When the U.S. Army recently unveiled plans to expand its space cadre and deepen its bench of expertise, the move raised questions about whether the service was edging into the Space Force’s territory and setting up a fight over limited resources.

On paper, the concerns make sense. In practice, they miss the larger reality: the United States military has already crossed the threshold where space is no longer a niche enabler. It is now the backbone of modern warfighting. Every service, not just the Space Force, is in the space business.

Lt. Gen. DeAnna Burt, the Space Force’s outgoing deputy chief of space operations, put it bluntly: “I go to many meetings … and everyone says, ‘Hey, we can’t do our mission without space.’”

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