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.

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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.

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