Pentagon asks Congress for new tools to attract, retain cyber talent

The Pentagon is asking Congress for new tools in fiscal 2027 to recruit and retain cyber talent as it continues to grapple with persistent cyber workforce gaps. 

In a legislative proposal sent to Congress earlier this month, the Defense Department called for removing barriers that prevent employees from moving between the cyber excepted service (CES) and the competitive service. 

While the cyber interagency transfer authority allows employees to move from the excepted service to the competitive service and vice versa, some cyber workers serving in CES positions on permanent excepted service appointments still cannot move into competitive service or equivalent positions without needing to compete as external, non-federal applicants. The proposal, however, would expand the transfer agreement authority to the entire department.

“This expansion will serve as a key enabling feature of the DoD’s cybersecurity workforce policy to facilitate seamless movement of the cybersecurity workforce between these organizations, with their skills, experiences, and talents employed to the fullest possible degree at every step in their careers,” the legislative proposal states. “Having a pool of experts readily available ensures faster and more effective responses during cyber incidents.”

DoD said expanding the cyber interagency transfer authority departmentwide would have no impact on the fiscal 2027 budget request.

In the same legislative package, the Defense Department proposed granting similar protections to CES employees currently afforded only to competitive civil service employees.

Specifically, the department wants to offer similar overseas return rights to cyber workers in CES positions, which would allow them to accept overseas assignments without losing their job back home. 

This lack of protection rights has prevented employees in the competitive service who occupy DoD cyber positions from voluntarily converting to the cyber excepted service, particularly because they risk losing guaranteed return rights and other job protections.  

“Currently, personnel stationed overseas when their competitive service position converts to CES, are better off not accepting the conversion to CES but staying in the competitive service in order to guarantee their return rights at the end of their tour. Without these statutory return rights, the person would lose significant rights which could prevent them from returning to their prior home, town, or state if they accept the conversion to CES,” the proposal reads. “This amendment permits the unfettered establishment of a CES employee population and achieves the level of effectiveness necessary for the Department’s cyber offensive and defensive mission worldwide.”

The department is also seeking to shorten the probationary period for cyber excepted service employees from three years to two years, which would align it more closely with other personnel systems. 

“A disparate probationary period undermines morale and can hinder recruitment of highly qualified candidates. A uniform probationary period fosters a more cohesive workforce and simplifies personnel management across different personnel systems within the Department of Defense,” the proposal states.

Similarly, the Defense Department said providing these workplace protections to cyber excepted service employees would come at no additional cost.

While the Defense Department has been trying to bring more workers into the CES, which offers more competitive salaries, personnel who consider converting to the CES have raised concerns about limited career mobility, unclear pay incentives and uncertainty over how the system would affect their long-term career paths. 

And while the Defense Department says that CES has helped to reduce the huge number of vacancies in DoD’s cyber workforce, the Pentagon still faces a shortage of approximately 20,000 cyber professionals.  

Earlier this year, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a bill that would require the Pentagon to assess progress made and remaining gaps in implementing the DoD’s 2023–2027 Cyber Workforce Strategy, and identify which elements of the current strategy should be continued or dropped. As part of the bill, the lawmakers requested detailed workforce data, including the size of the cyber workforce, vacancy rates, specific work roles and other data related to personnel system metrics. 

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