gurkhas are fighting terrorists in iraq and afghanistan

[DickHardman]

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[DickHardman]

Prince Harry is wild about Gurkhas

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[DickHardman]

Who are the Gurkhas?

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[Ghost]

Gurkhas have been part of the British Army for almost 200 years, but who are these fearsome Nepalese fighters?
"Better to die than be a coward" is the motto of the world-famous Nepalese Gurkha soldiers who are an integral part of the British Army.

They still carry into battle their traditional weapon - an 18-inch long curved knife known as the kukri.

In times past, it was said that once a kukri was drawn in battle, it had to "taste blood" - if not, its owner had to cut himself before returning it to its sheath.

Now, the Gurkhas say, it is used mainly for cooking.

The potential of these warriors was first realised by the British at the height of their empire-building in the last century.


Bravest of the brave, most generous of the generous, never had a country more faithful friends than you
Sir Ralph Turner MC, 3rd Queen Alexandra's Own Gurkha Rifles, 1931
After suffering heavy casualties in the invasion of Nepal, the British East India Company signed a hasty peace deal in 1815, which also allowed it to recruit from the ranks of the former enemy.

Following the partition of India in 1947, an agreement between Nepal, India and Britain meant four Gurkha regiments from the Indian army were transferred to the British Army, eventually becoming the Gurkha Brigade.

Since then, the Gurkhas have loyally fought for the British all over the world, winning 13 Victoria Crosses between them.

More than 200,000 fought in the two world wars and in the past 50 years, they have served in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Borneo, Cyprus, the Falklands, Kosovo and Afghanistan.


Gurkhas with the emblem of the feared kukri behind them
They serve in a variety of roles, mainly in the infantry but with significant numbers of engineers, logisticians and signals specialists.

They keep to their Nepalese customs and beliefs, and the brigade follows religious festivals such as Dashain, in which - in Nepal, not the UK - goats and buffaloes are sacrificed.

But their numbers have been sharply reduced from a World War II peak of 112,000 men, and now stand at about 3,500.

The Gurkhas are now based at Shorncliffe near Folkestone, Kent - but they do not become British citizens.

The soldiers are still selected from young men living in the hills of Nepal - with about 28,000 youths tackling the selection procedure for just over 200 places each year.


If there was a minute's silence for every Gurkha casualty from World War II alone, we would have to keep quiet for two weeks
Gurkha Welfare Trust
The selection process has been described as one of the toughest in the world and is fiercely contested.

Young hopefuls have to run uphill for 40 minutes carrying a wicker basket on their back filled with rocks weighing 70lbs.

After the Gurkhas have served their time in the Army - a maximum of 30 years, and a minimum of 15 to secure a pension - they are discharged back in Nepal.

Historically, they received a much smaller pension - at least six times less - than British soldiers, on the grounds that the cost of living is much lower in Nepal.

But with more choosing to settle permanently in the UK with their families, campaigners said this left them suffering considerable economic hardship.

[DickHardman]

the gurkhas harry was hangin out with with..............they were for his protection right????

[Ghost]

No, not sure how the american army is made up but in the british army there are lots of different regiments that have very different flavors and roles. They do though work closely together.
If i remember correctly harry is in the blues and royals. which is a mobile armoured brigade, dont quote me on that though.
They will work closely with other regiments as the regiments are fairly small in comparison to the size of american ones. So i guess they end up working together more to make up the numbers.
From what i have read Harry was there as a normal soldier, no escort or anything. called in airstrikes from a forward position to support spec ops and regular army.
As no one knew he was there and there was a media black out on it he could go as a regular officer and needed nothing more than that.