AB Chinniah contributed to the project by volunteering to teach a trauma management course over a two-month period to 12 Afghan nurses based in the hospital. The course was highly successful and on 26 March 2009 all 12 Afghans successfully graduated.
For her dedication, professionalism and hard work, AB Chinniah was awarded a Certificate of Recognition by Colonel Greville Bibby, Deputy Commander Task Force Helmand.
Her deployment to Afghanistan also saw her working hard outside the classroom, and her role as an emergency medic required her to be ready to face a variety of scenarios:
"I was regularly attached to a foot or vehicle patrol," she said. "And then, the next day, I could be on standby as part of the quick reaction force and so be ready to react to any type of medical emergency. I could then be on guard duty or be the duty medic for the next 24 hours. The work is definitely varied."
This, AB Chinniah's second tour in Afghanistan, often saw her in the thick of the action, but she remains positive about her achievements:
"I've been shot at and have been on the receiving end of rocket attacks," she said. "I've been able to put my medical training to good use; on one hand I have used it to treat people who have been injured in battle and, on the other, I have used it to help train the local nurses in trauma management."
AB Chinniah, aged 26, from Buxton, Derbyshire, deployed to southern Afghanistan in September 2008 as a medical assistant to the Joint Forces Medical Group.
She joined the Royal Navy in 2004 and became a medical assistant after completing 20 weeks of specialist training at the Defence Medical Services Training Centre in Aldershot. She is normally part of the sick bay team at HMS Neptune, based at Faslane near Helensburgh, Scotland.
She returned to the UK in March 2009 and is currently enjoying a well-deserved break at home in Buxton with her parents, Mark and Susan, brother Joshua, and sister Jackie:
"This tour has been a real experience," she said. "I love being a medic because you actually get something out of it when you have the skills to save someone's life and so make a real difference."
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