A Defense Department official has said DoD has initiated talks over plans to permanently transfer at least one U.S. Army brigade combat team to Europe in response to Russia’s military aggression in the continent, Military Times reported Sunday.

Andrew Tilghman writes Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, commander of the U.S. European Command and NATO’s supreme commander, has voiced concerns over the number of current ground troops in Europe.

“We do not have, in my opinion, enough U.S. forces permanently stationed forward … so I believe that the permanent forces forward need to be reviewed,” Breedlove said.

The 173rd Airborne in Italy and the 2nd Cavalry Regiment in Germany are the two current Army BCTs that operate in the continent under EUCOM and each BCT consists of between 3,000 and 5,000 uniformed personnel, Tilghman reports.

If DoD approves the plan, an increase of permanent Army troops would be in addition to rotational forces that would operate across Eastern Europe under DoD’s $3.4 billion European Reassurance Initiative, the report said.

Reps. Steve Russell and Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma have authored a new bill that seeks to allow the state’s military installations to recruit additional employees.

The proposed Department of Defense Workforce Flexibility Act of 2016 will give temporary employees within the Defense Department the opportunity to seek permanent positions within DoD, Russell’s office said Friday.

“Oklahoma’s contribution to our national defense is significant,” the lawmaker said.

“It only stands to reason that those hired to fill needed jobs on a temporary basis should be duly considered for full time positions,” added Russell.

Russell and Mullin wrote the bill following discussion with the McAlester Defense Support Association and the Federal Managers Association early this year.

The lawmakers already submitted the proposed legislation to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform for review.

Jamie Morin, director of cost assessment and program evaluation at the Defense Department, has said the programming facet of the planning, programming and budgeting process aims to bring “comprehensive deterrence” for the U.S., DoD News reported Monday.

Jim Garamone writes Morin made the remarks at a Center for Strategic and International Studies event in Washington Monday.

“[Programming] is really about connecting the broad goals of our strategy and of our operational planning with the capabilities, the capacity and the readiness that’s required to carry them out,” Morin added.

He said his office sought guidance from Defense Secretary Ashton Carter in order to identify strategic priorities and critical objectives necessary to draft the details of the Pentagon’s budget request for fiscal year 2017, Garamone reports.

Morin also discussed the three key principles in the strategic portfolio review of power projection.

These include the U.S.’ ability to convey effects from range, disaggregation of complex systems into simple components necessary to perform military tasks and the need to leverage aspects of relative sanctuary through investments in new weapons systems and other technology platforms, according to the report.