WEST POINT, N.Y. – U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command and Army multi-domain task force space and high-altitude professionals recruited future leaders for Army space’s Functional Area 40 during the U.S. Military Academy’s Branch Week, Aug. 27-29.

Branch Week offers both USMA and ROTC cadets, as well as officers in different Army branches, an opportunity to explore career options by learning about the Army’s branches and functional areas. For those representing the FA40 team, Branch Week gave them time to explain the importance of Army space as well as identify cadets interested in becoming future space operations officers.

Team members engaged with more than 100 cadets during the three-day West Point event.

“I am very excited to be here,” said Lt. Col. Mary Murphy, military director of the Office of the Chief of Space and Missile Defense. “These are going to be our future officers and leaders in the United States Army, so we are looking at what the future of the Army is going to be.

“Space is a growth area within the Army,” she added. “Every other branch utilizes Army space, whether they realize it or not. And as the officers here learn more about how space supports them, there is a lot more interest in supporting space or actually coming over to space.”

Space is important for the Army to make precision strikes, move around on the battlefield, satellite communications to talk with each other and other methods. Space cadre explained to the cadets that space is involved in everything done on the modern battlefield as well as everything people do in their daily life.

“The cadets appear to be rather excited when they learn about Army space,” Murphy said. “A lot of them don’t understand that we do have space operations in the Army or what space operations provide to warfighters in the Army. So that interest is piqued and then we give them a little more information, and I think they are more interested in the career area once they receive that.”

Capt. Anthony Cupit, 1st Space Brigade space operations chief, said many cadets and Army officers are not aware of the leadership and operational opportunities available to them in the space operations career field.

“I’ve been speaking with the cadets about what it is to be a Functional Area 40, the missions we work in, the locations we work at, and the breadth and depth of experiences they can have,” Cupit said. “And it is not only just the cadets but also the officers who are here representing other branches, and the instructors as well.

“The reception by the cadets has been phenomenal,” he added.

The command’s Office of the Chief of Space and Missile Defense manages the FA40 Assured Functional Area Transfer program, which gives Army officers with science, technical engineering and mathematics degrees the opportunity to become FA40s early in their career through a competitive selection process while in their senior year.

Cupit said cadets are often confused about the difference between the Space Force and the FA40 career field. Cupit told them although Army space is in the space domain, the focus is on dominating the enemy in support of American and allied land forces.

He added that as the FA40 career field grows, the need for space operations officers increases as the Army continues to move toward a multidomain operations capable force.

“Army space is the best job in the Army,” Cupit said. “It has the most opportunities, the most expertise, the widest range of experiences and the highest performers in the Army.”

As the Army’s future leaders came by the display, they learned how Army space is career field with no shortage of growth.

“I like how they are saying that we as cadets are the future of space operations,” said third-year USMA Cadet Ellery Doyna. “Understanding space operations within our majors and in research and getting involved is one of the most important things we can do to be able to be chosen to be an FA40.

“The conversations I have had with the space team have been about innovation in space operations and aerospace engineering and I want to talk to them a little bit more about how we can use research here at West Point to be able to advance space operations in the actual operational Army,” she added.

Another West Point cadet said his interest in the space field has only been magnified since speaking with USASMDC team members.

“I have learned that space is really the next great domain,” said second-year USMA Cadet Matthew Dupuis. “It is up to us as cadets to learn from the operational Army, as well as the commercial space industry, on how we can succeed in the future space domain. A lot of the questions I had for the space cadre is understanding the path they took to become an FA40 and into space operations.

“All of the officers I have spoken with have been really excited about space operations and the space domain in general so I am looking into how I can apply myself there for the future,” he added. “One of my great passions is to become a space operations officer and I am inspired to continue pursuing space.”