Inside the US Army’s Secret Mission to Draft Soldiers for a High-Stakes Battle Beyond Earth

Who knew the US Army was ready to jump on the space bandwagon? Sure, the Space Force has hogged the spotlight since it blasted off seven years ago, but now Uncle Sam’s boots on the ground are gearing up to play in the final frontier too. Yup, come October 2026, enlisted soldiers will have their very own space-related career path—because apparently, earthbound is so last century. While the Space Force handles outer-orbit operations, the Army’s new 40D Space Operations Specialist role promises to bring some tactical pizzazz to the cosmic game, prepping troops to tackle conflicts not just on land, air, or sea, but well beyond into space itself. So, if you’ve ever wondered who’s going to keep an eye on those pesky enemy satellites interrupting your Wi-Fi—well, looks like this new space squad just might be your best bet.

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The US military is making its first moves to add to it’s space wing.

You may have heard of the country’s Space Force before, which is one of the nation’s six armed forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the US, but they’re not stopping there.

But seven years on from Trump’s launch of the service, the Army has stepped in and announced that it will introduce a new space-related military occupational specialty by October 2026.

During a media briefing at the Pentagon on Friday (2 May), the service’s top service officer confirmed the decision, as stated by the US Department of Defense.

Military officials believe that it will prepare the force for conflicts in the 21st century, which can happen across land, air, sea, cyber, or space.

The US Army are aiming to start its own space-related military occupational specialty by next year (Getty Stock Image)

The move to have its first-ever space career field for enlisted personnel will create a permanent career track for those looking to specialise in space operations.

A statement from the commander of Army Space and Missile Defense Command, Army Lt. Gen. Sean A. Gainey detailed the Army’s intentions.

It read: “These soldiers will become the experts we turn to during the next conflict. Our Army space professionals support unique assets to interdict or disrupt adversaries use of space capabilities, ensuring Army forces maintain the initiative to fight from positions of relative advantage in all domains.”

He added that ‘these specialists will become the experts we turn to during the next conflict’.

The new military occupational speciality (MOS), designated 40D for Space operations Specialist, is set to become official in October 2026.

In the past, Army officers were the only ones that could embark on a dedicated space operations career, while enlisted soldiers working in space-related soldiers were from other specialties such as engineering and air defence, only to return to their post when coming back to Earth, Space News reports.

40D will work with Space Force as a separate branch (Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

“To date, the preponderance of expertise and experience in space operations resides in the officer corps instead of the non-commissioned officer corps,” Gainey said, adding that this new MOS will allow specialists to ‘arrive at Army space formations with experience and expertise in space operations’.

Army space professionals will work on tactics to disrupt enemies’ satellite networks, for example, among other tasks.

Officials claim that the initiative will be budget-neutral, while personnel that are ‘loaned’ to space units are expected to return to their original fields before being replaced to permanent roles in the new space operations specialty.

Gainey said that the 40D mission would be different to Space Force, explaining: “[We’re] focused on the tactical maneuver fight with our forces on the ground, pushing that capability forward so our forces [are] able to leverage the effects of a space-based system, directly benefitting the operator on the ground.

“[The good news] is that there’s more than enough work for all of us on the battlefield today.”

And according to Gainey, competition for these roles is looking to be tight, as he said: “I want to encourage everybody [who’s] interested in the space 40D MOS to compete for it, but it’s going to be very competitive.”

These new soldiers will train at the Space and Missile Defense Center of Excellence at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado Springs, Colorado.