Liz was the youngest aircrew to deploy to Iraq aged just 21 and the only female crewman on the Chinook wing for four years and her career saw her amass two deployments to Iraq and ten deployments to Helmand Afghanistan in support of Operation Herrick. Liz hopes her book encourages people to join the RAF as she had an "awesome" career and would do it all again in a heartbeat.

Inspiring others to learn from her experiences, Liz openly speaks about her mental health and well-being and the influence of charities such as PTSD Resolution and Help for Heroes for her recovery, encouraging others struggling with mental health to seek professional health. S. If you’re on it, take it with care, it puts you in a very bad headspace before it pulls you out…that’s how antidepressants work. The Army Flying Museum at Middle Wallop, Hampshire has gained great respect for its monthly lecture series and on 30 January, the Museum is thrilled to host a very special evening with Liz McConaghy, the author of the best-selling book ‘Chinook Crew Chick’. The bad stuff is the same stuff that everyone else goes through, not so much the PTSD and mental health. Liz now works as a motivational speaker, mental health campaigner and runs courses in leadership for NHS workers.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 was the youngest aircrew to deploy to Iraq aged just 21 and also the only female crewman on the Chinook wing for 4 years, so her story is completely unique. Growing up in the countryside near Newtownards, 10 miles east of Belfast, McConaghy had no real desire to join the forces until visiting her brother at the nearby British Army Palace Barracks, where she happened to read a magazine with a photo on the cover of a man hanging out of a helicopter.

Her career saw her amass 2 deployments to Iraq and 10 deployments to Helmand Afghanistan in support of Operation Herrick which gave her an insightful and very personal perspective on war.

I really want to get the message out – just because I had PTSD does not mean I have to have it forever. When she landed a dream job at an aviation company, life looked positive again, but then, in March 2020, Britain entered its first Covid lockdown.Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Liz McConaghy for your next event, today. LIZ MCCONAGHY is an ex-RAF Chinook crewmember who has deployed worldwide with the CH47 fleet, including to Iraq and Afghanistan. But it goes both ways, and her male crew mates would often seek her assistance too, such as when her smaller hands were more useful for checking out an oil filter.

In a conversation with BFBS the Forces Station about her award, Ms McConaghy spoke about her time with the MERT (Medical Emergency Response Team), describing that as "the highlight and the biggest privilege" of her career, saying: "As part of that duty, we were recovering the injured and wounded soldiers off the battlefield and seeing regularly.One of four RAF crewmen, two pilots and two aircrew, McConaghy was in charge of operating the M60 machine gun capable of firing 7. More than half of this time was spent in warzones – including 10 deployments in Afghanistan and two in Iraq – making her the longest-serving female crew member in the RAF’s entire Chinook Fleet. A wonderfully written story which really brings to life how challenging being in the Chinook force can be. Having sought help from the mental health charities PTSD Resolution and Help for Heroes, Liz emphasises the importance of such organisations and their tireless commitment to soldier and veteran wellbeing.