ARLINGTON, Va. — A new badge authorized by the Army to acknowledge participation in active combat features a bayonet superimposed on a grenade, according to a design unveiled by service officials Friday.

The Army’s Chief of Staff, Gen. Peter Schoomaker, approved the design of the Combat Action Badge, or CAB, on May 27.

The new badge has a rectangular design and encircling laurel wreath that echoes its inspiration, the Combat Infantry Badge, which is reserved for infantry and Special Forces soldiers who have seen action during wartime.

The Army community had debated whether or not to expand the Combat Infantry Badge to other Army professions ever since the CIB was created during World War II. Earlier this year, Army officials announced the time had come to authorize a new combat badge for a wider group of soldiers.

But the new badge was still limited to the so-called “combat arms” — jobs that specifically include fighting, such as artillerymen or combat engineers.

However, Army officials were inundated with a flood of mail from soldiers, especially those in combat support positions, noting that they had been involved in firefights and ambushes in Iraq or Afghanistan despite their “non-combat” jobs.

So on May 4, Army officials announced that Schoomaker had decided to award the CAB to any active, Reserve, or National Guard soldier who is “personally present and actively engaging or being engaged by the enemy, and performing satisfactorily in accordance with the prescribed rules of engagement.”

To qualify for the new badge, soldiers must be performing assigned duties in an area where hostile fire pay or imminent danger pay is authorized.

The CAB will be available late this summer or early fall at military clothing sales stores, according to the May 27 press release announcing its design.

However, Schoomaker has not yet approved the final criteria governing the badge’s award, including instructions on submitting award requests. Army officials told Stripes on Friday that they expect the criteria to be issued “shortly,” but did not provide further detail.