An Army nurse from Hereford is training with French airborne forces on a major exercise in France.
Corporal Megan Martin is among 2,000 soldiers from 16 Air Assault Brigade and 11e Brigade Parachutiste on Exercise Orion on the St Cyr-Coëtquidan training area in Brittany. The troops are being tested with a mission to support a NATO ally tackling an insurgency and the threat of invasion.
Megan, of 16 Medical Regiment, worked in a Pre-Hospital Treatment Facility on the exercise, set up to treat simulated casualties in a derelict building.
The 27-year-old said: “During the exercise we have received British and French casualties with everything from routine health problems to gunshot wounds and limbs lost in explosions. As the clinical lead it’s my job to evaluate and plan the treatment a casualty needs. I’m deciding whether we can treat them and get them back in the fight quickly, or if their care needs to be escalated.
“It’s been interesting to work with French medics and learn about the different equipment and procedures they use, and how we can co-operate to give the best care to casualties.”
The former Aylestone School pupil has been in the Army for eight years, including three years studying for a degree in adult nursing at Birmingham City University
The Colchester-based soldier said: “My grandfather and uncle were in the Army and I’ve got relatives who are nurses, so the two professions came together in me! When I was looking at job options, the Army gave me a range of opportunities that I didn’t see elsewhere – I’ve got qualifications, travelled, and done all sorts of sports.”
Through the Army, Megan has qualified as a Mountain Leader and been sailing and skiing.
Exercise Orion is testing the Airborne Combined Joint Force, a partnership between British and French airborne forces that has been ready to respond to global crises since 2013. It at the forefront of Franco-British military co-operation started by the 2010 Lancaster House Treaties, which were updated in 2025.
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