True Blue History - McQuilty Quirke NSC (Coco) - Royal Australian Medical Corps. A Story of Courage and Resilience

Our special guest for today is former Royal Australian Army Medical Corps Sergeant McQuilty Quirke NSC. Despite receiving life-threating wounds in battle, he fought courageously and with great determination to overcome PTSD arising from service in Iraq and Afghanistan.

McQuilty joined the Medical Corps because he wanted to save lives. ‘Coco’ to his mates, he was a soldier, a medic, a leader, but in a brief moment, his life was suddenly in the hands of the blokes around him.

He deployed to East Timor in 2001, and to Iraq in 2006. Like many other veterans, McQuilty’s return home was not a smooth transition, and his life descended into a nightmare of excessive alcohol consumption to drown out the horrors of his time in Iraq. However, unlike many people, McQuilty had a loving and supportive wife, and two kids, all of who saved him from a perilous journey.

In 2007, McQuilty’s exceptional skills were recognised when he was awarded the extremely rare, but well-deserved, Nursing Service Cross for his lifesaving treatment of a badly injured soldier in 2004.

By cultivating a positive mindset and developing resilience, McQuilty fought hard to be deployed again. These traits were to be sorely tested when McQuilty was deployed to Afghanistan in 2011. On 13 August 2011, McQuilty’s life changed again, forever...

 

Presenter: Adam Blum

Guest: McQuilty Quirke

Editor: Kyle Watkins

Academic Adviser: Margaret Strike

Investigative Consultant: Adam Holloway