(a) Program required
The Secretary of Defense shall carry out a pilot program to further evaluate the feasibility and advisability of creating and maintaining a civilian cybersecurity reserve corps to enable the Department of Defense and military services to provide qualified civilian manpower to the Department of Defense to effectively respond to significant cyber incidents or to assist in solving other exceptionally difficult cyber workforce-related challenges.
(b) Consideration of prior report
In conducting the pilot program required by subsection (a), the Secretary shall take into consideration the findings and recommendations of the report required by section 1540 of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 ( Public Law 117–263 ; 136 Stat. 2914) (titled Independent Assessment of Civilian Cybersecurity Reserve for Department of Defense and dated October 2025).
(c) Planning
(1) Plan
Prior to carrying out the pilot program required by subsection (a), the Secretary shall create a detailed written plan for the program, which shall include—
a concept of operations for the civilian cybersecurity reserve corps;
an assessment of the necessary legal and contractual requirements;
recruitment, assessment, and selection criteria and methodologies;
talent management processes and system prototypes;
defining the initial mission set and organization structure of the civilian cybersecurity reserve corps;
metrics with respect to cost and benefits that will be used to inform the Secretary’s evaluation of the pilot program; and
any other matters that the Secretary considers appropriate.
(2) Report and briefing
Not later than the date that is six months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall provide the congressional defense committees with a report and briefing on the plan created under paragraph (1). The Secretary shall not carry out the pilot program until after the Secretary has provided the report and briefing.
(d) Scope
In carrying out the pilot program, the Secretary shall establish an initial cohort of not more than 20 members of the civilian cybersecurity reserve corps.