Armed Forces Week 2025
To mark Armed Forces Week 2025, we’re shining a light on some of our amazing colleagues who have roles within the Armed Forces alongside their positions at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, as either regulars, reservists or veterans.
This year, Armed Forces week runs from 23 – 28th June and is a celebration of the contributions, both past and present, of those who have served in the British Armed Forces.
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board is committed to meeting the needs of the armed forces community and are proudly part of the Armed Forces Covenant.
Meet Justin
Justin is an Anaesthetic Practitioner at the University Hospital of Wales, primarily based in emergency theatres. He is also a vital member of the Medical Emergency Team, responding to trauma and critical emergencies across the hospital.
Alongside his NHS role, Justin serves as a Flight Nurse in an Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron with the Royal Air Force. This unique role combines traditional nursing with frontline military care, delivering advanced in-flight medical treatment to injured personnel – often in challenging, high-stress environments.
What is your role within Cardiff and Vale Health Board?
I’m an Anaesthetic Practitioner working primarily in emergency theatres, where no two days are ever the same. I’m also part of the Medical Emergency Team (Anaesthetics) responding to medical emergencies and trauma across the hospital. It’s a high pressure, fast paced role that demands calm under stress and critical thinking, all of which I thrive upon. Whether I’m supporting a complex trauma case or racing towards the unknown during a crash call, I honestly couldn’t imagine seeing myself doing anything else.
What is your role within the Armed Forces?
I serve as a Flight Nurse in the Royal Air Force (RAF) for an aeromedical evacuation squadron, a role that seamlessly combines traditional nursing with frontline military care. Our primary mission is to deliver advanced in-flight medical care to critically injured service personnel, often in high pressure environments. Whether evacuating personnel from deployment zones, moving complex medical cases between countries or transporting patients to enhanced facilities.
What does a typical day look like for you in these roles?
Honestly, there’s no such thing as a typical day, and that’s what I enjoy about it. As an Anaesthetic Practitioner, one day I could be assisting for an elective or emergency surgery, another day I could be assisting a deteriorating patient on the ward, then end up supporting a code red trauma in Resus.
In the RAF, I could be involved in loading medical kit onto an aircraft, setting up treatment tents out on exercise, or caring for acutely ill patients thousands of feet in the air.
Both roles demand flexibility, resilience and rapid decision making, and I certainly wouldn’t have it any other way.
Is there anything about your role in the Armed Forces that you feel has helped you in your role within the health board?
Absolutely, the military teaches you to remain calm under pressure, to lead when needed, and be ready for anything. That mindset certainly has transferred into my NHS role, particularly during emergencies, when you’re required to think clearly and communicate within your team efficiently.
Working in Aeromedical Evacuation has also enhanced my ability to assess patients quickly and work effectively in a small, resource-limited environments, which has improved how I operate in both Theatres and emergency situations.
Why do you think it’s important to celebrate the Armed Forces Network within Cardiff and Vale?
For me, being part of both the NHS and the Armed forces isn’t just a job, it’s part of who I have become. The Armed Forces Network is important because it creates a space for and recognises people like me and many others, who serve in both capacities.
It can be easy for the military side of our lives to go unnoticed, especially when we return from deployments, exercises or duties aboard and slip back into scrubs. Often you may know someone or work alongside someone and not know about this other side of them. Promoting the Armed Forces Network within the health board helps others to understand and appreciate those contributions and gives serving members and veterans a sense of pride.
Meet Neil
Neil is the Consultant Clinical Lead of Veterans NHS Wales and Director for the All Wales Veterans Mental Health Service. Neil uses his personal experience in the Army Reserves to inform the supervision of his colleagues and his work with patients who are veterans.