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| Britain |
| Nepali women rush for Gurkha training |
| 2007-06-27 |
| MORE than 1,500 Nepali women have signed up with private firms to train for a possible career with the British Army after it allowed them to join the Brigade of Gurkhas for the first time in nearly two centuries. Britain is studying how Nepali women could be recruited for its Gurkha force and authorities took out a newspaper advertisement this month asking women to give "notification of interest". British officials said practical issues such as recruitment and selection standards needed to be settled and actual recruitment could take time. "I know it is very good for my career," said Bunita Gurung, 19, taking a course in Pokhara in west Nepal. "I want to be a soldier in the British Army." Ms Gurung, a management student, was inspired to look for an army career by her father, a former Gurkha. Sirjana Rana, 20, also a student, said she would barely get $150 a month after completing her studies. If she joined the British Army, her wages could be ten times higher. "This is the first opportunity and the first is auspicious. I don't want to miss it," she said. Britain, which recruits 230 Gurkha men a year, has not said how many women it will take. There are about 3,400 Nepalis in the Brigade of Gurkhas, which has fought in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Balkans. |
| Posted by:Seafarious |
| #13 chicks w/knives, now that's hot. |
| Posted by: Broadhead6 2007-06-27 23:28 |
| #12 Hey Abdominal, I heard on the radio that there is a new expedition to catch you and take a few measurements and DNA and such. So, lay off the narcotics for a while, and try to take a shower. |
| Posted by: wxjames 2007-06-27 14:52 |
| #11 The tribe is apparently not very fond of the Maoists, 3dc. |
| Posted by: Abdominal Snowman 2007-06-27 11:41 |
| #10 The Maoist revolution in Nepal was female based. Are these women from the Maoist group? |
| Posted by: 3dc 2007-06-27 10:51 |
| #9 Ayo Gurkhali! |
| Posted by: mojo 2007-06-27 10:41 |
| #8 OK, but I wouldn't mind them becoming citizens and having their families contribute to our society. Good people. There's a small Sikh community in our area. Local paper did a story on two teens who are finding their way through their spiritual identity. They have to AFFIRM Sikh beliefs and ASK for baptism when they are ready. Until then, they can (and do) eat meat etc. which is forbidden to Sikhs. In other words, discipline, hard work, strong families and free choice in belief and action. What's not to like? These teens are blending their culture of origin with customs here quite comfortably, switching among languages, dress and music with ease. |
| Posted by: lotp 2007-06-27 10:13 |
| #7 The US has been missing an opportunity here. I figure that we could create a "Reservation" for the Aleuts up in the Aleutians, on condition that they lease one of those islands for the US to set up a Gurkha Regiment, somewhat like the French Foreign Legion. The Gurkhas are from a cold, mountainous region, so the Aleutians would be pretty close to what they are used to. Then we could rent a Caribbean island for several regiments of hot weather Sikhs. The idea is that we could have a very rapid, faster than the US military, reaction force to send to all sorts of places around the world where we are not particularly thrilled about sending American troops. Since most of the trouble spots are hot weather, we would need more Sikhs, but Ghurkhas would be available for cold region troubles. We could send them on the endless "humanitarian" and "peacekeeping" missions around the world, with far less trouble than US troops. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-06-27 10:05 |
| #6 Just like that... dropped their rifles and hit the trees. And when they came out again, there were hardly any Japanese left. Well, left alive, anyway. |
| Posted by: Sgt. Mom 2007-06-27 09:15 |
| #5 Like this, sgt Mom? |
| Posted by: GK 2007-06-27 08:50 |
| #4 GM Fraser, in his memoir about WWII in SE Asia "Quartered Safe Out Here" wrote with affection and respect about the Gurkas. Especially one incident where a company of them charged a grove of trees with a lot of Japanese soldiers holed up in it. He said they charged at a dead run, screaming like maniacs... and just before they hit the trees, about half of them threw away their rifles and went in with their knives, only! |
| Posted by: Sgt. Mom 2007-06-27 08:20 |
| #3 I have a good friend from law school who's an ethnic Gurkha. His wife (also a Gurkha) is a babe, and they have two cute kids. Nice guy, generous, lively sense of humor, one of the best Americans-born-in-the-wrong-place you'd ever meet. Wouldn't hurt a fly. Give him an assault rifle and tell him to take a ridge line, though, and Mama, look out! |
| Posted by: Mike 2007-06-27 07:09 |
| #2 LOL Made my day! |
| Posted by: John Frum 2007-06-27 05:55 |
| #1 Wimin with Khukris??? Nearly as frightening as the following reported to me yesterday: The female Apache pilot and fiancee of a local Captain recently phoned her future husband, also a pilot, and reported that she was "very upset." Still distraught and angry the morning after, she informed him that she had "just killed three enemy combatants on her last sortie." Her fiancee attempted to console his Apache bride, only to have her retort, "NO!..... it's not that damn it! The 4th one got away!" |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2007-06-27 02:14 |
