Research Community

Amy is a first-year PhD student based at Newcastle University. Having recently left the Royal Air Force after a varied career in the service and having directly experienced the gender culture of the UK Armed Forces, she is excited to start her PhD in Human Geography. Her research will examine how gender and the other multitude of conflicting intersectional identities of military personnel impact the social construction and speciality of the RAF. Often viewed as homogenous, Amy is focused on understanding how the RAF’s unique organisational culture and varying sub-cultures based on rank and role impact the social construction of RAF culture. Underpinning her data collection with reflexivity through her position as an RAF Veteran, Amy is excited to commence the project to support cultural understanding and effect change. 

Anna is a Research Associate at KCMHR where she currently leads the qualitative component of ADVANCE-INVEST, a long-term project investigating the experiences and outcomes of battlefield casualties who have left the military. She has previously worked on KCMHR 'Support to Families of Wounded, Injured, or Sick (WIS) Service Personnel – An Investigation of Current Service Provision' Study and 'Potential Gaps and Service Parents’ and Adolescents’ Challenges and Experiences' Study. Anna is particularly interested in post-deployment transition, Veterans and their families, peer support and co-production, Serving/ex-Serving fathers with PTSD and their families, and WIS Service personnel.

The Traumatic Stress Research Group is an interdisciplinary team with a mission to improve the health and well-being of individuals exposed to traumatic events. The organization aims to improve understanding of traumatic stress through high-quality, externally funded research, as well as develop effective and cost-efficient interventions for individuals experiencing psychosocial difficulties after traumatic incidents. They also aim to build strong interdisciplinary global collaborations, increase research capacity in the traumatic stress field, and disseminate evidence-based knowledge. 

The Centre for Evidence for the Armed Forces Community is an independent centre funded by Forces in Mind Trust and run by a consortium of RAND Europe and King’s Centre for Military Health Research (KCMHR) at King’s College London. The centre provides an accessible and authoritative evidence base exploring the transition from military to civilian life, to inform policy and practice affecting ex-Service personnel and their families in the UK. It also functions as a community hub for the UK Armed Forces research community, connecting researchers, policy makers, and service providers, to support the forging of joined up working and collaboration, and build pathways to impact. This is achieved through various outputs, including but not limited to, a accessible online research repository, informative themed research and policy summaries and primary research exploring key themes impacting the UK ex-Service community. 

The Centre for Injury Studies formerly known as The Centre for Blast Injury Studies (CBIS) at Imperial College London. It is an expansion of CBIS’ previous remit, with the work going beyond a focus on Serving military personnel and veterans, to also include research into the significant number of civilians who are injured during conflicts around the world. The research considers those who are injured and works closely with those who treat conflict injuries to be able to improve treatment, mitigation and rehabilitation. This includes research into personal protective equipment, surgery and devices (such as medical equipment, prosthetics and orthotics). By embedding civilian and military health professionals, scientists and engineers within the Centre, this centre continues to deliver change through new technology, equipment and policies.

The Centre for Military Women’s Research (CMWR)’s core mission is to inform and improve the well-being of women in the military and Veteran community through world-leading collaborative research and evaluation. Their work highlights women’s experiences, issues, and support needs and the centre is dedicated to fostering co-production with members of the military community and collaboration with partners and stakeholders.