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Trump says he’ll deliver West Point commencement address – amid social distancing
President Trump said Friday he intends to deliver the commencement address this year at the U.S. Military Academy, according to reports.
The graduation ceremony is scheduled for May 23 at the academy in West Point, N.Y., though whether that date will hold was uncertain because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Nevertheless, the president said social distancing practices will be in place when the event is held.
“They’ll have some big distance, so it will be very different than it ever looked,” the president said, according to The Hill. “Do I like the look? No, I don’t. And eventually, next year, they’ll have a commencement like it’s been.”
For second week, about 1,000 new coronavirus cases among troops
Nearly 3,000 service members have been diagnosed with COVID-19, according to the Defense Department’s latest data, with about 2,300 cases still active and almost 1,000 new cases added in each of the last two weeks.
With 2,986 cases among troops, the military’s infection rate now stands at 1,421-per-million, or 0.14 percent. That’s compared to the overall U.S. rate of 1,932-per-million, or 0.2 percent.
The Navy saw its cases rise above 1,000 this week, hitting 1,017 on Friday. Much of that surge has come from 100-percent testing aboard the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, which has been pierside in Guam for nearly two weeks following an outbreak.
Of 4,800 sailors on board, about 4,500 had been tested as of Friday morning. Of 660 positive tests, more than half have come from asymptomatic sailors, senior Pentagon leadership confirmed this week.
New Arctic Tab comes with a Ranger Tab spin to show importance of cold-weather fighting
The Army upgraded the design of its Arctic Tab and issued new guidance for wearing the accoutrement as the Defense Department increasingly looks to bolster its cold-weather warfare capabilities.
While the move may seem small, it comes during a time of increased competition for resources in the Arctic region with Russian, and even China. As sea ice increasingly recedes, new economic opportunities emerge, but so does competition.
The Arctic Tab was originally worn below a soldier’s unit patch and could only be worn while assigned to Army Alaska, a subordinate command to Army Pacific and the ground force defending much of the U.S. territorial claims near the Arctic region.
Now, the redesigned tab is worn above the unit patch like the Ranger and Sapper tabs. It can also be worn by those serving at all Army Pacific installations throughout that command’s area of operations.
Army Leaders Detail Efforts Against Coronavirus
Army has 288 confirmed cases of COVID-19 — 100 are soldiers, 64 are civilian employees, 65 are dependents, nine are cadets and 50 are Army contractors.
Army Secretary Ryan D. McCarthy, Army Chief of Staff Gen. James C. McConville and others briefed reporters at the Pentagon today on steps the service is taking in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. They spoke about force health protection, coronavirus testing and how the service maintains its combat effectiveness.
The Army has also reached out to retired personnel who have the qualifications to help in the fight against COVID-19.
The Army has 288 confirmed cases of COVID-19 — 100 are soldiers, 64 are civilian employees, 65 are dependents, nine are cadets and 50 are Army contractors.
McConville said that the service is rushing two field hospitals to the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City.
The 531st Army Hospital from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and the 9th Army Hospital from Fort Hood, Texas, received orders to deploy to New York City on March 23.