Veteran Lee Rowlands was following a 'rite of passage' when he enlisted in the 'world's best army' at 18, with a family military history on both sides.
But what he did not know was he would go on to suffer incurable injuries, caused, he believes, not in combat – but by the military equipment meant to protect him.
Mr Rowlands, 39, from Thorne, Doncaster, is one of more than 2,000 veterans and current servicemen and women suing US industrial company 3M.
The firm supplied the Ministry of Defence (MoD) with combat earplugs for use in training and active service in Iraq and other deployments.
And the current and ex-soldiers have now claimed faulty military ear equipment caused them life-changing injuries such as deafness and tinnitus.
