She descended into despair having left the RAF and realized she had lost her sense of purpose, having been integral to the mission in Afghanistan, including those medical rescue flights. 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 joined the Air forces to do a job and certainly on Chinooks, you don’t arrive on a Chinook and think ‘ohh I don’t want to go to Iraq or Afghanistan’ because that’s exactly what you want to do. 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. She left the forces in 2019 and went on to a career with a disabled flying charity to help support those same wounded soldiers into flying scholarships.

Liz McConaghy - Yeovil Literary Festival

From being shot at, kidnapped and smuggled… this is a story of unbelievable resilience from two inspirational young girls.In her astounding career Liz McConaghy completed two deployments to Iraq followed by ten deployments to Helmand province in Afghanistan in support of the enduring Operation Herrick campaign. Aged 21, Liz was the youngest member of the aircrew to deploy to Iraq and the only female crew member on the Chinook wing for four years, so her story is entirely unique. On that date, at North Baghdad Bridge, Iraq, flying as Yard 06, Captain Campbell's professional skill and airmanship directly contributed to the successful close air support of ground forces from the 3d Infantry Division and recovery of an A-10 with heavy battle damage. Liz continued , “I was really pleased they did that and then I was always really lucky because the lads would put me in a corner bed space so I could put a little towel up like a little flag and have a little cubby hole to get changed. Having had the book come out [all her mental health challenges are] now completely out in the world.

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So, ask twice is what I tell people, and give your mental health a number because it’s much easier to say, ‘I’m a 3 today’ than say ‘I’m struggling.

If you’re struggling and for you, if you’re always saying the number 3 for a few days in a row, [and] you’re like ‘this isn’t good’, maybe speak to someone. But I wasn’t a trailblazer either, there were crew gals before me, and plenty came after me and will continue to do so. 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.

Chinook crew ‘chick’ Liz McConaghy on PTSD and military life Chinook crew ‘chick’ Liz McConaghy on PTSD and military life

Suddenly you take that badge off and you’re not wearing it every day it’s hard to figure out who you are. Part of her role during these conflicts was the MERT medical recovery aircraft for injured soldiers. Eventually, my squadron said ‘this isn’t good enough because Liz is on shift with us’ and we’re doing different tasking days and holding different responses. She deployed to Timor-Leste in 2000 and again in 2004, where she narrowly escaped death twice – first in a near-fatal helicopter crash and again during the surgery that followed.So you can take a lot around you, a lot of battle damage and as long as the engines are still running and you are still going, then you’re okay.