Theresa Hitchens
The Army could more than double the number of soldiers with expertise in space operations if top brass approves a proposal by Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC) to implement the service’s new(ish) space vision, according to SMDC officials.
The idea is to create a new space-centered military occupational specialty, called “40D Space MOS,” that for the first time would include non-commissioned officers, Col. Donald Brooks, commandant of the Space and Missile Defense Center of Excellence, told Breaking Defense on the cusp of the annual Association of the US Army (AUSA) conference.
Right now, he explained, only about 500 commissioned officers have space specialities, with another 874 enlisted soldiers essentially being “borrowed” from other specialty units such as intelligence or air defense for short periods of three to four years. The new MOS is envisioned to initially include “upwards of 1,800 billets” for enlisted personnel by fiscal 2030. The plan also would bolster the officer corps up to some 800 by FY32.
SMDC is hoping for a decision from Army leadership by the end of October, Col. Mark Cobos, commander of the Army’s 1st Space Brigade, added, although obviously the command hasn’t any authority on the timeline.
No comments:
Post a Comment