The Army’s first class of permanent enlisted space warfighters is now reporting for duty.
On Oct. 1, 600+ soldiers swapped their old jobs for the new 40D Tactical Space Operations Specialist military occupational specialty (MOS).
“We had nearly 3,000 soldiers apply, and selected over 600 of the most capable, professional soldiers in the Army,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Rickey Jackson of US Army Space and Missile Defense Command (USASMDC) in a statement.
The 40D specialists are the enlisted counterpart to the Functional Area 40A Space Operations Officers, who have been part of the Army since 1999.
Home branch: The Army previously filled space-ops assignments by temporarily shifting soldiers from other specialities, losing that expertise when they returned to their home branch. The 40D MOS creates a permanent supply of enlisted space specialists.
The two cohorts now share a home in the Army’s Space Operations Branch, established in June to consolidate the career paths of the service’s space professionals.
“For 27 years, Army space officers have been working to normalize Army space operations, and that’s what this branch designation now does for the Army,” Brig. Gen. Donald K. Brooks, USASMDC’s deputy commanding general, said in a statement.
Marching orders: The Army says the branch brings the 2024 Army Space Vision to fruition. The document directed the service to focus on integrating joint, coalition, and commercial space capabilities and interdicting adversary space capabilities to protect friendly forces.
The 40D MOS puts that into practice:
- Training takes place at the Space and Missile Defense Center of Excellence in Colorado Springs, CO—preparing soldiers for space integration and interdiction missions, including counter-satcom, stratospheric warfare, navigation warfare, and counter-sensing.
- Eligibility extends to active duty, National Guard, and Reserve soldiers ranked specialist through sergeant major. The Army is projecting an initial force of 1,000, growing to as many as 1,500 by 2032.
- Assignments span units across the Army—ranging from the 1st Space Brigade to Army commands in the Indo-Pacific, Middle East, Africa, and Europe.
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