Col. Pete Atkinson
Principal Space Advisor, Department of the Army Headquarters
Col. Pete Atkinson supported the re-establishment of U.S. Space Command as a founding member and plank owner, helping enable the Space Force’s standup while overseeing the transfer of select functions and personnel from the Army and charting a future path for the Army space program.
As the principal space advisor at Headquarters, Department of the Army, Atkinson was a contributing author to the Army Space Vision, published in January 2024, which redefined the Army’s roles and responsibilities for integrating space-based capabilities and interdicting adversary space capabilities intended to see, sense and target friendly forces.
Throughout his tenure at Headquarters, his team doubled the number of Army space formations and personnel, tripled the budget for space interdiction capabilities, accelerated the standup of a new space interdiction formation in the Indo-Pacific region and secured inclusion of counterspace capabilities on the secretary of the Army’s strategic priority list for the first time.
Why Watch
In 2026, Atkinson’s team is focused on establishing the Army’s newest military occupational specialty, the 40D Soldier, a tactical space operations specialist. This occupational specialty activates in October 2026 and will enable the Army to seamlessly integrate space-based capabilities and interdict adversary use of space for hostile purposes.
Future Army operations will span multiple domains simultaneously, and the ability to operate effectively in and through space will be decisive to mission success. Army space professionals, including the 40D Soldier, are at the center of that effort.
“There are a few additional surprises that are awaiting senior leader decisions that I will be excited to announce in the coming months,” he said.
The Army’s working closely with a wide range of industry partners to ensure priorities align with the administration’s focus on reducing costs, streamlining operations and improving government efficiency. One key area is incorporating artificial intelligence and machine learning into space-enabled ground-based terminals, nodes, radios and receivers.
For example, the Army’s leveraging AI and machine learning in its Tactical Intelligence Targeting Access Node, or TITAN, a next-generation ISR processing ground station designed to rapidly process sensor data from space, high-altitude, aerial and terrestrial layers, ensuring warfighters at the tactical edge have timely, accurate intelligence where it’s most needed.
Fun fact: His wife, Dallas, was recognized as the 2026 Pentagon Military Spouse of the Year for her work supporting veterans and their families. Atkinson also saw the James Webb Space Telescope ahead of its historic launch. He’s currently earning his doctorate in public policy, focusing on how change agents navigated institutional resistance to enable the Space Force’s establishment.