Charlotte ‘Charlie’ completed her nurse training in 1997 at Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge. After specialising in emergency nursing, she joined the Princess Mary’s Royal Air Force (PMRAFNS) in 2002 as a Nursing Officer.  

 During her time in the PMRAFNS, Charlie deployed twice to Iraq and six times to Afghanistan as Officer Commanding MERT. Evacuating over 600 casualties from the battlefields of Helmand Province in extreme climates and non-benign conditions she was awarded the Tri-Service Nurse of the Year Award in 2013.   

 

Thompson has been at the forefront of developing MERT, especially when there was no specific clinical training. In 2008 she highlighted the vulnerability of MERT practitioners deploying on operations and developed a bespoke pre-deployment course for MERT clinical teams. In 2015, in recognition of her work on MERT, Thompson was awarded the Associate of the Royal Red Cross, presented by Her Majesty the Queen.   

 

As officer commanding nursing at the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre, Headley Court in Surrey Charlie was responsible for the ward planning and safe transfer of all patients, nursing staff and equipment to the new bespoke medical facility at Stanford Hall in Nottinghamshire 

 

Charlie is currently at Air Command as professions’ advisor for nursing and senior staff officer medical, personnel and training.