Naval Postgraduate School

Space Support for the Warfighter: Determining the Best Way to Provide Space Capabilities at the Army Division and Brigade Levels Naval Postgraduate School

Publisher Marketing: This thesis examines personnel resources for space support currently available to Division and Brigade commanders while recommending methods to provide those resources more efficiently. Current standardized space support for Divisions and Brigades exists in the Space Support Element (SSE). When first envisioned, the SSE provided organic space capabilities to the lowest practical tactical level, but as requirements evolved, the need for full time space staff at those levels has diminished. Space capabilities are currently found on the Division staff and at the brigade level, but the amount of time spent by space operations officers on space has dwindled to very low levels. Personnel with minimal training can provide the limited amount of space knowledge needed on a permanent basis. Rather than maintain organic space staff, a more effective use of those personnel would be to assign them to Army Space Support Teams (ARSST) where they would spend more time on space-related duties. This thesis provides three key recommendations to improve utilization of Army space personnel. The first is to educate leadership on how space can impact operations. The second broadens the Army Space Cadre to utilize space skilled staff officers other than FA40s and develop an enlisted space specialty. The final recommendation is to reallocate SSE personnel to enhance the ARSST model of space support.