Ep.153 – Chinook Crew ‘Chick’, Liz McConaghy

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Please note, some parts of this episode include discussion about mental health and wellbeing issues. If you feel you may need to reach out for support in the UK:

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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.

Aged just 21, she was the youngest aircrew member to deploy to Iraq and, for four years, was also the only female ‘crewman’ on the Chinook. 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.

Liz talks to us about her flying career, the mighty Chinook and the after-effects of war, stress and the impact on her mental health.

This is a frank and honest interview, and we thank Liz for being so open with us.

As the early morning sun rises, the 105 mm Light Guns are being fired as Operation CHAKUSH begins in the upper Gereshk Valley between Sangin and Gereshk. Operation CHAKUSH is an ISAF Task Force Level operation together with significant numbers of the Afghan National Security Forces. At the start of the Operation soldiers from 127 (Dragon) Battery and 28/143 Battery(Tomb’s’ Troop), 19 Regiment Royal Artillery (The Highland Gunners), are pictured firing smoke shells in support of ground troops assaulting key Taliban locations.

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Recorded 10th October 2022

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