Back in 1982, Cpl Simeon "Tommo" Tomlinson was one of the young paratroopers on that now iconic long yomp from San Carlos to Port Stanley to retake the Falklands for Britain.

Three years later, Tommo left the military and settled down to life at the opposite end of the action-packed spectrum, as a computer systems developer.

But now, the 2 Para hero of Goose Green has spoken for the first time about why he is now back on the frontline, having just started working out of RAF Lyneham as a paramedic pulling injured soldiers back from the brink in Afghanistan.

He said the thought of grieving parents spurred him on to fight to save lives of soldiers, so that they arrive back in Britain on board one of Lyneham's medical planes – and not back to the Wiltshire base as part of a sombre repatriation ceremony.

The motivation for joining 4626 Squadron was his experience serving with the Paras all those years ago, he said. "The truth is you sit at home and you see the grieving parents. Knowing how my parents felt when I was at the sharp end and now being a parent myself, it hit home," he said.

"The fact is I have a skill set and I genuinely wanted to help, this motivated me to join, I thought that hopefully I could contribute something."

The ex-Paratrooper left the safe world of computing in 2003 to train as a civilian paramedic, but signed up this year to join Lyneham's MERT – the Medical Emergency Response Team.

He said that his job can be quite harrowing. "But the rewarding aspect is being part of this whole team which starts with the blokes on the ground and ends up with the casualty being back in the UK within about 24 hours, you can't beat that. It is a fantastic system and the guys on the ground deserve it," he said.

"I think the British Forces medical care is something that we can be extremely proud of.

"The MERT is only a tiny element of the process, the way the aircrew operate to get us into these places, the Force Protection guys that look after us, people should be really proud of these efforts."

Having served in a battlefield, the Wiltshire-based medic knows what the soldiers in the remote forward operating bases are going through, tackling the Taliban every day.

He earned his coveted maroon beret in April 1982, the very month the Argentineans invaded the Falklands. He landed at San Carlos, weighed down by a mountain of personal kit. "It was one of the worst experiences – our feet didn't get dry again," he said.

"It was hard graft, basic soldiering where we had two platoons forward in a long line abreast and just advanced on the trenches, then waited until you came under contact, went to ground, took the trenches out and moved on."

After they had taken Goose Green, they regrouped and prepared to advance on Stanley. Tommo explained that the most important thing was to keep themselves and their kit serviceable. "I think the guys out here in Afghanistan will appreciate that when you are living in such conditions, you constantly have to keep on top of your kit, your weapon and yourself. The actual fighting is quite a small element in the run of things," he said.