When Steve Hooper joined the RAF as a mechanical transport driver he thought he would be moving vehicles about and servicing aircraft.
But after being deployed to Iraq, Steve found himself acting as a “paramedic driver”, discovering the brutalities of war. He says he saw people losing limbs, severely injured, or even dying in front of him.
Steve, from Sherford in Devon, says he found adjusting to life back on homesoil difficult. And, after struggling with his mental health for two years, he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Speaking to the BBC as part of the Festival of Remembrance, he said: “I joined the RAF to be a mechanical transport driver. I just thought I was going to be driving vehicles and servicing aircraft.
“I then got deployed to Iraq for the first time. I ended up being effectively a paramedic driver. “
“I saw all kinds of injuries. Losing limbs, severe wounds, fatalities. I was covered head to toe in three or four different people’s blood, it is beyond scary.
“Coming home was very difficult. And that’s where things got tough.
“So I struggled with my mental health for two years and I then got diagnosed with PTSD.”
Steve’s wife Jennifer says her husband was open about his PTSD when they began dating. But now thinks he attempted to mask some of his symptoms.
Steve explained: “Suppressing emotions is like a volcanic suppression and eventually you’re going to erupt.”
The veteran says he had been going to therapy, and began to see a light at the end of the tunnel, but then the coronavirus pandemic struck. He said: “That’s when everything got really, really dark.
“I was struggling to sleep, flashbacks, I would sit in the garage with the door shut. Hiding away was an escape, it was not wanting to really exist in the most brutal sense.”
Jennifer added: “Everyday I was scared for Steve and my worry was that the easiest thing for him to do was to just finish things, to want life to stop.”
A turning point for Steve however was when he joined the Invictus Games. Founded in 2014 by Prince Harry, the games aims to provide support for injured veterans.
The sixth games in 2023 were held in Dusseldorf, Germany. There Steve competed in sitting volleyball and powerlifting.
He said: “The Invictus journey pushes you to limits that you didn’t know you were capable of, emotionally, physically. When I arrived at my first camp I was scared.
“I felt like I wasn’t poorly enough to be a member of the Invictus team but I kept going. What I realised was that I was in for a big journey and I walked out of that sports hall with the first genuine smile I had on my face for a long time.”
Jennifer added: “The Invictus Games has given me my husband back.”
Jennifer added: “The Invictus Games has given me my husband back.”