Chinook Crew 'Chick': Highs and Lows of Forces Life from the Longest Serving Female RAF Chinook Force Crewmember

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When asked what she missed most about the military, McConaghy placed an emphasis on “the people, the banter, the chats” but also said she misses “the smell of the aircraft”.

Chinook Crew Chick | Bookworld Chinook Crew Chick | Bookworld

Royal Australian Air Force for 16 years. 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. Having fought for her Bull started ski paddling at the age of 16 for surf lifesaving and was the Under 17 Australian Ironwoman Champion in 2012. 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. On this week’s podcast we speak with former Wing Commander Sharon Bown (Ret'd) completed her Bachelor of Nursing at the University of Tasmania in 1995. In 1999 wanting more of a challenge Sharon joined the Air Force RAAF. Born and raised in Hobart, Tasmania, Sharon served as a Nursing Officer in theWhat follows is sketchy, but the next memory McConaghy has is waking up from a 40-hour coma in a hospital bed in Basingstoke. Miraculously, she had survived. But how? It turns out, after swallowing the pills, she had called Samaritans and the emergency services. By way of a parting message for readers, McConaghy appeals to anyone going through similar issues she has experienced to seek help. Anyone who’s lost someone to suicide can kind of hear my story and realise they couldn’t have done anything to help. I [was] so far down the PTSD route that nobody could stop me. I think it’s an important message for people who have been affected by suicide to know that. That’s the questions [that] are always left after suicide, isn’t it? What could I have done to help them? How could I have stopped them doing that? The book touches on, but is not dominated by, the theme of women in the armed forces. This is a topic that has been constantly in the UK news following a series of sex-related scandals. But McConaghy is pragmatic, explaining that in her experience, the men have never treated her or the only other female on her squadron any differently.

The Chinook chick who survived Afghanistan and Iraq and was

Upon leaving the RAF in 2019, Liz slowly unravelled after a series of traumatic events compounding her PTSD. This led to her trying to end her life in Aug 2020. We are joined by Liz McConaghy . Liz is from a small town in County Down and spent a total of seventeen years flying with the RAF’s Chinook Force. It tells me a lot about how my own mental state was by this time of the campaign as even this didn’t make me bat an eyelid or flinch,” she recalls.Originally from a small town in Co. Down, Northern Ireland, she attended RAF Cranwell on her 19th birthday to begin her exciting career. The bad stuff is the same stuff that everyone else goes through, not so much the PTSD and mental health.” With a willingness to serve Aly joined the Queensland Fire Service (QFS) in 2017, we spoke about all thing’s mindset competing at the elite level and dealing with the trauma that first responders see on the front line. Aly has just qualified to represent Australia again in 2024 in Paris Go Aly Australia is right behind you as you chase Gold. This, it seems, saved her life. McConaghy started receiving counselling for PTSD from the charity Help For Heroes, and “cried for months, finally letting go of all the tears I had stored up inside me over the years that I had never let leak out from my eyes for fear of displaying weakness”. I think that’s my new purpose, kind of helping others really, which is really good, I’m loving it.’

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From dodging bullets to saving soldiers and witnessing the brutality and loss of war, Liz discusses how she found herself bringing the battlefield home, despite her fighting days being over. Liz summarised her experiences with mental health and shared her tips for those who are suffering, and those who know someone else who is suffering. 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. Born in New Zealand, Sonya relocated to Australia with her parents and three siblings in 1987. Sonya grew up in Logan and relocated to the Gold Coast in 2001. After completing a double degree, a Bachelor of Arts in Justice Studies and a Bachelor of Laws Sonya practiced law for a short time and found her true passion in policing in 2003. She has been a Queensland Police Officer ever since, working at Southport, Runaway Bay, and eventually finding her passion, and fulfilling a lifelong dream becoming a detective with the Child Protection and Investigation Unit. Sonya was widowed at 32 years old and has had to adjust to life on her own, as a single mother since. Losing her husband Police Officer Damian Leeding who was killed in 2011 trying to stop an armed hold up at the Pacific Pines Tavern has taught Sonya many valuable lessons, but most importantly has allowed her resilience to shine through, which is also evident in her work in the Child Protection Unit. Sonya’s debut book, ‘Blue Widow’ is the journey of how she navigated life as a police officer after love and loss. It is a journey of resilience and the discovery that trusting in yourself can be the very thing that saves you. This story will introduce you to the humans behind the badge. When Sonya is not protecting vulnerable victim’s, you will find her in mum mode with her two children Hudson and Grace. Sonya has a passion for baking, it soothes her soul. Sonya’s downtime is spent at her local F45 gym or out walking with Labradoodles Elliot and Amalie. Sonya is also a keen camper and with the assistance of her 1968 Viscount vintage caravan, ‘Felicia’ manages to find peace and quiet at new locations around Southeast Queensland. PTSD doesn’t have to stay with you forever. It’s a chapter in my book, it’s not an anchor that I wear around my legs forever or a new label that I have to have forever,” she said. “I’ve met so many people via social media who tag themselves as the broken soldier or the forgotten veteran. But just like anything in your body, the bone you break or whatever, with the right time and methods you can heal, and you can move on and recover. I really want to get the message out – just because I had PTSD does not mean I have to have it forever.”AeroTime sat down with McConaghy to talk about the Chinook, women in the military and the importance of talking about our mental health. The good thing about the Chinook”Liz explained , “compared to something like the Puma and even the Merlin is that it’s got a lot of redundant space. 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.