Group Captain Jules Merrison joined the Royal Air Force as a Medical Support Officer in 2002 with a BSc in Health Science. Merrison has completed operational tours, deploying to Iraq in 2003 and Afghanistan in 2006 and 2010/11 undertaking roles in aeromedical evacuation and medical planning. Promoted to Squadron Leader in 2009 she gained staff experience at HQ AIR with tours in Rehabilitation and Medical Personnel Policy. In 2013 she volunteered for a 2-year tour as a Military Assistant to a 2* in Cyprus.

On promotion to Wing Commander in 2017, Merrison was selected for the Advanced Command and Staff Course where she gained a Masters in Defence Studies with King’s College London. This was followed by a posting to Belgium to be NATO’s lead medical planner for Allied Command Operations and then back to the UK’s Permanent Joint Headquarters where Merrison was the Competent Medical Authority for the second wave of COVID, leading the pandemic response across ~30 overseas theatres. In 2021, Merrison was selected to Command the Tactical Medical Wing at RAF Brize Norton, responsible for specialist medical training and niche medical support to operations, and most notably operating Defence’s Aeromedical Evacuation capability. Following Command, Merrison moved on to be the Senior Air Staff Officer in 11 Group (Air Operations) before a secondment to the Invictus Birmingham 2027 Team.