported Wednesday.

Jim Garamone writes most of the military recruits come from southeastern states such as Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi and Georgia to represent the U.S. region with the country’s highest recruit-to-population ratio.

“It’s certainly important to reflect the nation we serve, to have a force that’s representative of all the states and all the various different populations across the country,” said Stephanie Miller, Defense Department director of accession policy.

“We also need to ensure that from a recruiting perspective we are tapping into all the various populations throughout the U.S.”

Carter’s “Force of the Future” proposals also look to encourage the propensity to serve and cater to 70 percent of the surveyed youth that according to Miller listed “making a contribution to society” as a life goal.

The report added officials aim to update the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery of tests and develop algorithms for social media content to reach target audiences and expand the recruiting bases.

Garamone noted the military force size has shrunk to approximately 1.3 million members which poses a challenge of fewer veterans entering the civilian population and veteran-influencers to recommend military service to prospective enlistees.

The U.S. Air Force plans to conduct tests to determine if the Lockheed Martin-built F-35 fighter aircraft can be decontaminated after exposure to chemical and biological weapons.

The service branch said Monday the tests aim to validate the F-35 Joint Program Office’s decontamination requirements and the aircraft’s readiness to enter full-rate production.

The 461st Flight Test Squadron and Joint Strike Fighter Integrated Test Force will use a decontamination shelter to perform the tests, the Air Force added.

Melanie Link, 461st chemical and biological 06 project lead, said the aircraft will undergo engine runs on the flightline and the Air Force team will subsequently contaminate the F-35’s engine and interior.

The aircraft will then enter the shelter to go through decontamination while the team will collect samples from the F-35 and the surrounding environment to help determine the effectiveness of the process, Link added.

The team will bring the F-35 to a third site to collect more samples and conduct another engine run, the Air Force said.

The decontamination structure is built to feature an external air beam shelter that will work to protect against wind and solar loads as well as an aircraft enclosure that is designed to aid external and internal decontamination.

The service branch added the shelter’s design includes components that will expose the F-35 to high temperatures.

Tests will occur from August to December and could also involve a U.S. Marine Corps F-35B aircraft in early 2017, the Air Force noted.

Christopher Piehota, former director of the FBI‘s Terrorist Screening Center, has been appointed executive assistant director of the bureau’s science and technology branch.

FBI said Monday the 21-year bureau veteran will assume his new position in October and succeed Amy Hess, who will transition to a new role as special agent in charge of the Louisville Division.

Piehota joined the bureau in 1995 as a special agent at the Newark Division, where he handled international and domestic terrorism and weapons of mass destruction investigations.

He also served as a member of the Newark Joint Terrorism Task Force.

He previously worked as the special agent in charge of the Buffalo Division and held leadership roles within the counterterrorism and counterintelligence units and the Northern Virginia Resident Agency.

Former FBI Director Robert Mueller established the science and technology branch in 2006 to develop scientific methods and tools for the bureau to address terrorist and criminal threats.