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

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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.” Does McConaghy have any words of wisdom for people thinking of following the same kind of career path? 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? Xtended can also be found on Apple Podcasts, the Google Podcast app, Spotify and wherever else you normally listen to podcasts. She survived and went into the Veterans Mental Health care system to help her deal with her demons and finally lay the images she had seen on the battlefield to rest.

With her hands tied together, McConaghy felt it “roll down my chest and all the way to my belly button. Still makes me cringe now thinking about it. But at least it distracted me from the screaming”. Liz turned to writing both poetry and her autobiography following a tough battle with PTSD years after leaving the service, in the hope it may help others with their mental health.Liz McConaghy, originally from Newtownards, holds the accolade of longest-serving female on the Chinook wing and also the youngest aircrew member ever deployed to Iraq. In 2001, Liz joined the Royal Air Force, deployed as a member of the Chinook Aircrew. Based at RAF Odiham, Liz became an Aircrew Instructor in 2010 and also served as a member of the Medical Emergency Response Team, saving hundreds of lives in the Helmand Province. Flying into war zones to rescue severely wounded soldiers, Liz flew the Boeing CH-47 Chinook – often referred to as the ‘flying ambulance’. Having witnessed horrific scenarios, Liz began to struggle with her mental health, attempting to take her own life in 2020. Waking up in Basingstoke Intensive Care, Liz made the decision to turn her life around. When I was reading about the simulated torture scenarios she had to get through, I was absolutely shivering inside. How anyone can get through that kind of thing for real, I just don't know. Man's inhumanity to man clearly knows no bounds.

It's a powerful story, with a mix of Irish humour, strong news on the then RAF approach to personal issues raised by those in combat and a brutally honest finale. Go buy a copy today." Helicopter International - January-February 2023

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It all became very normal and was just another day at work, so I didn’t realise at the time the effect it was having on my mental health.” People were reading it and resonating with my experiences. Suddenly people were getting in touch to ask for support, and I was doing what I have always wanted to do – helping people. The book has given me a new purpose - positivity has come out of a dark time.”

Because it’s so hard to identify a firing point where the rounds are coming from, you just have to stand your ground at the mini-gun and pray that there’s a little Ready Brek glow surrounding you.” 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.

All you could hear above the deafening roar of the rotors was the 'ting ting ting' of bullets hitting the Chinook' International Express Starting from such a young age, Liz reflected on where it all started, going with her brother to his BARB test. BARB stands for British Army Recruit Battery and is a computer-based psychometric test someone must take before they can serve in the Army, to decide if they are suitable. By way of a parting message for readers, McConaghy appeals to anyone going through similar issues she has experienced to seek help. Just seconds from smashing into the ground, the co-pilot managed to regain control and the Chinook soared into the sky. They had escaped death by a hair’s breadth. 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.

My love of my life was the chinook. It's such a unique aircraft; the smell of the aircraft will stay with me forever," she reflects. I think if you want that extra ‘ohh, isn’t she amazing? Look, she’s the girl doing this job,’ you’re almost saying that they’re not capable of it in the first place.’

Originally from a small town in Co. Down, Northern Ireland, she attended RAF Cranwell on her 19th birthday to begin her exciting career. Good on her for being so honest about the psychological struggles she went through. I am sure there are lots of ex-service people who appreciate reading that as well. And I never not wanted to go and if I hadn’t gone, it meant somebody else had to go in my place. 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. 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 kind of kept me in the job, certainly for those ten years. “ 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. We’re extremely proud to honour Liz as our Inspirational Woman of the Year 2023, and would like to express our deepest gratitude for her altruism and dedication to uplifting the lives of others.”