As earthquakes shake up Nepal, condolences to the Gurkhas who have been in the field for over 200 years

For almost two centuries, the Gurkhas have held pride of place as some of the world’s fiercest and most loyal warriors. They have fought for the British in almost every war since 1815. More than 200,000 Gurkhas are said to have fought in the two world wars. Since then, they have served in Malaysia, Borneo, Hong Kong, Cyprus, the Falklands, Kosovo and Iraq. Most recently, the Gurkhas fought in Afghanistan, where they have a storied past, fighting the Second and Third Anglo-Afghan Wars.

In Nepal, it is considered a great honor for a Nepali youth to become a Gurkha. Outside the British forces, there are as many as 40,000 Gurkhas serving in the Indian army, nearly 2,500 in the Singapore police and 2,000 in Brunei’s Gurkha Reserve Unit. Hundreds of retired Gurkhas work in conflict zones as private bodyguards in Iraq and Afghanistan.

DOWNRANGE

As a famous quote goes, "If a man says he is not afraid of dying, he is either lying or is a Gurkha". Most ex-Gurkha PMC’s work on Force Protection contracts doing everything from checking ID’s at gates to manning ECP’s, with the majority of the contracts in the Middle East. Some ex-Gurkha PMC’s work in higher risk jobs like convoy escort in Iraq.

Considering how brave, disciplined and fierce the Gurkha's are, it is no wonder the private military industry has tapped into the large pool of ex-Brit Gurkhas for international security work. Back in my late 20’s when they first started working in Security Contracting Industry.

EARTHQUAKE

On April 27, 2015,  USAID deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to the region and is providing an initial $1 million in emergency assistance as we assess humanitarian needs in cooperation with the Government of Nepal. USAID is also activating an Urban Search and Rescue Team to accompany disaster experts.

The earthquake, which hit just northwest of Nepal's densely populated capital, Kathmandu, has caused numerous buildings to collapse and made some roads impassable. It also triggered an avalanche in the Mount Everest region and aftershocks of a considerable magnitude. In addition to the DART, USAID staff based in Bangkok, Thailand and Washington, D.C. are monitoring the situation closely in coordination with U.S. mission disaster relief officers in the region.