The 7th Medical Command was constituted and activated in Germany on 21 September 1978 to serve as the replacement for U.S. Army Medical Command, Europe, or USAMEDCOMEUR. Only a decade had elapsed since the activation of USAMEDCOMEUR on 1 July 1968, but despite significant expansion of that Command it was not organized in such a way as to provide the necessary personnel and equipment in the event of a combat mission, which was always a possibility in the Cold War Europe of the 1970s and 1980s.
At the time 7th Medical Command was activated, there more than a half-million Soldiers and family members eligible for health-care benefits provided by the Command. But by the end of the 1980s, the foundations of the Cold War began to crumble; with the breakup of the U.S.S.R and massive drawdowns in U.S. troops in Europe, the need for a A-to-Z medical organization as large as 7th Medical Command had vanished, and the Command was inactivated in 1994.
The nonsubdued version of 7th Medical Command’s Shoulder Sleeve insignia is maroon and white, colors of the Army Medical Corps. In the insignia’s center is a device called an ancient, lancet-style device called a fleam; its placement on the cross indicates compassionate care. The fleam is also positioned so that it bears a resemblance to the number 7.