S.Amdt. 4452

SA 4452. Mr. HEINRICH (for himself, Mr. Heller, and Mr. Udall)
submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S.
2943, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2017 for military
activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and
for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe
military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other
purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

Strike section 1046 and replace with the following:

SEC. 1046. INDEPENDENT STUDY ON OPERATION OF REMOTELY PILOTED
AIRCRAFT BY ENLISTED AIR FORCE PERSONNEL.

(a) Independent Study.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of the Air Force shall
obtain an independent review and assessment of officer and
enlisted pilots and crews in the remotely piloted aircraft
(RPA) enterprise that determines the following:
(A) The appropriate future balance of officer and enlisted
pilots and crews in the remotely piloted aircraft enterprise.
(B) Any potential impacts on the future structure of the
Air Force of incorporating enlisted personnel into the
piloting of remotely piloted aircraft.
(2) Considerations in determining balance.--The balance
determined pursuant to the study shall be determined taking
into account relevant portions of the defense strategy,
critical assumptions, priorities, force-sizing constructs,
and costs.
(b) Report.--Not later than April 14, 2017, the Secretary
shall submit to the congressional defense committees a
comprehensive report on the results of the study required by
subsection (a), including the following:
(1) A detailed discussion of the specific assumptions,
observations, conclusions, and recommendations of the study.
(2) A detailed description of the modeling and analysis
techniques used for the study.
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