You wouldn't want to fight against the British Army's fearsome Gurkha warriors, the toughest soldiers in the world....
Women will be allowed to serve in Gurkhas for the first time
By Matthew Hickley, Defence Correspondent
8th March 2007
Royal Gurkha Rifles (part of the Brigade of Gurkhas)
Women to join the Gurkhas? Veterans Minister Derek Twigg (left) announced a major shake-up today in Parliament
Women are to be allowed to join the Gurkhas for the first time, under a shake-up of rules dating back to colonial times. As in the rest of the Army, they will not serve as combat infantry troops but as engineers, signallers, logisticians and medics.
The Brigade of Gurkhas will also see a six-fold pensions increase, bringing their retirement pay in line with that for other Army regiments.
They will also be allowed to leave their brigade and join other regiments, or transfer to the Royal Navy or the RAF.
The reforms effectively put the 3,400 soldiers of the Brigade of Gurkhas on the same footing as the rest of the Army.
The six-fold pensions boost marks a major victory for campaigners who have been pushing for years to end the disparity between Gurkhas and other British soldiers.
Junior defence minister Derek Twigg said it was "a just recognition for how highly we value them as soldiers and as a military force". He added: "This is the right thing to do."
But thousands who retired before 1997 will be left out of the deal, as ministers claimed backdating the pensions package any further than that would be "unaffordable".
Fearsome: British Army Gurkhas in training with their kukri knives. They are also experts in martial arts.
A gurkha's kukri knife used in the British Army. According to legend a Gurkha "never draws his blade without drawing blood".
A Gurkha private retiring after 15 years of service receives £1,200 a year for life. In future they will have the choice of switching to the standard Army pension of £6,500 a year after 22 years' service.
Women will be recruited from 2009, but officials said it was not yet clear what sort of selection tests they would face.
Each year some 15,000 Nepalese teenage boys compete for 230 coveted recruitment places.
They prepare for months for the gruelling Dokho race, in which they carry 75lb bamboo baskets up a steep goat track in the Himalayan foothills.
All Gurkhas will continue to be recruited in Nepal and will remain Nepalese citizens, but after five years' service they will be free to transfer to other parts of the armed forces. When they retire they will be given the choice of returning to Nepal or settling in the UK (and become British citizens).
Serving Gurkhas welcomed the changes yesterday. Corporal Subash, 32, an engineer who has served for 15 years including duty in Iraq, Cyprus and Northern Ireland, said: "We are very happy to hear about the new terms and conditions. People are pleased that women will be allowed to serve. That will be welcomed.
"I think some of my friends may want to leave and serve in other branches of the Army, to see different things and get different experiences."
Senior officers insist the Gurkhas' unique heritage and character will not be diluted.
Gurkhas have served in the British Army for almost 200 years, and are renowned as one of the world's fiercest fighting forces, winning an unequalled 26 Victoria Crosses.
Their links with the United Kingdom date back to 1814 when British forces fought a fierce war against Nepal, during which the adversaries developed a deep mutual respect and admiration.
Realising they were unlikely ever to defeat the hill warriors, British commanders began to recruit them instead.
Gurkha regiments helped Britain put down the Indian Mutiny of 1857, and fought on the North-West Frontier. During the First World War 100,000 Gurkhas fought and died in France and the Middle East.
By the Second World War there were no fewer than 40 Gurkha Battalions - some 112,000 men (!!!) - in the British Army who distinguished themselves in Africa, Europe, the Middle East and the Far East.
The Japanese army regarded the Gurkhas as their most fearsome foes.
With Indian independence and partition in 1947, the Gurkha regiments were split between the Indian and British armies, while a tripartite deal fixed British Gurkhas' pay to that of their Indian counterparts.
Members of the British Army's Brigade of Gurkhas in training for Iraq or Afghanistan.
dailymail.co.uk
Women will be allowed to serve in Gurkhas for the first time
By Matthew Hickley, Defence Correspondent
8th March 2007
Royal Gurkha Rifles (part of the Brigade of Gurkhas)
Women to join the Gurkhas? Veterans Minister Derek Twigg (left) announced a major shake-up today in Parliament
Women are to be allowed to join the Gurkhas for the first time, under a shake-up of rules dating back to colonial times. As in the rest of the Army, they will not serve as combat infantry troops but as engineers, signallers, logisticians and medics.
The Brigade of Gurkhas will also see a six-fold pensions increase, bringing their retirement pay in line with that for other Army regiments.
They will also be allowed to leave their brigade and join other regiments, or transfer to the Royal Navy or the RAF.
The reforms effectively put the 3,400 soldiers of the Brigade of Gurkhas on the same footing as the rest of the Army.
The six-fold pensions boost marks a major victory for campaigners who have been pushing for years to end the disparity between Gurkhas and other British soldiers.
Junior defence minister Derek Twigg said it was "a just recognition for how highly we value them as soldiers and as a military force". He added: "This is the right thing to do."
But thousands who retired before 1997 will be left out of the deal, as ministers claimed backdating the pensions package any further than that would be "unaffordable".
Fearsome: British Army Gurkhas in training with their kukri knives. They are also experts in martial arts.
A gurkha's kukri knife used in the British Army. According to legend a Gurkha "never draws his blade without drawing blood".
A Gurkha private retiring after 15 years of service receives £1,200 a year for life. In future they will have the choice of switching to the standard Army pension of £6,500 a year after 22 years' service.
Women will be recruited from 2009, but officials said it was not yet clear what sort of selection tests they would face.
Each year some 15,000 Nepalese teenage boys compete for 230 coveted recruitment places.
They prepare for months for the gruelling Dokho race, in which they carry 75lb bamboo baskets up a steep goat track in the Himalayan foothills.
All Gurkhas will continue to be recruited in Nepal and will remain Nepalese citizens, but after five years' service they will be free to transfer to other parts of the armed forces. When they retire they will be given the choice of returning to Nepal or settling in the UK (and become British citizens).
Serving Gurkhas welcomed the changes yesterday. Corporal Subash, 32, an engineer who has served for 15 years including duty in Iraq, Cyprus and Northern Ireland, said: "We are very happy to hear about the new terms and conditions. People are pleased that women will be allowed to serve. That will be welcomed.
"I think some of my friends may want to leave and serve in other branches of the Army, to see different things and get different experiences."
Senior officers insist the Gurkhas' unique heritage and character will not be diluted.
Gurkhas have served in the British Army for almost 200 years, and are renowned as one of the world's fiercest fighting forces, winning an unequalled 26 Victoria Crosses.
Their links with the United Kingdom date back to 1814 when British forces fought a fierce war against Nepal, during which the adversaries developed a deep mutual respect and admiration.
Realising they were unlikely ever to defeat the hill warriors, British commanders began to recruit them instead.
Gurkha regiments helped Britain put down the Indian Mutiny of 1857, and fought on the North-West Frontier. During the First World War 100,000 Gurkhas fought and died in France and the Middle East.
By the Second World War there were no fewer than 40 Gurkha Battalions - some 112,000 men (!!!) - in the British Army who distinguished themselves in Africa, Europe, the Middle East and the Far East.
The Japanese army regarded the Gurkhas as their most fearsome foes.
With Indian independence and partition in 1947, the Gurkha regiments were split between the Indian and British armies, while a tripartite deal fixed British Gurkhas' pay to that of their Indian counterparts.
Members of the British Army's Brigade of Gurkhas in training for Iraq or Afghanistan.
dailymail.co.uk
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