MILLINGTON, Tenn. - Lt. Shaun Williams, a sailor from Guam, recently received the Surface Warfare Medical Department Officer (SWMDO) warfare qualification serving aboard the U.S. Navy warship, USS Boxer, operating out of San Diego, California.
Williams joined the Navy over 16 years ago and earned a bachelor's degree from Southern Illinois University in 2014, in 2018 earned a Master of Public Health from Columbia University and earned a doctorate in medicine in 2022 at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.
The SWMDO warfare qualification is designed strictly for Medical Corps officers who go through nine months of didactics, observing and shadowing different warfare areas on board an amphibious assault ship, followed by three months of studying and culminating with an oral board examination by each warfare areas' subject matter experts.
“With this qualification, I have become one of the few doctors in our country that are challenged to develop into the subject matter experts of medicine onboard Navy warships,” said Williams. “I am proud to be working side-by-side with our warfighters and taking care of their medical needs.”
Boxer is a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship and the sixth U.S. ship to bear the name of the original HMS Boxer, which was captured by the British during the War of 1812.
Amphibious assault ships transfer Marines, equipment and supplies and can support helicopters or other aircraft. Boxer’s crew is made up of approximately 1,200 crewmembers and can accommodate up to 1,800 Marines.
As Williams and other sailors continue to train and perform missions, they take pride in serving their country in the U.S. Navy.