A Gurkha soldier with a kukri is really a handful!

[Team Sergeant]

Originally Posted by craigepo

Is anyone familiar with the story/rumor about the gurk's in the falklands?

Yes, I am.... and I don't think it's a rumor......

Might not want to post what they did to some of the Argentinian's during that conflict in public. I was under the impression (and still am) that the Argentinian forces waving of the white flag was an indirect result of the Gurkha's actions.

The SAS also did some things that were very "unexpected" by the Argentinian forces.

[Dusty]

There's a story I remember called, I think, "The Silver Kukhuri", but I can't find it. It's about a Gurkha who does what the previous poster said about sneaking into positions at night and cutting throats. If it's a book, I'll buy it if I come across it...

[Richard]

And what's the one thing in life a Ghurka with a khukri fears?

A Ghurka's angry wife with a khukri!

Richard

[frostfire]

Originally Posted by GratefulCitizen

Found this part interesting:

Quote:
He still finds it hard to believe that he took on 40 armed robbers alone. “They may have feared that more of my army friends were traveling with me and fled after fighting me for around 20 minutes,” he explained.

40 to 1, still fighting after 20 minutes of melee combat, and the "1" is winning.
Yup, they might have feared that there were 2 of them.

"You go for a man hard enough and fast enough, he don't have time to think about how many's with him; he thinks about himself, and how he might get clear of that wrath that's about to set down on him"
~Rooster Cogburn

[akv]

Originally Posted by Richard

And what's the one thing in life a Ghurka with a khukri fears? A Ghurka's angry wife with a khukri.

Yes, this appears to be the case.

First female Gurkhas start their training

Women training for assessment to become the first female Gurkhas

Two heavy rocks clasped in her outstretched hands, 19-year-old Tsiring Thapa was shaking with exhaustion. It was only 6.30am, but she and more than 50 other Nepali young women bidding to become the first female Gurkhas had already completed a five-mile run through boulder-strewn mud.

"Stay strong! Hold out the rocks, keep your arms out straight! Five minutes more, this pain is nothing if you want to become a soldier," a retired sergeant major barked at them.

"Are you ready to follow my orders? Are you ready to train to become a Gurkha, to become the best?" The women yelled their reply: "Yes, sir." Long the preserve of only the fittest Nepalese males, securing one of 300 annual commissions to fight as a Gurkha in the British Army is the equivalent of winning the lottery in the Himalayan kingdom. Now, for the first time, recruitment has been opened to Nepalese women after Derek Twigg, Britain's junior defence minister, announced that Gurkhas would in future be covered by rules on sexual discrimination in the workplace. Up to 50 places are being made available for women this year.

For Nepal's young women, many of whom are forced into early marriage by their parents, the opportunity to sign up is a dream come true. Beauticians, hotel receptionists and waitresses have ditched their jobs and flocked to the resort town of Pokhara to enrol in privately run, high-altitude fitness training programmes, designed to prepare recruits for the tough army entrance exams due next month. More than 80 training schools have sprung up to cater for the demand. Many of the girls sport pink laces on their running shoes, brightly coloured hair ribbons and gaudy nail varnish, but insist it is no reflection on their suitability for a regiment renowned for its toughness.

"We shouldn't be underestimated because we are women and we want to look beautiful while we train," said 17-year-old Sushma Lama.

"The men think we are weak. Most of the Gurkha training schools in this valley don't allow women but the reality is they will have to accept us. Most of the women won't make it but 50 will, so they'd better wake up to this. All the men grow up wanting to be Gurkhas. It is their only dream, so it is impossible for them to accept a woman taking their place."

As Sushma spoke, a group of men ran past and jeered. "They are uneducated idiots," she said. "They think that their strength will get them in, but their stupidity will undermine them. "As women we are more disciplined, our English is better because we always worked harder at school, and there is a place for us in the British Army. We are right to seize the opportunity.

The successful candidates, who will be chosen from 15,106 applicants, will receive a salary of about £1,000 a month, a guaranteed 15 years of service, possible promotion and a good pension. Most importantly for the Nepalese, they will also gain a British passport.

The selection criteria are tough. Each young woman must have good marks on her school leaving certificate, and be able to perform 14 heaves to the high beam, 75 bench jumps in one minute and 70 sit-ups in two minutes. She must have no more than two fillings and two gaps in her teeth, have perfect hearing and sight, and be capable of good conversational English. During a three-week assessment, only those recruits who are fit enough to run three miles up the steep foothills of the Himalayas, while carrying 50 lb of rocks on their backs, will be deemed worthy of joining the army.

Even then, the women are unlikely to be deployed in a combat role. Female recruits will join the Queen's Gurkha Engineers, Queen's Gurkha Signals and Queen's Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment, but will be kept out of the Royal Gurkha Rifles."We are happy that women get the same opportunity as men," said Capt P Manjugurung, a retired Gurkha who now trains potential recruits. "It is harder than ever to become a Gurkha because the educational bar has been raised.

"These women work as porters climbing the Himalayas. They are fit and hardy - there is no reason why they can't take their place alongside the men."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...-training.html

[Dusty]

Not taking combat roles? More power to 'em.

[Peregrino]

If we can find enough of them willing to learn Pashtu and Dari I say let them join the US Army. Especially if they maintain the current recruitment standards. We need females for select roles and none of ours are cutting it. 50 slots for 15,000 applicants has phenomenal potential for getting exactly what's needed. I can just see Hadji getting stomped by one of these ladies. Not to mention how "motivating" it might be for some of the male slugs in our Army to have the comparison/contrast held up to their face.

[dr. mabuse]

*

[Peregrino]

Originally Posted by dr. mabuse

Not more than 2 gaps in the teeth? I don't understand that one.

50 pound ruck up 3 miles of foothills, that will weed out some. Whew.

The recruitment standards are literally ancient and maintained mostly for tradition. Bad dentition made it difficult to tear paper cartridges in the muzzle loading era.

[Utah Bob]

Who counted the 40 thieves?
Just wondering.

Originally Posted by Utah Bob

Who counted the 40 thieves?
Just wondering.

Ali Baba

[Oldrotorhead]

Originally Posted by Utah Bob

Who counted the 40 thieves?
Just wondering.

OK, maybe it was only 39. What ever the number there were about 8 less when it was over, and is wasn't the lone guy with the knife that quit first. Please forgive him it is really hard to count with with all of those aholes and elbows flying in all directions.

Could this have happened in America, the Lone Knife Man, (LKM) who saves the day, without being arrested for hurting the sensitivities of the families of the 8 victims?

[DaveMatteson]

Originally Posted by Team Sergeant

Yes, I am.... and I don't think it's a rumor......

Might not want to post what they did to some of the Argentinian's during that conflict in public. I was under the impression (and still am) that the Argentinian forces waving of the white flag was an indirect result of the Gurkha's actions.

The SAS also did some things that were very "unexpected" by the Argentinian forces.

I was trying to find the book I have that was written after the Falklands War which indulged both militaries. They reluctantly got an interview form an Argentine Officer named Piaggi (sp) who was the opposing force to Col. Jones and Keeble (?). Jones was mortally wounded while trying to get his men up and moving. After that engagement Keeble sent a message that according to some only had three parts.

The first was (paraphrased) "drop weapons and helmets walk to us". The second was "continue to fight and accept the consequences". The thrid was I won't paraphrase it was something along the lines of by fighting we will take prisoners in accordance with the Geneva Convention and you will be held accountable for all civilian deaths. Supposedly, according to Piaggi at the bottom of the note he received was the word "Gurkha".

Is this true? Well, Piaggi surrendered himself and 1200 men to a force of 4 rifle companies, one of which being a scout and recon company. I'm not sure how true it is but it was also one of those "Gurkha rumors".

I read the WWII exploits of the Gurkha when I was a kid and told my dad I wanted to be one. He laughed and told me as a joke that he would let me join the Army instead.

BTW, not sure how many know this but Gurkha's are part of the US Navy Protective Force in Bahrain. A friend of mine who was an MA in the Navy told me this.

[PSM]

Originally Posted by Utah Bob

Who counted the 40 thieves?
Just wondering.

UPDATE (thanks to a poster on Equipped to Survive): It may have been 10 fewer thieves but now he's 10 years older. (What are the handicap rules for knife fighting?)

Link

Pat