Gurkha Kukri

[Mmacro]

I had the privilege twice of working with Ghurkha soldiers - with the British Gurkhas while deployed in Afghanistan and with the Indian Gurkhas during training in the “Hill Stations” of India. I am humbled at the gifts they gave me for working along side them.

Both are warriors universally feared by their opponents.

The British Ghurkhas would roll in unarmored NTVs, wearing no body armor and carrying only small arms, grenades and kukris. The Taliban were never present during their patrols, while the rest of the combined forces would come under regular attack on the same routes.

In India, I was bunking up with two Ghurkhas during field training (we were in a mix GP medium tents and abandoned concrete buildings). Suddenly the a couple of Gurkhas came running through the camp yelling for everyone to stay inside, that there was tiger in the camp. Of course, as a Army journalist I could not resist... I went outside and found the evidence that there was indeed a tiger inside the wire (scat and claw marks on equipment cases, and Gurkhas on-line, kukris drawn (no firearms as all we had were blanks) and walking through the camp, yelling and banging their blades against mess kits to drive the tiger out.

Between Afghanistan and India... I would serve alongside a Gurkha without asking any questions. They are the true definition of warriors.

[AndyC]

Drawing a kukri properly:

[W.R.Buchanan]

I had the privilege twice of working with Ghurkha soldiers - with the British Gurkhas while deployed in Afghanistan and with the Indian Gurkhas during training in the “Hill Stations” of India. I am humbled at the gifts they gave me for working along side them.

Both are warriors universally feared by their opponents.

The British Ghurkhas would roll in unarmored NTVs, wearing no body armor and carrying only small arms, grenades and kukris. The Taliban were never present during their patrols, while the rest of the combined forces would come under regular attack on the same routes.

In India, I was bunking up with two Ghurkhas during field training (we were in a mix GP medium tents and abandoned concrete buildings). Suddenly the a couple of Gurkhas came running through the camp yelling for everyone to stay inside, that there was tiger in the camp. Of course, as a Army journalist I could not resist... I went outside and found the evidence that there was indeed a tiger inside the wire (scat and claw marks on equipment cases, and Gurkhas on-line, kukris drawn (no firearms as all we had were blanks) and walking through the camp, yelling and banging their blades against mess kits to drive the tiger out.

Between Afghanistan and India... I would serve alongside a Gurkha without asking any questions. They are the true definition of warriors.

The reason why they are fearless is because they are not afraid to die.

They are not afraid to die because they know they will come back again and again.

The 14th Dalai Lama can trace his previous lives back thru 13 previous lifetimes. That's how he got declared the 14th Dalai Lama !

So can everyone else if they put their minds to it. Lots more going on in this world than meets the eye.

Randy