Gurkha Victoria Cross Winner Honoured At Special Service and 2 RGR in full swing in Kabul

Earlier this month,Captain Rambahadur Limbu VC MVO, joined part of a special service with HRH The Prince of Wales in London together with 31 other surviving Victoria Cross and George Cross recipients.

Rambahadur Saheb was a Lance Corporal in the 2nd Battalion, 10th Princess Mary’s Own Gurkha Rifles, during the Borneo Confrontation. On 21 November 1965, the then Lance Corporal Rambahadur Limbu was in an advance party of 16 Gurkhas when they encountered about 30 Indonesians holding a position on the top of a hill. Ram went forward with two men, but when they were only 10 yards from the enemy machine-gun position, the sentry opened fire on them. Ram rushed forward and killed him with a grenade. The remaining enemy (“dushmen”) then opened fire, wounding the two men who were with Ram. Ram, under heavy fire, made three journeys into the open, two to drag his comrades to safety and one more to retrieve their Bren gun. He then attacked the enemy with the Bren gun, killing several.

Here is an extract from the citation:

“Rushing forward he hurled himself on the ground beside one of the wounded and calling for support from two light machine guns… he picked up the man and carried him to safety… Without hesitation he immediately returned… [for the other] wounded man [and] carried him back… through the hail of enemy bullets. It had taken twenty minutes to complete this gallant action and the events leading up to it. For all but a few seconds this Non-Commissioned Officer had been moving alone in full view of the enemy and under the continuous aimed fire of their automatic weapons… His outstanding personal bravery, selfless conduct, complete contempt of the enemy and determination to save the lives of the men of his fire group set an incomparable example and inspired all who saw him.

Finally, Lance Corporal Rambahadur was responsible for killing four more enemy as they attempted to escape…”

• 2 RGR in full swing in Kabul

Second Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles (2 RGR) are now over four weeks into their deployment to Kabul as part of NATO’s Resolute Support Mission. The Gurkhas have been picking up old friendships with Afghan Security Forces and are in good spirits.For many this is not their first trip to Afghanistan or Kabul. The soldiers have been taking the opportunity to reacquaint themselves with parts of the city they know from previous deployments. Their role as ‘Guardian Angels’, protecting both civilian and military NATO advisers is complex, but one which they are performing with their characteristic professionalism and good humour.

Gurkhas from 2 RGR , usually based in Folkestone under the command of 16 Air Assault Brigade, took over the role of Kabul Protection Unit on 16 April. Their job sees them providing protection for NATO advisors to the Afghan government.2 RGR are delighted to announce that Cpl Baloo (the teddy bear mascot) has made his way back to Afghanistan for the first time in five years since Op HERRICK 14 in 2011 when he was often seen patrolling with the Gurkhas in Helmand Province.  Welcome back Baloo Guruji.

United States Navy SEAL

The modern day U.S. Navy SEALs can trace their roots to World War II.The United States Navy recognized the need for the covert reconnaissance of landing beaches and coastal defenses. As a result, the Amphibious Scout and Raider School was established in 1942 at Fort Pierce, Florida.The Scouts and Raiders were formed in September of that year, just nine months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, from the Observer Group, a joint U.S. Army-Marine-Navy unit.

Before getting accepted into Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training, a prospective candidate must pass a certain number of both mental and physical requirements.These tests include: Pre-enlistment medical screening, ASVAB, AFQT, C-SORT, and PST. Then, the candidate must get a SEAL contract by passing the SEAL Physical Screening Test: 500 yard swim in 12:30, 50 push-ups in 2 minutes, 50 sit-ups in 2 minutes, 10 consecutive pull-ups in 2 minutes, and a 1.5 mile run in 10:30. If the candidate receives a passing score, he may then be admitted into training to become a Navy SEAL.SEAL training is extremely rigorous. The attrition rate fluctuates, but averages at about 80 percent.However, it is not uncommon for BUD/S classes to see up to 90% of the students wash out. The average candidate spends over a year in a series of formal training courses before being awarded the Special Warfare Operator Naval Rating and the Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC) 5326 Combatant Swimmer (SEAL) or, in the case of commissioned naval officers, the designation Naval Special Warfare (SEAL) Officer.

Special Air Service(British SAS)

The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. The SAS was founded in 1941 as a regiment, and later reconstituted as a corps in 1950.The unit undertakes a number of roles including covert reconnaissance, counter-terrorism, direct action, hostage rescue and human intelligence gathering.
The corps presently comprises 22 Special Air Service Regiment, the regular component, under the operational command of United Kingdom Special Forces, and 21 (Artists) Special Air Service Regiment (Reserve) and 23 Special Air Service Regiment (Reserve), which are reserve units under the operational command of 1st Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Brigade.
The Special Air Service traces its origins to 1941 and the Second World War, and was reformed as part of the Territorial Army in 1947, named the 21st Special Air Service Regiment (Artists Rifles). 22 Special Air Service Regiment, part of the regular army, later gained fame and recognition worldwide after successfully assaulting the Iranian Embassy in London and rescuing hostages during the 1980 Iranian Embassy siege, lifting the regiment from obscurity outside the military establishment.

The Special Air Service was a unit of the British Army during the Second World War, formed in July 1941 by David Stirling and originally called "L" Detachment, Special Air Service Brigade—the "L" designation and Air Service name being a tie-in to a British disinformation campaign, trying to deceive the Axis into thinking there was a paratrooper regiment with numerous units operating in the area (the real SAS would "prove" to the Axis that the fake one existed). It was conceived as a commando force to operate behind enemy lines in the North African Campaignand initially consisted of five officers and 60 other ranks.Its first mission, in November 1941, was a parachute drop in support of the Operation Crusader offensive.Due to German resistance and adverse weather conditions, the mission was a disaster: 22 men, a third of the unit, were killed or captured.Its second mission was a success: transported by the Long Range Desert Group, it attacked three airfields in Libya, destroying 60 aircraft with the loss of 2 men and 3 Willys MB.In September 1942 it was renamed 1st SAS, consisting at that time of four British squadrons, one Free French, one Greek, and the Folboat Section.

The Queen’s Gurkha Signals (QGS)

The Queen’s Gurkha Signals (QGS) is a regular unit of Royal Corps of Signals, one of the combat support arms of British Army. Together with the Queen’s Gurkha Engineers, the Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment and the Royal Gurkha Rifles they form part of the Brigade of Gurkhas. QGS was formed during The Malayan Emergency to support the 17th Gurkha Division.

• Gurkha Success at Bisley 2015

Gurkhas have led the rankings again at the Combat Rifle Championship in Bisley with another Queen’s medal win and an Inter-Unit team trophy being the crowning achievements of a spectacular performance.

For the third year running a Gurkha won the overall top place with Sgt Khagendra Tamang from QG Signals taking over the Queen’s Medal from last year’s holder Sgt Sanjib Rai, 2 RGR.

Furthermore, Gurkhas  took 22 of the top 25 places in the competition and around 60 of the top Army 100.

The Inter Unit Operational Shooting Championship was handed between the two batallions of the Royal Gurkha Rifles with 1 RGR taking victory over 2 RGR (who won last year). Most of the rest of the top 10 teams were also Gurkhas.

The top 10 Army Shooters

1. Sgt Khagendra Tamang (QG Signals)

2. LCpl Dhan Ghale (1 RGR)

3. LCpl D Stanton (4 Rifles)

4. LCpl Sudin Gurung (QG Signals)

5. Sgt Som Chhantel (1 RGR)

6. Capt Dilip Gurung (Gurkha Coy Sittang)

7. Sgt Sekendra Gurung (QG Signals)

8. Bdr S Gowin ATC (RA)

9. Rfn Tej Paija (1 RGR)

10. Rfn Amit Gurung (2 RGR)

The top 10 units of the Inter Unit Operational Shooting Championship-

1. 1 RGR A Team

2. 2 RGR

3. 22 Signal Regt

4. Gurkha Coy Sittang

5. 2 Signal Regt

6. 30 Signal Regt

7. 10 QOGLR

8. 1 RGR B Team

9. 21 Signal Regt

10. SASC

QOGLR (The Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment)

The Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment also known as 10 The Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment or 10 QOGLR is a regiment of the British Army. The regiment forms part of the Royal Logistics Corps and was created on 5 April 2001. The regiment was formed as a merger of The Queen’s Own Gurkha Transport Regiment, The Gurkha Transport Regiment and The Gurkha Army Service Corps; which were formed as component parts of The Brigade of Gurkhas on 1 July 1958.

• Gurkhas to help in Ebola fight

Gurkhas have a reputation for being able to go unseen by the enemy, but now they are set to face a deadly enemy they wont be able to see themselves.

10 QOGLR are deploying to Sierra Leone on Operation Gritrock as part of the efforts to fight the Ebola outbreak.

29 soldiers boarded a plane at Brize Norton in the early hours this morning headed to the African nation, where they will help set up a training camp to teach health workers how to deal with the outbreak.They will be staying at Benguema Camp in Kerry Town, 35 km east of capital Freetown. Best of luck lads and take care.

French Foreign Legion

The French Foreign Legion  is a military service branch of the French Army established in 1831, unique because it was created for foreign nationals willing to serve in the French Armed Forces.

Since 1831, the Legion has suffered the loss of nearly 40,000 of its own men serving the ranks and France: Loyada, Chad, Zaïre, Lebanon, Central Africa, Gabon, Kuwait, Rwanda, Djibouti, Ex-Yugoslavia, Somalia, Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Afghanistan, Mali, Sahel and others.

The Foreign Legion was primarily used to protect and expand the French colonial empire during the 19th century. The Foreign Legion was initially stationed only in Algeria, where it took part in the pacification and development of the colony. Subsequently the French Foreign Legion (FFL) was deployed in a number of conflicts, including the First Carlist War in 1835, the Crimean War in 1854, the Second Italian War of Independence in 1859, the French intervention in Mexico in 1863, the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, the Tonkin Campaign and Sino–French War in 1883, supporting growth of the French colonial empire in Sub-Saharan Africa and pacifying Algeria, the Second Franco-Dahomean War in 1892, the Second Madagascar expedition in 1895, and the Mandingo Wars in 1894.

In April 1863, a battle between the French Foreign Legion and the Mexican army showed how effective and ballsy legionnaires really could be.

With a total of just 65 men, the legionnaires fought back against a force of approximately 3,000 at the Battle of Camarón. Despite the overwhelming odds, the small patrol of legionnaires inflicted terrible losses on the Mexican forces and they refused to surrender.

In World War I, the Foreign Legion fought in many critical battles on the Western Front. It played a smaller role in World War II than in World War I, though having a part in the Norwegian, Syrian and North African campaigns. During the First Indochina War (1946–54), the Foreign Legion saw its numbers swell. The FFL lost a large number of men in the catastrophic Battle of Dien Bien Phu. During the Algerian War of Independence (1954–62), the Foreign Legion came close to being disbanded after some officers, men, and the highly decorated 1st Foreign Parachute Regiment (1er REP) took part in the Generals' putsch. Notable operations during this period included the Suez Crisis, the Battle of Algiers and various offensives launched by General Maurice Challe including Operations Oranie and Jumelles.

Though troops serving the Legion hail from 138 different countries, they can become French citizens eventually. After serving at least three years honorably, they can apply to be citizens.

But they also have a much quicker path: If they are wounded on the battlefield, they can become citizens through a provision called “Français par le sang versé” (“French by spilled blood”), according to The Telegraph.

The French government allowed this automatic citizenship provision in 1999.

Current units of the Brigade of Gurkhas

Almost 200 years ago troops in support of the British East India Company invaded Nepal. They suffered heavy casualties at the hands of the Gurkhas and signed a hasty peace deal and offered to pay the Gurkhas to join their army. A soldier of the 87th Foot wrote in his memoirs: "I never saw more steadiness or bravery exhibited in my life. Run they would not, and of death they seemed to have no fear, though their comrades were falling thick around them".

Some 200,000 Gurkhas then fought in the British Army in the First and Second World Wars - in France, Flanders, Mesopotamia, Persia, Egypt, Gallipoli, Palestine, Salonika and in the desert with Lawrence of Arabia and then across Europe and the Far East in World War II. They have since served in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Borneo, Cyprus, the Falklands, Sierra Leone, East Timor, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Current units of the Brigade of Gurkhas include:

• HQ, Brigade of Gurkhas, based at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Surrey
• British Gurkhas Nepal
• 1st and 2nd Battalions, The Royal Gurkha Rifles
• The Queen's Gurkha Engineers based within 36 Engineer Regiment, Invicta Park Barracks, Maidstone
• The Queen's Gurkha Signals, based in York, Bramcote, Blandford and Stafford. There are additional Troop locations in Nepal and Brunei.
• 10 Queen's Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment RLC, based at Aldershot Garrison.
• Gurkha Staff and Personnel Support Company
• The Band of the Brigade of Gurkhas
• Gurkha Company, 3rd Battalion, Infantry Training Centre, Catterick
• The Gurkha Company (Sitang), Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
• The Gurkha Company (Mandalay), Infantry Battle School, Brecon
• Brigade of Gurkhas Training Team
• Gurkha Language Wing, Catterick