Portraits Of Iraq And Afghanistan War Veterans And Civilians

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 04: Former Parachute Regiment Officer Shehan Hettiaratchy at home on March 4, 2017 in Hampton, England. Born and raised in Hampshire, Dr Hettiaratchy graduated from Oxford University in 1994 with prizes in surgery and medicine. He trained in surgery in London, Birmingham, Australia and the US. He has been a consultant at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust since 2009. He is currently a Reservist serving with 144 Parachute Medical Squadron (Lt Col), and was deployed several times on Operation Herrick in 2009 and in 2010-2011. Op Herrick was the codename under which all British operations in the War in Afghanistan were conducted from 2002 to the end of combat operations in 2014. Dr Hettiaratchy helped to develop The Veterans Trauma Network, which was launched by NHS England in Nov 2016. It is the first network that is aimed at meeting veterans' healthcare needs.A memorial to men and women from the UK Armed Forces and civilians who served their country in the Gulf region, Iraq and Afghanistan from 1990 - 2015, is unveiled by Her Majesty The Queen at Victoria Embankment Gardens on March 9th 2017. Dr Hettiaratchy said: "I am a full-time NHS surgeon who deals mainly with trauma. The memorial reminds me of the hard lessons we learned as doctors from these conflicts. The sacrifices made then have led to advances that are saving lives in the UK today" (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)