The South African-born van Gass initially spoke to an audience of young people in an afternoon gathering before addressing members of the Scottish business community at an evening reception. The events were organised by Future Sales Factory and held in the training and development resource centre of Edinburgh-based recruitment firm Bright Purple Resourcing. 

"One of my colleagues performed life-saving first aid treatment and I was airlifted by helicopter before becoming unconscious. Seven days later I woke up with my family around my bed, thinking 'what are they doing in Afghanistan?'" 

In fact, they were at his bedside in Birmingham where Jaco had been flown for emergency treatment. 

Through intense rehab and determination Jaco overcame the severe trauma of his injuries but had to face the fact that his life would never be the same. "I was discharged from the army and I thought 'what am I going to do with my life?' All I wanted to do was return to Afghanistan and continue as a soldier but that was no longer possible."

Instead Jaco opted to focus his attention on new challenges. He learned how to ski and went on to represent the army in the Combined Services Disabled Ski Team. He also began running marathons and has now completed several all over the world, raising money for various charities. In 2011 he was part of a team disabled soldiers, accompanied for five days by HRH Prince Harry, which trekked unsupported to the Geographical North Pole. In the process the group raised £1.5 million for Walking With the Wounded, a charity which re-trains and re-educates injured soldiers when they leave the armed forces. Last summer Jaco was also selected to be one of the Olympic flame torch-bearers in advance of the games coming to London. "It was such an honour for me. I carried that torch on behalf of all my wounded armed forces colleagues and those who weren't as fortunate as me and never made it home alive," he said.

Jaco has now set his sights on new challenges. He will be setting off in May to climb Mount McKinley, the highest peak in North America, part of the seven peaks challenge to climb the highest mountain on every continent. 

He is also preparing another fund-raising challenge for Help for Heroes: flying a microlight across Antarctica to the South Pole, a feat which has never been attempted before by anyone, able-bodied or otherwise.