All three secretaries of the U.S. armed services believe that the government’s ability to hire and retain talented professionals will be a critical strategy to address U.S. challenges and threats.

Army Secretary Eric Fanning, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus and Air Force Secretary Deborah James discussed a number of national security challenges and innovation opportunities during a panel discussion hosted by the Center for a New American Security, according to an article published Thursday on the Army’s website.

Mabus said that military organizations should have broad and different sorts of thinking around cyber.

The secretaries agreed that talent recruitment and retention programs form a key part of the solution to the country’s need to develop a workforce that can adapt to future challenges.

James said she believes a hiring a diverse pool of talent comprised of personnel from different backgrounds, thought processes and disciplines will spur innovation.

The secretaries also pointed to budget instability as among the roadblocks to military modernization efforts and that various capability gaps have weakened the U.S. forces advantage in key areas.

National Intelligence Director James Clapper has received the Defense Department‘s highest civilian award in recognition of his leadership role over Office of National Intelligence and larger intelligence community.

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter presented Clapper the Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Medal during a ceremony held at ODNI’s headquarters, DoD said Friday.

“No one has better demonstrated that instinct to serve better than Jim Clapper,” said Carter.

“He has said the reason our nation and its national security enterprise keeps evolving and keeps getting better is because of our people and their instinct to serve he says,” he added.

Carter noted that the DoD and DNI continue to work together in an effort to integrate intelligence and provide customers with new products to support decision makers, as well as help to keep the security of the country.

The Defense Department plans to appoint a chief innovation officer to serve as a senior adviser to the secretary and lead programs such as the Defense Innovation Board’s suggested activities, DoD News reported Friday.

Cheryl Pellerin writes Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told a Center for Strategic and International Studies event that he will implement three practices from DIB’s recommendations in efforts to drive innovation at DoD.

Carter said the chief innovation officer could help build software and human networks to support technological development across DoD; sponsor contests and tournaments; and facilitate training and education to boost collaboration, creativity and critical thinking.

DoD also aims to launch targeted recruiting initiatives to hire computer scientists and software engineers into the military and civilian workforce, the report stated.

Carter added DoD seeks to build on its machine learning investments through challenges, prize competitions and a virtual center of excellence model that will work to encourage academic and private sector researchers to help the Pentagon achieve “stretch goals,” DoD News said.

U.S. Navy Rear Adm. William Merz, head of the Defense Department‘s submarine warfare office, and other branch officials are looking to add more unmanned vehicles into the country’s undersea force, Navy Times reported Thursday.

David Larter writes autonomous drone developers have faced challenges in the collection of data from unmanned underwater vehicle sensors such as commercial fishing nets.

“I hope unmanned systems get there eventually but until then, give me what you have and I can plug holes that can unburden the [attack submarine fleet],” said Merz.

Vice Adm. Michael Connor, former head of the U.S. submarine forces, told Congress that UUVs can help guard select areas of the cable system to help free up attack boats for other tasks.

Lt. Gen. Jon Davis, U.S. Marine Corps deputy commandant for aviation, has said the service branch’s future Group 5 unmanned aircraft system may carry the same weapons and sensors as the F-35 fighter jet, DoD Buzz reported Thursday.

Davis told the Unmanned Systems Defense conference in Virginia that the Marine air-ground task force unmanned expeditionary platform or MUX will collaborate with the F-35B Lightning II aircraft and support manned-unmanned teaming, Hope Hodge Seck wrote.

“I think the Group 5 [unmanned aircraft system] for the Marine Corps will have [AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile] on there, will have AIM-9X [Sidewinder missile], will have all the weapons that an F-35 will carry, maybe even the sensors the F-35 will carry,” Davis said, according to the report.

Davis added he wants a technology demonstration flight of MUX by 2018 and early operational capability for the UAS by 2024, the report stated.

The International Association of Chiefs of Police has partnered with the FBI to provide a free online cyber training program for all local, state, tribal, territorial and federal law enforcers and first responders.

The Cyber Investigator Certification Program features nine modules on software, hardware, the internet and social networks, encryption, legal tools and digital evidence in an effort to train first responders to inspect and secure electronic evidences in a crime scene, the FBI said Oct. 19.

Participants will receive classroom-style lessons from cyber experts from the FBI, Carnegie Mellon University, prosecutors’ offices and other law enforcement agencies and will acquire a course certificate upon completion of the entire training program.

“The goal of the course… is to improve a first responder’s technical knowledge by focusing on best practices in terms of investigative methods specific for cyber investigations,” said Special Agent James McDonald from the cyber training and logistics unit within the FBI’s cyber division.

“The more first responders understand about technology, the less chance there is of errors being made while securing a crime scene involving digital evidence,” he added.

The course’s software session includes primers on metadata, operating systems and cloud, while its hardware deals with specific digital devices, electronic storage and networks.

The digital evidence module is designed to train participants to recognize potential sources of digital evidence, secure a digital device and document a crime scene, while the legal skills training offers lessons on the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and search warrants and consent searches for digital evidence.

The agency’s cyber division collaborated with the IACP and cyber experts from the Carnegie Mellon to develop and launch the CICP in October 2015 and has since garnered close to 5000 enrollments.

The FBI and the university are developing four Level 1 cyber training courses on cyber and digital cases for beginning to intermediate-level detectives, as well as three Level 2 training courses on network-based crimes, such as malware, worms and viruses for intermediate to advance detectives.