In her astounding career Liz completed two deployments to Iraq followed by ten deployments to Helmand Province in Afghanistan in support of the enduring Operation Herrick campaign. I was always really worried that someone would have to take my bullet, you feel like if you don’t go, what if something happens and I’m meant to be there and I’m not? That’s the only protection, the rest of the aircraft is just like a big bullet magnet and it’s quite a big target. During the interrogation that followed, a man in a balaclava screamed so hard that some saliva exploded from his mouth and landed on her chest. If I had the chance of eternal life, winning the lottery or [being given] a rewind button, I’d still pick the rewind button.

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This involved recovering wounded soldiers from the battlefield, often under fire, and witnessing them both die and come back to life at her feet in the cabin of her Chinook. Somebody else [who] had to do an extra one or one of the new guys who wasn’t combat ready had to go instead when he wasn’t quite ready to go. Keep your head down, get stuck in the same as the rest and be the best ‘person’ at your job,” she added. Having passed the course, she was sent to Afghanistan in March 2006, the first of 10 deployments to the country over the next eight years. On her final MERT operation, a US medic handed McConaghy a clear plastic bag with the severed foot of an American serviceman killed in action.

They might be dropping off supplies, or collecting or delivering troops in smash-and-grab raids to the battle zone. When my behavior started to change and I stopped running and cycling, no one was around to see it because it was during lockdown. When we lifted an Afghan on a tasking day in 2006/2007, we would hardly ever see any females on crew.

Liz McConaghy - Yeovil Literary Festival

The original manuscript was written in just three weeks as part of McConaghy’s recovery process from PTSD and is a rapid read at 160 pages. During this time, she began writing poetry and an autobiography to help her get her thoughts out of her head.

Campbell distinguished herself by heroism while participating in aerial flight as an A/OA-10 fighter pilot, 75th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, 332d Expeditionary Operations Group, 332d Air Expeditionary Wing at Ahmed Al Jabar Air Base, Kuwait on 7 April 2003. Part of her role during these conflicts was the MERT medical recovery aircraft for injured soldiers.

Chinook Crew Chick | Mental Health Speaker Liz McConaghy - Chinook Crew Chick | Mental Health Speaker

When I was doing my kind of GCSE’s, bumbling into my A levels that was just about the time that I [saw] the magazine and wanted to follow into the RAF. inch high explosive rockets on the enemy position that had been threatening the advancing forces, scoring a direct hit and silencing the opposition. Liz is one of six women who has served as a loadmaster in the RAF, and for four years, was the only female crewman on the Chinook wing. The Taliban landing site and AAA which is the high calibre round, came up under the Ballistic Protection Panel that I was stood on. Sharon is the award-winning author of One Woman's War and Peace: a nurse's journey in the Royal Australian Air Force and this humble Registered Nurse from Tasmania now serves as a Member of the Council of the Australian War Memorial and as an Ambassador for Phoenix Australia – Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health.When he’s not on tour and collaborating with some of the world greatest artists, he’s the guy pulling people out the Thames with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, or the RNLI. McConaghy finished frontline service in 2014 as British forces pulled out of Afghanistan and, five years later, was given a medical discharge from the RAF to begin a new life as a civilian. McConaghy said that the most frequently asked, and least favorite, question over the years has been the challenges she has faced as a female crewman.

Chinook Crew Chick | Bookworld Chinook Crew Chick | Bookworld

McConaghy felt the Chinook jolt with a loud bang and was slammed into the side of the metal fuselage. Faced with an impending death sentence, McMillan resolved to do what no other westerner had ever done, cut his way out of his cell, scale the seven walls and cross the sewer moat to freedom.

So, I’m kind of still getting used to it a little bit, but I think the biggest sense of purpose, writing the book was great. Does McConaghy have any words of wisdom for people thinking of following the same kind of career path? Make sure you take advantage of the deal we’ve got with AG1, who’re supporting me to make this podcast and with my daily nutrition!