USS Boxer, At Sea - Leading Seaman Michelle Verville, a Royal Canadian Navy medical technician from HMCS Ottawa (FFH 341), one of the assets of Boxer Expeditionary Strike Group (BOXESG), visited USS Boxer (LHD 4) to train with the ship’s medical department, Oct. 5-10.

She flew over via helicopter from the Canadian frigate to tour Boxer’s medical facilities, learn how Boxer responds to trauma and injuries, and observe how Boxer’s medical team trains.

Verville and a physician’s assistant are the only medical providers for Ottawa’s crew of nearly 250 Sailors. Visiting Boxer gave her the opportunity to see how Boxer’s medical staff provides healthcare for nearly 3,000 Sailors and Marines.

“I wanted to work with the staff here and see how different our training is,” said Verville. “Even though the medicine is similar, we train quite differently.”

Ottawa’s medical training program is structured around a classroom setting, where Boxer uses on-the-job training. While aboard Boxer, Verville observed multiple surgeries, assisted with daily patient care, and responded to a medical emergency.

“It was great working with Boxer Sailors and Marines to see how they do business here,” said Verville. “I learned a lot from their experience and how they operate so effectively.”

Because Boxer’s medical facility is one of the largest in the U.S. Navy fleet, it has far more capabilities than Ottawa, such as a radiology department, operating rooms and laboratories. Verville was able to experience how extensive at-sea medicine can be.

“The Canadian navy doesn’t have ships Boxer’s size,” said Senior Chief Corpsman Steven Richardson, leading chief petty officer of Boxer’s Medical Department. “So it’s a big step for Verville to see how our Navy does things.”

Boxer and Ottawa, both operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility, know that they can play a vital role to aid humanitarian assistance operations, medical evacuations or combat medical support that would rely heavily on the medical capabilities of the Boxer strike group. Cross training Sailors from ship to ship helps ensure the success of the strike group should BOXESG have to respond to any medical scenario, according to Richardson.

“Training is a necessary part of any evolution,” said Richardson. “Anytime you’re working with another nation, it’s important that we understand their capabilities just as much as they understand ours, so in the event anything occurs we know where our assets are.”

The cross training also fostered cooperation between the two allies which provided Verville and Boxer corpsmen a forum to learn about each other’s navies and each other’s culture.

“So long as nations have good working relationships, it’s going to be easy to get people taken care of, and taking care of people is our primary job,” said Richardson. “It doesn’t matter if they’re American, Canadian or Iranian.”

Boxer is the flagship for the BOXESG, operating out of San Diego, Calif., which is reporting operationally to Commander, Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 7/ Task Force (CTF) 76, the Navy’s only forward-deployed amphibious task force.