Spring 2011 - Space and Missile Defense Command - U.S. Army

Are You
Qualified
for Your
Future?
At a recent Officer Professional Management
System Council of Colonels there was a discussion
concerning future prerequisites for
officers selected by the Army to be brigade
commanders. Included was the requirement
to be a Senior Service College graduate
as well as being Joint qualified. Although
these stipulations apply to selections made
through the Centralized Selection List process,
if adopted, they could also be used
in the selection of the 1st Space Brigade
commander.
Will you be qualified?
Functional Area 40’s (FA40) who have come
by the Army Space Personnel Development
Office (ASPDO) have been asked “what is
it you want to do when you grow up?” This
question may sound silly to some and simple
to others, but it is important that as a space
professional you consider the answer. There
are now close to 300 Space Operations
Officers to fill 210 requirements within the
functional area. Your individual career track
and long-term goals may not include command,
but whatever track you take and goals
you set will not happen unless you plan with
forethought and consideration.
So, back to the question what are your
personal goals and desires for your career?
To break it down further, have you considered
where it is you want to be or what
you want to have accomplished on the last
day of your Army career? To help you get
there, consider that it is not only command
positions that have significant prerequisites.
FA40 has critical Joint billets that require
previous/successful Joint experience and
completion of JMPE-II; some billets
require an advanced degree; and many of
the FA40 colonel billets are designated as a
second O6 assignment.
As a significant number of officers
continue to place FA40 on the top of
their Career Field Designation or Voluntary
Transfer Incentive Program request, the
ASPDO is challenged to find new opportunities
and billets to expand existing requirements.
Our balance between population
and requirements will not be equal in the
foreseeable future. Therefore, competition
for key billets may be stiff, so if you are not
planning now, you are late.
Taking the time to stop by (or call) the
ASPDO to gain a perspective of available
billets, and the experience, training and education
requirements associated with them
will help ensure that when the time comes
to Permanent Change of Station move, you
are eligible for the position you want and
it is the right one to help you reach your
goals.
Being qualified can be synonymous
with remaining competitive. Taking control
of your career now will ensure that you
remain both throughout your future.
Space
the
Badge –
Army’s Newest Badge
The Chief of Staff of the Army recently
approved establishment of the Air Force
Space Badge as a group 4 Army badge. With
the change to a Group 4 badge you can now
legitimately wear your Space Badge with
Group 3 badges such as the Aviator Badge.
Additionally, the term “Air Force”
was dropped from the name and the
badge is now called the Space Badge. A
paragraph pertaining to the Space Badge
will appear in the next update to AR 600-
8-22, Military Awards, and a Military
Personnel Division message is pending at
Army Awards Branch. The Air Force heraldic
description of the badge remains valid.
Air Force Space Command developed
and fielded the Air Force Space
Badge in November 2005 to represent and
unify the Credentialed Space Professional
or Space Cadre community and, with
AFSPC and Army Chief of Staff approval,
the Army began awarding the badge to
Soldiers of the Army Space Cadre in 2006.
Since then, over 1,330 badges have been
awarded to 1,150 Soldiers.
The criteria for award and processing
procedures remain the same. The transition
to an “Army” Space Badge is transparent
to Soldiers. The Army Space Personnel
Development Office manages the Space
Badge award program. Procedures are
outlined in ASPDO Procedural Guide
#1 – Procedures for Awarding the Space
Badge to Army Space Cadre Personnel. An
updated procedural guide has been posted
on the ASPDO Army Knowledge Online
website at https://www.us.army.mil/suite/
page/343526.
Changes include the issuance of orders
instead of approval memorandums, redesign
of the certificate of award, and coding
of the award on Soldier records.
new award codes
• ABSB Basic Space Badge
• ASSB Senior Space Badge
• ASMB Master Space Badge
The records of Soldiers previously awarded
the Air Force Space Badge will not change to
reflect this new designation nor will orders
be generated. Previously issued approval
documents remain valid. The badges are
available through AAFES clothing sales.
The ASPDO points of contact are Bob Kyniston
at 719-554-0459, robert.kyniston@us.army.
mil, or Kyle Ramsey at 719-554-0450, kyle.
ramsey1@us.army.mil.
54 2011 Spring / Summer Edition Army Space Journal