A gold color metal and enamel device 1 1/8 inches (2.86 cm) in height consisting of a cross with domed ends divided in quarters of scarlet at upper left and lower right and white at upper right and lower left in front of a gold radiant sun all on a gold background contained at top and flanks by a three-sided maroon scroll with rounded corners and swallow-tailed ends at lower left and right connected by a wavy blue bar across the bottom; the scroll bearing in gold letters the inscription "SERVICE SOLACE STRENGTH."
Maroon and white are the colors used for the Army Medical Department. The gold radiant sun refers to the state of California, known as the Golden State, and the cross signifies the Hospital's medical service function. The red and white quarters of the cross, suggesting Spanish heritage, and the arms shaped to simulate a mission tower are allusions to the city of Ventura, locale of one of the original Spanish missions and the site of the Hospital. The wavy blue bar across the base suggests the coastal location of the city.
The distinctive unit insignia was approved on 23 April 1971.