LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. - -- The dog tag has been a fixture of the American servicemember since the Civil War. But not since around World War II has the dog tag undergone as radical a change as it has now, with the Defense Department issuing red dog tags to servicemembers as medic alert tags.

"The tags are used for identifying a permanent, definitive diagnosis or a condition which, if the patient were unable to give a history," said Maj. Gabrielle Childs, Luke public health flight commander.

With the new tags, Major Childs said, medical providers will know whether a normally indicated course of treatment would be dangerous for a patient, which could delay the appropriate care at a critical time.

So who gets the new tags?

"Conditions or diagnoses that may warrant an individual to have a red medical alert tag are allergies to drugs, insects, medication, if they are G6PD deficient, and certain medical conditions such as heart disease, diabetes," Major Childs said.

The tags came into circulation at Luke in September and are issued to servicemembers who are deploying, she said. This is where the dog tags will be of the most use.

"The tags are to help medical personnel identify a condition or allergy or diagnosis if an individual could not give the history themselves," Major Childs said. "For example, if they are injured in the deployed location, the tag would alert the medics of a condition or allergy of concern."

It is a medical provider responsibility to determine what medical conditions warrant a red tag. Right now, this is done during deployment processing.