Brigade of Gurkhas (British Army)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Brigade of Gurkhas is an association of the British Army to which all units with Nepalese soldiers , the Gurkhas , are subordinate. It is not a major operational association , but is responsible for administrative tasks such as recruiting , training and support. The headquarters of the Brigade is located since 1997 in Camberley in the county of Surrey .

history

see History of the Gurkhas

The history of the Gurkhas as soldiers began with the Gurkha War (1814-1816) between the British East India Company and the Kingdom of Gorkha in present-day Nepal . The commander, the Indian Governor General Francis Hastings , recruited deserters from the kingdom to replenish the losses in its existing battalions . Independent Gurkha units were set up in the course of the war. Since then, the Gurkhas were founded in 1815. During the war the Gurkhas had proven to be valuable fighters , so that after the war the British East India Company recruited more Gurkhas and set up associations. With the dissolution of the British East India Company in 1858, the Gurkhas were taken over into the British Indian Army . When India was partitioned , six regiments were taken over by the Indian army , four infantry regiments became part of the British Army on January 1, 1948. The

  • 2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles)
  • 6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles
  • 7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles
  • 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles

formed the Brigade of Gurkhas of the British Army. The first station was Malaya . There they were involved in the suppression of unrest and the fight against guerrilla activities in the north of the country. After the founding of the state of Malaysia , they supported it in the confrontation with Indonesia. After the end of the conflict in 1969, the Gurkha units were relocated to Hong Kong and took on security tasks there. A battalion was sent to Dekelia during the Cyprus conflict .

In the Falklands War of 1982, the 1st Battalion of the 7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles was mainly used as a reserve and security. The only major operation was the capture of Mount William on June 14, 1982.

In preparation for the handover of the Hong Kong colony to China, the four infantry regiments of the Gurkhas were united into one regiment on July 1, 1994, the The Royal Gurkha Rifles (RGR) . The infantry regiment initially consisted of three battalions and was reduced to two battalions in 1997.

In 2020 the 3rd Battalion of the RGR was set up again, but compared to the other two battalions, it is intended for the special task of training foreign military at around half strength.

organization

Gurkhas during an exercise in the United States

The individual units and associations are operationally assigned to various major associations and departments of the British Army.

  • The Royal Gurkha Rifles (RGR) as a regiment of light infantry in Camberley with
  • The Queen's Gurkha signal as Signal Regiment with headquarters in Bramcote, County Nottinghamshire with
    • 246th Gurkha Signal Squadron as part of the 2nd Signal Regiment, based in York
    • 247th Gurkha Signal Squadron, based in Stafford , Staffordshire
    • 248th Gurkha Signal Squadron as part of the 22nd Signal Regiment, based in Stafford
    • 249th Gurkha Signal Squadron, based in Bulford
    • 250th Gurkha Signal Squadron in support of Commander Joint Forces Operation (CJFO)
    • Brunei Signal Troop
    • Nepal Signal Troop
  • 10. The Queen's Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment in Aldershot , Hampshire
  • The Queen's Gurkha Engineers pioneered the
    • 69th Gurkha Field Squadron and
    • 70th Gurkha Field Support Squadron as part of the 36th Engineer Regiment of the British Army in Maidstone , Kent .
  • The Band of the Brigade of Gurkhas as a military band in Folkestone, Kent
  • Gurkha Staff and Personnel Support (GSPS) Company for the personnel administration of the Gurkhas
  • Gurkha Company at the Infantry Training Center (ITC) Catterick for basic training of recruits.
  • British Gurkhas Nepal (BGN) with its headquarters in Jawalakhel in the Lalitpur district is responsible for the recruitment and selection of new soldiers as well as for the care of former Gurkhas in Nepal.
  • There are also two independent units that are used to represent opponents during training

Recruitment and training

Various models of khukuris used by the British Army

Applicants for the brigade must be at least 17 years of age and Nepalese nationals. They must also have a school leaving certificate. Former officers and non-commissioned officers of the Gurkhas travel through Nepal as recruiters and inform potential applicants about the admission modalities and conduct a pre-selection. The central selection and tests take place in the British Gurkha Camp in Pokhara . There, over 400 recruits for the Brigade of Gurkhas and the 120 candidates for the Singaporean police are selected annually. The so-called Doko run is known. Applicants have to walk five kilometers uphill with a 25kg basket filled with stones on their backs. Applicants who have been selected are required to serve in the British Army for 12 years.

The Gurkha training takes a total of 37 weeks. It includes language training in English, cultural orientation and codes of conduct in Great Britain, as well as combined basic and infantry training for the British Army at the Infantry Training Center (ITC) in Catterick. Instructors are Gurkhas of the Gurkha Company of the Second Training Battalion with the support of the Learning Development Wing for language training in English.

The leadership of the Gurkhas comes partly from the experienced NCOs of the brigade, who receive their officer license as so-called direct entry or late entry , and partly from British officers who can be employed within the brigade. In order to get to know the special cultural peculiarities of their subordinates, the British officers are prepared for their employment in Nepal during a four-month stay, including language training.

status

The Gurkhas are Nepalese nationals in the British armed forces. They are therefore members of this army and, according to international law, combatants and not mercenaries . In the past, the Nepalese members of the brigade, due to their previous status as colonial troops , were disadvantaged in many areas compared to British soldiers. They were paid less, were only allowed to serve in this brigade, and were expected to return to Nepal after their service. When the brigade moved to Great Britain, this disadvantage became a public controversy. After a court ruling, this led to a further reform of the status. Since then, Gurkhas have been largely on an equal footing with British soldiers, Nepalese women are accepted, they receive the same pay and the same pension entitlements.

After four years of service in the Brigade of Gurkhas, you can serve in all other units of the British armed forces with the corresponding promotion opportunities. Once released, they will be granted permanent UK residency.

Web links

Commons : Brigade of Gurkhas  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Research. The Gurkha Museum, archived from the original on August 28, 2019 ; accessed on January 20, 2020 (English).
  2. ^ Mark Sharp: The Nepalese community in Hong Kong looks to preserve Gurkha legacy. In: www.scmp.com. South China Morning Post, March 28, 2014, accessed January 20, 2020 .
  3. ^ A short history of the 10th Princess Mary's own Gurkha Rifles. The Regimental Trust 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles, 1990, archived from the original on April 2, 2018 ; accessed on January 20, 2020 (English).
  4. ↑ 1 / 7th Gurkha's Approach To Mount William. In: www.naval-history.net. NAVAL-HISTORY.NET, May 31, 2013, accessed on January 20, 2020 .
  5. ^ British withdrawal from Malaysia and Singapore and the Reduction of the Brigade of Gurkhas. In: www.gurkhabde.com. The Gurkha Brigade Association, accessed January 20, 2020 .
  6. ↑ New Gurkha battalion to be established as brigade grows. British Ministry of Defense, March 11, 2019 .;
  7. ↑ a b c d e The Brigade of Gurkhas. In: www.army.mod.uk. The British Army, accessed January 20, 2020 .
  8. ↑ The Royal Gurkha Rifles. In: www.army.mod.uk. The British Army, accessed January 20, 2020 .
  9. ^ Queen's Gurkha Signals. In: www.army.mod.uk. The British Army, accessed January 20, 2020 .
  10. ↑ 10 The Queen's Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment RLC. In: www.army.mod.uk. The British Army, accessed January 20, 2020 .
  11. ↑ 36 Engineer Regiment. In: www.army.mod.uk. The British Army, accessed January 20, 2020 .
  12. ^ Corps of Army Music. In: www.army.mod.uk. The British Army, accessed January 20, 2020 .
  13. ^ Gurkha Staff and Personnel Support Company. In: www.army.mod.uk. The British Army, accessed January 20, 2020 .
  14. ↑ a b Basic Training ITC Catterick. In: www.army.mod.uk. The British Army, accessed January 20, 2020 .
  15. ↑ British Gurkhas Nepal. In: www.army.mod.uk. The British Army, accessed January 20, 2020 .
  16. ↑ a b c British Gurkhas Gurkha Recruitment. In: www.army.mod.uk. The British Army, accessed January 20, 2020 .
  17. ^ Rob Blackhurst: The race to be a Gurkha. In: www.telegraph.co.uk. The Telegraph, March 8, 2014, accessed January 20, 2020 .
  18. ^ Gurkhas win right to settle in UK. In: news.bbc.co.uk. BBC News, May 21, 2009, accessed January 20, 2020 .