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Speaker 2: at patreon dot com. Slash The Teamhouse, Special Operations, Covert Ops, Spionage,
Speaker 2: The Team House with your hosts, Jack Murphy and David Park.
Speaker 2: This is episode three hundred and thirteen of The Team House.
Speaker 2: I'm Jack Murphy here with David Park and our guest
Speaker 2: on tonight's show is Kushaw Limbu. He served in the
Speaker 2: second Battalion of the Royal Gurrica Rifles. We're very excited
Speaker 2: to have him on the show tonight this to talk
Speaker 2: about his life in his career and surmounting some really
Speaker 2: difficult situations, and also to talk about this storied nepalice
Speaker 2: unit that probably many people here in America don't know about.
Speaker 2: Before we jump into the interview real quick, I need
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Speaker 2: And I got to shamelessly self promote my own book,
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Speaker 2: So without further Ado Kushaal, welcome to the show. Thank
Speaker 2: you for joining us tonight.
Speaker 4: Thank you so much, Jack Dave, thank you so much
Speaker 4: for having me on your show.
Speaker 2: Looking forward to So tell me from the beginning, tell
Speaker 2: me about growing up in the Pall and how your
Speaker 2: life took you towards the Gurkhas.
Speaker 4: So. I was always throwing at because my father was
Speaker 4: indust as well so so so I grew up in
Speaker 4: the military in well at a very young age. So
Speaker 4: I always wanted to be you know, soldier, so yeah,
Speaker 4: so and field mine because in the military as well. So,
Speaker 4: so it's kind of British commutration to to go to
Speaker 4: to military and that's how we started. Frankly, so with
Speaker 4: with with specifically to join Gokus. It's a it's a
Speaker 4: it's a long history, more than two hundred years history.
Speaker 4: So the Gokus the first joined British Army was in
Speaker 4: eighteen fifteen. It's a long story, but obviously we.
Speaker 1: Love to hear it. You take as much time as
Speaker 1: you like.
Speaker 4: So obviously I don't want to go too much detail
Speaker 4: on it. Obviously I'm might be wrong in some you
Speaker 4: know something that's fact. But so so basically when when
Speaker 4: the British is in the company. So yeah, so British
Speaker 4: Army or British you know, what do you call.
Speaker 2: You know, British the viceroy and yeah, the East India
Speaker 2: Company a corporate kind of a corporate construct.
Speaker 4: Yeah, so basically we're talking about more than two years
Speaker 4: ago and when the British Empire, when they were spent
Speaker 4: expanding outside India. You know, it's because Nepal, Nepoli is
Speaker 4: just next to India. So they were when they were
Speaker 4: you know, expending their tat phrase and they're trying to
Speaker 4: you know, capture or trying to get land from Nepal.
Speaker 4: So they had a that you know, they have war,
Speaker 4: the small war between British Army and Nepalese army from
Speaker 4: that time. And as they were fighting each other, it
Speaker 4: was tough for British Army too, you know, win over
Speaker 4: them because because Nepal is very hilly area. So on
Speaker 4: those those days, it was difficult to you know, capture
Speaker 4: places like you know, do you know what I mean?
Speaker 4: So uh and I think while they were fighting each other,
Speaker 4: the British armies what what they realized that, I mean,
Speaker 4: these fellows are very tough, you know, why we can't
Speaker 4: can't then get them in our side, you know, ask
Speaker 4: them to fight for us or something like that. And
Speaker 4: they made this, you know, they made this, made the
Speaker 4: contract with the at that time of King of Nepal,
Speaker 4: you know, to send them and fight with us, you know,
Speaker 4: rather than fight with each other. And they made this
Speaker 4: treaty between India Paul and British Army to get to
Speaker 4: get those boys grew to the British army. And that's
Speaker 4: why the Indian Army have gurkus and British Army as gurkuse.
Speaker 4: So there are two places. The gurker served outside. So
Speaker 4: that's how he started. So it started twenty fifteen, So
Speaker 4: I saw not twenty fifteen, eighteen fifteen. We actually had
Speaker 4: two hundred years university of twenty fifteen. So so that
Speaker 4: was that was so that was that was the short story.
Speaker 4: That's how we started. But now it's it has become
Speaker 4: a symbol in British Army and Indian Army to have
Speaker 4: a Girkus. It's a special regiment, you know, very unique regiment.
Speaker 4: You know, we have our own tradition. Even though so
Speaker 4: let's say so so I was in British Army, it's
Speaker 4: exact same as other British Army, British regiment, but obviously
Speaker 4: it's it's a very unique because most of the men
Speaker 4: are the police, you know, even in the British Army,
Speaker 4: they we speak of our own language. There we're going
Speaker 4: to have a British officers, but so mostly the soldiers
Speaker 4: will be in their police and it's it's a very unique,
Speaker 4: very unique kind of regiment, different from other British regiment.
Speaker 3: What what is the military like in general in Nepal
Speaker 3: and how do the Gurkhas fit in that scheme of
Speaker 3: Nepalese military?
Speaker 4: So basically Nepoty is a very small country. I mean,
Speaker 4: so Nepolice, it is not. So it's it's surrounded by
Speaker 4: China and other side of India. So the Nepalese army
Speaker 4: they are I mean ne party is not threatened by
Speaker 4: any country, you know, so that they're not threaten by
Speaker 4: so they so army not designed to protect anything, truly speaking.
Speaker 4: But it is a bit different. So obviously we we
Speaker 4: sell it's a different country, right, but we have a
Speaker 4: different you know, it's a completely different idea.
Speaker 3: So are there is there the traditional or state or
Speaker 3: Nepalese forces more like border forces and you know, just
Speaker 3: kind of handle like internal.
Speaker 5: Things.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean it's it's like any any countries army.
Speaker 4: You know, it's only small countries. So I don't know
Speaker 4: the numbers how many of them are, but the Gurkas
Speaker 4: obviously it's it's a little bit different when it comes
Speaker 4: to Indian gourcause because the they have more regiment. In India,
Speaker 4: where it's a British army, we are about three two
Speaker 4: four thousand troops. But in India there are lots of regiment.
Speaker 4: I think it's more than sixty seventy thousand troops because
Speaker 4: they have a lot more regiment. Because in the first place,
Speaker 4: it was all the Gurkhas were all in India before.
Speaker 4: So when they moved from India, when they left India
Speaker 4: in nineteen forty seven, you know, they took field regiment
Speaker 4: to British Army and they they left or the remaining
Speaker 4: regiment in India. So yeah, that's why the numbers are
Speaker 4: different here.
Speaker 2: And we should of course, I'm going to miss some
Speaker 2: here because this is such a storied historical unit. But
Speaker 2: the Gurkhas fought in the British Afghan conflicts during the
Speaker 2: Victorian era, World War One, world War two, and this
Speaker 2: unit saw a lot of action over the years.
Speaker 4: Yeah. Yeah, I mean we were involved in pretty much
Speaker 4: every every conflict. So yeah, I think mostly World War One.
Speaker 4: I think there were lots of you know, because you
Speaker 4: will never never turned home. World War two is the saying,
Speaker 4: but I think world War one was I think we
Speaker 4: were in well in most places in World War One. Yeah,
Speaker 4: and let's the conflict.
Speaker 2: As well and the so let's talk a little bit
Speaker 2: about your experience.
Speaker 1: You come from a military family.
Speaker 2: You presumably you want to you want to be a
Speaker 2: part of this unit. Tell us about like the selection,
Speaker 2: like how you apply to it and the selection course
Speaker 2: to get into this unit.
Speaker 4: Yeah. So so basically to get in British Army, it's
Speaker 4: a it's a very it's as a very prestigious thing
Speaker 4: to get in in Nepart in all aspect, I mean
Speaker 4: as a as a job expect as a you know,
Speaker 4: it's a uniqueness of regiment as well, you know the
Speaker 4: name and fame, so so you will see there will
Speaker 4: be lots of applicant for example when I joined, because
Speaker 4: we have a two three different stages of selection. So
Speaker 4: you go to smaller selection, then you get selected, you
Speaker 4: go to you know, bigger selection, and you have a
Speaker 4: final selection of land. So from if you take from
Speaker 4: the beginning, I think we had about twenty twenty thousand
Speaker 4: applicants from the initial stage and then we I think
Speaker 4: we were ABO two hundred, two hundred and thirty got selected.
Speaker 5: In the British album out of twenty thousand.
Speaker 3: Yeah, a lot of Yeah, so what what do those
Speaker 3: initial selections look like because obviously, obviously I don't think
Speaker 3: that like an American who wants to join the American
Speaker 3: forces or a brit who wants to join the brit
Speaker 3: Forces will go through that kind of a narrowing process, right,
Speaker 3: So you guys aren't just like a conventional British regiment
Speaker 3: made up of volunteers. You go through a very you
Speaker 3: go through three different selections, like you say, what what
Speaker 3: are they looking for?
Speaker 5: What are they selecting for?
Speaker 3: And what are some of the things that you guys
Speaker 3: specifically that that Nepalese have to do to become a girka.
Speaker 4: So well, so they said there are two or three
Speaker 4: different stages. So the first few stages are kind of
Speaker 4: the only looking at your your your your education level,
Speaker 4: or your small fitness you know, like pull ups, you know.
Speaker 4: So it's a little bit changed. Now I can tell
Speaker 4: what was what what was it when when I when
Speaker 4: I joined. So from from an initial state, obviously, I
Speaker 4: think it's it's just a sheer number of people that
Speaker 4: we can I think they have to choose, you know,
Speaker 4: they have to they have to get narrowed down to
Speaker 4: the lower numbers. I mean, but by the time you
Speaker 4: get to the final selection there there will be about
Speaker 4: a thousand people, a thousand guys to choose from the
Speaker 4: final state. I would say, if you if you choose
Speaker 4: out of those thousand men, if you choose anyone, if
Speaker 4: you pick like finally, you get a very nice or
Speaker 4: good soldier of them. It's just you only have two
Speaker 4: hundred thirty. I can see that that time. Yeah, I
Speaker 4: mean that's what I think. I mean, it's just so
Speaker 4: many people that in terms of the final selection is
Speaker 4: it's quite it's quite demanding. I mean the main, the main,
Speaker 4: the fitness criteria is you must have heard that that
Speaker 4: then the race you have to carry your carry thirty
Speaker 4: five kilo in your back and go go uppial about right,
Speaker 4: I don't remember. It's about two three kilometers up pill
Speaker 4: all the way. Yeah, and you have to do well
Speaker 4: to get you know, because like that, so is.
Speaker 3: That one of the things that they are looking for
Speaker 3: is Nepaul is a very mountainous country and if we're drawing,
Speaker 3: if we're creating a regiment from people from this country,
Speaker 3: they have to be good in the mountains.
Speaker 5: They have to be able to like hit those hills hard.
Speaker 4: Uh. Yeah, I mean, as I said, I mean things
Speaker 4: have been changed because because the warfare has changed now right,
Speaker 4: so it's not so much nowadays. I think I think
Speaker 4: the selection crashure must have been changed. I don't follow
Speaker 4: at the moment. I mean, I'm not sure what it's
Speaker 4: like I mean, I suppose that this, you know, there's
Speaker 4: still there. I think the wage wise or the distance wise,
Speaker 4: I think there's new down to a little bit, you know,
Speaker 4: but I think, as I said, I mean, the warfare
Speaker 4: has changed, so they might not look into they're not
Speaker 4: they might not look in those cratera anymore, right, right,
Speaker 4: Whereas when I was in our time, there was there was, Yeah,
Speaker 4: there was so much. You know that that race that
Speaker 4: was the main race, the cutting waging going up, that
Speaker 4: was that was the most important race that they were
Speaker 4: looking before you get in the selection.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, and then tell us about you know, you
Speaker 2: get you get selected, you're one of the two hundred
Speaker 2: and thirty that gets picked up for that year.
Speaker 1: What was the training like to become a girka?
Speaker 2: I mean presumably after selection they trained you to be
Speaker 2: a soldier, right, yeah, So I mean what did I do? Yeah? What?
Speaker 5: Yeah?
Speaker 1: What was the training consist of?
Speaker 4: Oh? So it was I mean so basically I was
Speaker 4: a bit lucky because my one of my my auntie's
Speaker 4: husband it was x x gcause he recently retired from
Speaker 4: you know gcause and he so me and my other friend,
Speaker 4: we we had a training, We got training from him.
Speaker 4: So he he's the one who you know, you train
Speaker 4: us and did all the fitness, all the you know,
Speaker 4: running and you know, cutting weights and go up and
Speaker 4: on the hills. So I think I did about two
Speaker 4: three months of training before I before the fan selection.
Speaker 4: But it was quite you know, quite intense training, like
Speaker 4: I almost like every every day, every day. I mean, yeah,
Speaker 4: it's quite tough. If I if I, if I remember
Speaker 4: those days, I mean I can't surprise myself. How did
Speaker 4: I do?
Speaker 2: That?
Speaker 4: Was tough?
Speaker 2: Yeah, after after the selection course, after you were selected,
Speaker 2: what is the actual Girka training like where they're they're
Speaker 2: teaching you how to shoot a rifle and how to
Speaker 2: do all these soldiers tasks.
Speaker 4: So yeah, the gurgu Is Gurgus training are liter slightly
Speaker 4: different than to the British counterpart. It just we I
Speaker 4: think the other unit they do three four or four
Speaker 4: five five months training. We do nine months training almost
Speaker 4: a year. The reason for that is because from those
Speaker 4: nine months two months would be we learn English for
Speaker 4: two months. So because it's important because you have to
Speaker 4: work with you know, very surgyment or you know, because
Speaker 4: it's a Ritish army. You just can't you have to
Speaker 4: you know, you have to be speaking English and you
Speaker 4: know speaking well. So so two months if I remember, well,
Speaker 4: I think two months is English. And so if basically
Speaker 4: start with it's out with all you know, basic training life,
Speaker 4: you know, fitness or the fitness thing. And yeah, I
Speaker 4: think I think we started with indoor shooting first. I
Speaker 4: think I used to call sat or something it was.
Speaker 4: It's still a real gun, but it's just nothing comes
Speaker 4: out of it. Just you pointed the screen and just
Speaker 4: right right shows the target kind of thing. Ye. So yeah,
Speaker 4: that's that's how we started. And I think after a
Speaker 4: few months they they you know, they got some the
Speaker 4: real range and you know, yeah cool.
Speaker 2: And and how does the training progressed until like tactics
Speaker 2: and and getting you ready to do this job once
Speaker 2: you once you graduate.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean it's hardly wont but it is quite
Speaker 4: a long time. I mean the first the first impression
Speaker 4: of the first experience when I when we because when
Speaker 4: we got to the u K, it was a month
Speaker 4: of February beginning of February, uh and and the training
Speaker 4: center is in north of u K, which is the
Speaker 4: further north for the more cold cordated so so I
Speaker 4: remember we we we arrived he through it mid I
Speaker 4: think it was somewhere around evening, yeah, five six, And
Speaker 4: it took us about three four, four or five hours
Speaker 4: to get to the where I was training center was
Speaker 4: uh and it was the middle of the night, it
Speaker 4: was I think it was. I think it's one in
Speaker 4: the morning. And it was month of February. It was cold,
Speaker 4: it was Windy's horrendous. So whenever I think about my
Speaker 4: training days, I mean, I think about the weather is surrendous.
Speaker 4: I think I think they they they they put the
Speaker 4: training center in purpose because because of the all the training,
Speaker 4: I think, so yeah, that's how I remember my training
Speaker 4: in the first place. Very cold, you know. So yeah,
Speaker 4: I think all of all of my friends they are
Speaker 4: the same, aout same experience, very cold, and it's a
Speaker 4: very new thing because you are a new place, completely
Speaker 4: new place, you know, Mark, you know, thousands of miles
Speaker 4: away from your home. You know, some of us were
Speaker 4: really homesick as well, you know, I think I was.
Speaker 4: I was. I was pretty all right with the situation
Speaker 4: that I was in because being grew up, grew up
Speaker 4: in the military in one all the time, I was
Speaker 4: pretty okay with homesickness or or the military thing. And
Speaker 4: my father was he was really I would say, really
Speaker 4: really military men. And you know, he he he he
Speaker 4: brought us as a soldier as well. I mean, if
Speaker 4: you you know what I mean. Yeah, so it wasn't
Speaker 4: new for me. For me, but for the most of
Speaker 4: my my friends, they were they were it was pretty shocking,
Speaker 4: you know, change in their life when I started the training.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I have to ask you too as we talk
Speaker 2: about this about the knife, the blade that the gurkhas carried,
Speaker 2: the kokery, which is as I recall, it started off
Speaker 2: many years ago as an agricultural tool and then shifted
Speaker 2: into a combat tool. Could you tell us a little
Speaker 2: bit about this, I mean, is it ceremonial today or
Speaker 2: is it something that's still in use with the unit.
Speaker 1: If you could tell us a little bit about it
Speaker 1: and what it means to the Gurkas.
Speaker 4: Yeah, the cookery is is very unique to us as well.
Speaker 4: Obviously this the cookerd is weapon. Uh, it can be
Speaker 4: used for many things, you know, as a tool as well.
Speaker 4: I would say the cookery was more weapon on those
Speaker 4: days than now it is. I think now it's more ceremonial,
Speaker 4: but obviously it doesn't mean that you can't use it obviously,
Speaker 4: but I would say that the limited scenario. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 4: question that you were used in concrete. But yeah, but
Speaker 4: it's it's a it's a it's a have you seen
Speaker 4: the cookrete?
Speaker 5: Oh yeah, we have one?
Speaker 1: And yeah, I have a I have one I bought
Speaker 1: in Kathman. Do here in the office.
Speaker 3: Actually, you want to grab a jack and show it
Speaker 3: to people who haven't d Dmitri Wolf. It's funny because
Speaker 3: there wasn't like in twenty ten or twenty eleven, wasn't
Speaker 3: there a former Gurka in India on a train and
Speaker 3: the train was like overtaken by like thirty or forty
Speaker 3: robbers and he like killed like seven of.
Speaker 5: Them with a kukrie and chased the rest off. Do
Speaker 5: you remember?
Speaker 4: Yeah, the story that is true. That is true, and
Speaker 4: that guy was actually I think he was. I think
Speaker 4: he was leaving the service. I think he I think
Speaker 4: he died and he was going home and when it happened.
Speaker 4: But yeah, it's quite that guy must be.
Speaker 3: Yeah, so did you guys, you know, even though it
Speaker 3: was more ceremonial, did you still carry them in combat?
Speaker 5: Did you train with them? And training? Is that is
Speaker 5: it is there a like.
Speaker 3: Nepalese uh, martial art that incorporates that, like, how did
Speaker 3: the cookery become so synonymous with the google with.
Speaker 4: The yeah, concrete. So in the training, in the basic training,
Speaker 4: we we do have some some you know, some drills
Speaker 4: that goes with the cooks. We actually have a cookery drill.
Speaker 4: It's like a martial art moves with the cook and
Speaker 4: it's quite it's quite, it's quite nice to look at.
Speaker 1: I mean, for for for our viewers.
Speaker 2: I am not I'm not the expert. Khrushaw is the
Speaker 2: expert here on this. I am just a fan. And
Speaker 2: that that's what the blade looks like. For folks who
Speaker 2: are watching this.
Speaker 4: That's fantastic. This is this is This is a typical
Speaker 4: cook and I think the size is it is it's
Speaker 4: not perfect size. I mean, you don't want to carry
Speaker 4: too much, too too much.
Speaker 2: I was told I was told that this is a
Speaker 2: replica of what they carried in World War Two. The
Speaker 2: one they carry today is a little smaller.
Speaker 4: Uh. I think it's about about the same. I mean
Speaker 4: it depends on which regiment because if you see nepal
Speaker 4: Is it is divided into two regions. Eastern and west.
Speaker 4: So if you see Nepal map, map is a long
Speaker 4: map and you see east and west. So for the
Speaker 4: eastern region a little bit different cookery and the other
Speaker 4: you know, Western have a little bit different shape the eastern.
Speaker 4: If you if you see east, this is more like
Speaker 4: western shape. Eastern will be more thin and longer shape.
Speaker 4: But there were exact same yeah, so so yeah, yeah,
Speaker 4: talking about the training, so we do have what we
Speaker 4: call cookery drill. It's like a martial art moves with
Speaker 4: the cookery and you know you have to go wrong
Speaker 4: with it. But well we have to carry the cookery
Speaker 4: all the time, you know we're training or even you know,
Speaker 4: whenever you you go out with your you know k
Speaker 4: military kit, cooker goes goes with it.
Speaker 3: So yeah, yeah, it's it's fascinating. I mean it's it's
Speaker 3: a scary weapon for sure.
Speaker 4: Oh yeah, I mean it's it's quite i mean it's
Speaker 4: quite unique shape as well. The shape of that cookery
Speaker 4: is it's quite sharp and obviously you have to you
Speaker 4: have to use it properly because obviously I've seen it's
Speaker 4: quite funny that the the young British officers who come
Speaker 4: to cooky regimen and they when they use the cookies
Speaker 4: the first time, they obviously they don't know how to
Speaker 4: how to strike it. You have to strike it with angle,
Speaker 4: a little bit of angle and you know, sideways and
Speaker 4: if you can use it properly, it can it can
Speaker 4: chop anything, almost anything, and and and and in the circus.
Speaker 4: So it's a little bit different. It's it's a completely
Speaker 4: different than British Army obviously. And in the UK there
Speaker 4: are some rules and you know, there are some other
Speaker 4: things that you can't you know, you can't do things.
Speaker 4: You can't go with chop around animals, you know. But
Speaker 4: in Indian good because when when we do ceremonials, we
Speaker 4: we actually cut real animals. Yeah, and the ceremony Yeah,
Speaker 4: which is fine in India because it's they're not you know,
Speaker 4: it's completely different.
Speaker 5: Yeah, it was that. I mean, this is one of
Speaker 5: the rumors that I've heard. So you can confirm by
Speaker 5: is it a cow or a go?
Speaker 3: But but but like the idea is to be able
Speaker 3: to behead an animal with in a ceremony with one
Speaker 3: blow with with a kuker?
Speaker 5: Is that is that a myth? Or is that true?
Speaker 4: Uh? It's it's true. Okay, it's it's true. It's I mean, yeah,
Speaker 4: you have to have to do it in one blow,
Speaker 4: otherwise it considered as a bad luck to the regiment. Okay, uh,
Speaker 4: that's why the guy was chosen. Its generally big. Yeah.
Speaker 4: And the cookery is about it's quite a long cookery.
Speaker 4: I think it's about a meter long. Something like that.
Speaker 4: I've never seen. So. Yeah, when when I was younger
Speaker 4: and I was going up, was seen so many ceremonial
Speaker 4: It was quite scary as well because because the when
Speaker 4: when the guy you know, does that, there will be
Speaker 4: some uh some soldiers behind him with the rifle with
Speaker 4: the blank fire, goes, goes with the stripe, makes it
Speaker 4: quite even you know, scary.
Speaker 5: Interesting.
Speaker 3: So when when you enlist, because you mentioned that their
Speaker 3: their regiment or a regiment or regiments in India and
Speaker 3: then the regiment in uh England, British Army, the British Army.
Speaker 3: When you enlist you decide which regiment you want to
Speaker 3: go into. Do you decide if you're going to go
Speaker 3: to the India or the British Regiment or do they
Speaker 3: Does everybody train with the bridge and.
Speaker 5: Then go to India from there? Or how does that work.
Speaker 4: Oh no, it's it's it's completely different selection process. So
Speaker 4: so we have different selection center in the pub so
Speaker 4: it's completely different. So it's English Indian Google. They they
Speaker 4: are separate, so they have different selection criteria. I'm almost
Speaker 4: almost very different to each other. So they so in
Speaker 4: in an army, it's pretty much it's I think it's
Speaker 4: almost the same as other Indian regiments. So so yeah,
Speaker 4: whereas in British arm it's a good because that they're
Speaker 4: completely different than the British regiment, so a little bit different,
Speaker 4: I think I would say, I'm not saying because I'm
Speaker 4: I'm ex British arm me the selection of British Army
Speaker 4: selection is more a lot tougher. It's a lot tougher.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I imagine that pay.
Speaker 3: There's probably a difference in pay too, right in terms
Speaker 3: of like being part of the British Army versus being
Speaker 3: part of the Indian Army.
Speaker 4: I would say in terms of in their national GDP,
Speaker 4: Indians have paid quite a lot, okay, yeah, yeah, yeah,
Speaker 4: it used to be a little bit low those because
Speaker 4: my you don't tell me about my father was Indian,
Speaker 4: so I grew up in India, so so yeah, yeah,
Speaker 4: that's how that's how I or started. So yeah, I
Speaker 4: think in terms of GDP, the Indian as a whole,
Speaker 4: in Indian Army or you know, they're paid.
Speaker 5: Better, okay, and they do.
Speaker 3: They have to do that in order to remain competitive
Speaker 3: with the gurkers that are going to England.
Speaker 5: I guess.
Speaker 3: Again they probably had to increase the Indian Gurka pay
Speaker 3: in order to make it competitive. Otherwise everybody would want
Speaker 3: to go to into the British Army if if the
Speaker 3: pay was much better.
Speaker 4: Yes, no, I'm not too sure, but it just it's
Speaker 4: just the the to work completely different. I mean, although
Speaker 4: they are both are Kirkus agiment obviously, also because there
Speaker 4: are more more places in Indian because than British Army.
Speaker 4: In British Army, we only gets selected once in the year,
Speaker 4: whereas in Indian gurkause there will be every other month,
Speaker 4: the selection of build a month or in a few months.
Speaker 4: So because there are lots of regiment there, so there
Speaker 4: were more people, more more vacancies there.
Speaker 2: So you get to second Battalion of the Royal Gurkha Rifles.
Speaker 2: And I was, you know, doing a little bit of
Speaker 2: research before the show. I saw you did two tours
Speaker 2: to Afghanistan and it sounded like also you did a
Speaker 2: few years in BRUNEI. Can you start talking to us
Speaker 2: a little bit about like what it's like actually to
Speaker 2: be at Gurkha and to start getting on this deployment cycle.
Speaker 4: Yeah. Join in two thousand and two, after after finish
Speaker 4: finishing my basically training, I bench my regiment. Second. We
Speaker 4: we have two two infantry two infantry regiment good regiment
Speaker 4: first first World go g Raffle and the other one
Speaker 4: is second where I served and the both regiment they
Speaker 4: and this so one one station in UK and the
Speaker 4: other stage in Burrai and every three years we swapped
Speaker 4: each other every three years. So so when I so
Speaker 4: when I when I went to my regiment, it was
Speaker 4: in the UK at that time. I think it was
Speaker 4: next year two thousand and three, we so we moved
Speaker 4: to Burrai. And yeah, so bright Burnight is very different
Speaker 4: from the UK. You probably know it is. It's hot
Speaker 4: all the time, it's a it's a completely different uh environments.
Speaker 4: Like I think it was more of mostly for jungle training.
Speaker 4: I think in that aspect it's more of it's it's
Speaker 4: it's a yeah, it's a it's a proper jungle. It's
Speaker 4: if you're not comfortable with jungle environment, it's not for you.
Speaker 4: It's it's it's very very tough to know you get
Speaker 4: around Brunei jungle. So so I did three years in
Speaker 4: Bruni and came back. Actually when when Afghanistan for the
Speaker 4: first time in from Brunei within the two thousand and
Speaker 4: four I think, I think it was two thousand and four.
Speaker 4: I was only therefore two three months. It was somewhere
Speaker 4: in north of Afghanistan. It wasn't it wasn't like that
Speaker 4: at that time. It was almost like peace. It wasn't
Speaker 4: crazy like you know, although Paris later on. But that's
Speaker 4: that's why I post went to Afghansan for the first
Speaker 4: town and came back after three years from Brunei to
Speaker 4: u k H. I think it was two thousand, two
Speaker 4: thousand and eight. Uh, And that was Herrick nine used
Speaker 4: to call. We have different numbers for different headachy so
Speaker 4: Headrick nine. When we deployed my regiment got deployed to
Speaker 4: Affhatan at that time, it was it was committedly different obviously,
Speaker 4: this was it was more south of Afghanistan, Hellman Province,
Speaker 4: all the crazy places were there. We we were we
Speaker 4: were part of Commando Commando Brigade and we were attached
Speaker 4: to them and working alongside with them. And my my
Speaker 4: regiment was put a good place called Moussa Cola. That's
Speaker 4: well we're based and we were operating from that to
Speaker 4: smaller places, local places from there. I I was, I
Speaker 4: was actually a sniper Shane that time, a very new sniper.
Speaker 4: I think I only did my training but a year
Speaker 4: ago I went to the snipper platoon and when I
Speaker 4: was in Afghanistan, I think I was, I was, I
Speaker 4: was there. I was there for a month or so,
Speaker 4: not not long before my my injury. So I was
Speaker 4: with so my my sniper section was attached to a
Speaker 4: regiment called which was armored Armored Regiment. So so we
Speaker 4: were basically there to support them as as a fire
Speaker 4: fire support to them. So yeah, that that was my
Speaker 4: role and I've got it and I had it nine
Speaker 4: other night. Shall I tell you about my incident or yeah? Yeah? Yeah, So, so,
Speaker 4: as I told you, it had been only about a
Speaker 4: month or so. We were deployed in October, somewhere in October,
Speaker 4: I can't remember the date, uh, And it was fifteenth
Speaker 4: and November, so we we were so basically our our
Speaker 4: job job was to go there, clear the area and
Speaker 4: stay there hold the position for as long as possible.
Speaker 4: After a few days we were we were called back
Speaker 4: from that place to the to the to the main
Speaker 4: base camp and we hm so me and other friends.
Speaker 4: We were in the armored vehicle. So I think we
Speaker 4: were in the convay, but four or five armed vecan convey.
Speaker 4: I think we were the third or second conway was
Speaker 4: pretty strange and our our vehicle it drove over a
Speaker 4: big id. It just drove I think the back of
Speaker 4: the the vacant got hit by. It's a huge it
Speaker 4: was quite huge. It was so huge that tragically we
Speaker 4: we lost our friend. He was he was a good
Speaker 4: as well, and he was he was a very good
Speaker 4: friend of mine as well. Yeah, sadly we lost him
Speaker 4: straight away. And I because I was I was sitting
Speaker 4: so close to him, so I got most of the
Speaker 4: injuries after him, lost my legs below below my knees.
Speaker 4: I can remember everything. Actually I didn't pass up, so
Speaker 4: I remember everything about the incident.
Speaker 1: So I I.
Speaker 4: When I knew that we got hit, it just it
Speaker 4: gone dark, completely alive. It was so like I mean,
Speaker 4: it wasn't dark, but obviously in my mind it seemed
Speaker 4: quite dark, you know what I mean. And I i've
Speaker 4: us I started check my legs first, because I didn't
Speaker 4: feel any any pain at all. I started checked myself,
Speaker 4: you know. I started to check my hands, and my
Speaker 4: hands were right. My my bad was bleeding a little bit,
Speaker 4: you know. And as I looked down I'm trying to
Speaker 4: lift my leg, I saw my leg hanging and I
Speaker 4: checked the other leg that was hanging too, and that
Speaker 4: was pretty pretty tough to look at, having both legs,
Speaker 4: you know, got shattered. So we were quite lucky though,
Speaker 4: because we didn't have any follow up attack off of
Speaker 4: the blast. So and and we we had lots of
Speaker 4: medics in a group, so we so they got us,
Speaker 4: got us out from the vehicle, you know, trying to
Speaker 4: fix my legs, you know, you know, trying to wrap
Speaker 4: it off. It was quite bleeding. It was quite bleeding
Speaker 4: Buillian quite a lot actually, And I think after about
Speaker 4: for ten minutes or fifteen minutes, I started to feel pain.
Speaker 4: I think because I think my brain is start to
Speaker 4: you know, recognize what's what's going on, and then I
Speaker 4: started to feel pain emenseally. It was so much pain,
Speaker 4: and the medic gave me some painkiless, you know. And
Speaker 4: I think the most tough part of that incident is
Speaker 4: when they put a tony kit around my legs. I
Speaker 4: just can't forget that feeling. It was so painful. I
Speaker 4: think it was painful then, you know, the first my
Speaker 4: initial impact. It was just so much pain for just
Speaker 4: and I think they gave me another another morphine, a
Speaker 4: pain creer, and I think the pain started ease off,
Speaker 4: you know. And I asked ask the other guys. I mean,
Speaker 4: because I didn't see my friend who got killed. I
Speaker 4: didn't see him. I saw him, you know, make a
Speaker 4: little bit noise on bruction side. Obviously I didn't see
Speaker 4: him at all and asked him. I asked the other
Speaker 4: guys how he how he's doing, and they said he's
Speaker 4: he just didn't he didn't make it. That was quite
Speaker 4: tough when I when I had I was quite tough,
Speaker 4: but you know, crazy, it was crazy. And I think
Speaker 4: we we sat there for what forty five minutes or
Speaker 4: something before Sun came to pick us and we we
Speaker 4: all one to Cambast for the nic serjury. So I
Speaker 4: had another friend who was it wasn't much as much
Speaker 4: change as my He broke his legs, but he wasn't
Speaker 4: It wasn't bad as mine. And that was a There
Speaker 4: was a lady captain who was the commander of that
Speaker 4: vehicle as well, so she she lost her legs as well.
Speaker 4: So yeah, so all together we were we were four
Speaker 4: or five, including including my friend who got killed. So yeah,
Speaker 4: it was pretty tough when I remember when I remember
Speaker 4: back those those.
Speaker 2: Days and then you're going through a pretty long rehabilitation process,
Speaker 2: I have to imagine. And if I recall, right, you
Speaker 2: were also married during this time, Yeah, I was.
Speaker 4: I've been married for a year or so. I think
Speaker 4: that was album made in two thousand and seven and
Speaker 4: it was a year after that, so just just over
Speaker 4: the year married. For my wife was still she was
Speaker 4: still in the back home. So yeah, so when when
Speaker 4: they when they hear the news first time they were
Speaker 4: they've flown to the UK to see me spill. Yeah,
Speaker 4: it was it was quite long long recovery. Especially the
Speaker 4: first few months were really tough because I when I
Speaker 4: when I lost my legs, I mean they were infected
Speaker 4: as well, so I had to go through lots of
Speaker 4: lots of surgeries. I was. I was in the i
Speaker 4: c U for ten days to ten twelve days. I was.
Speaker 4: I'm completely ventilated at some point.
Speaker 5: Yeah, it was.
Speaker 4: It was crazy. I mean almost like it was like nightmare.
Speaker 4: I mean when I was in the hospital, but I
Speaker 4: felt like it was a nightmare. Every every day. You know,
Speaker 4: I could see my my dad and my wife. They
Speaker 4: they you know, came to see me. I saw them
Speaker 4: by my bed beside all the time. But I was
Speaker 4: I couldn't speak to them. It's I was too weak
Speaker 4: or you know, I was too much drowsy with all
Speaker 4: the medication that I had. Pretty crazy, I was. I
Speaker 4: think I was. I was in the hospital for a
Speaker 4: month or so. Uh and it was before the Christmas,
Speaker 4: so yeah, I was. It was pretty bad time, pretty
Speaker 4: bad time. Yeah.
Speaker 2: Were you at this point medically discharged from the gurkhas
Speaker 2: or do.
Speaker 1: They keep you on?
Speaker 2: I mean, what what is that process sort of like
Speaker 2: after you received some pretty serious injuries.
Speaker 4: Uh? Well, I was. I stayed for a while. Obviously,
Speaker 4: I didn't have much to do in the regiment because
Speaker 4: I was so young in my service, I didn't I
Speaker 4: didn't have obtain any any rank as well, so I
Speaker 4: was I was just I was just private, you know,
Speaker 4: so in that aspect, I didn't have, you know, must
Speaker 4: to do anything. And physically I was in it, I
Speaker 4: wasn't able to do anything. So but I spent about
Speaker 4: three four years before I got out.
Speaker 2: Wow, okay, yeah, but I think but most of the
Speaker 2: time I was, you know, I was you know, recovering
Speaker 2: or you know. I think it sounds like they took
Speaker 2: pretty good care of you.
Speaker 4: Then. Yeah, I would say, yeahouse, I think I need
Speaker 4: I needed uh emotional and I need emotional help.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you need to be around around your teammates.
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, I mean it's it's quite tough to think
Speaker 4: as well, because when you see yourself, you know, on
Speaker 4: your reality all the time, you know, and on the
Speaker 4: other hand, you see your friends doing there, you know,
Speaker 4: normal things that you you used to do. I mean,
Speaker 4: it was pretty tough to you know, tough to see
Speaker 4: and you know, not not be able to do it
Speaker 4: like them right now, right, But I was, I would
Speaker 4: say I was kind of like I was, you know, uh,
Speaker 4: I mean I felt really lucky as well, you know,
Speaker 4: to be to be alive, you know, and I from
Speaker 4: that expect you know, it kind of kind of balanced it,
Speaker 4: you know, I mean and emotionally wise.
Speaker 2: How uh I mean, I know, eventually, you know, and
Speaker 2: today you're now participating in athletics. What was the process
Speaker 2: like of being fitted for prosthesis and kind of like
Speaker 2: getting back up to where you are today?
Speaker 4: Uh? Yeah, I mean once I started to use my prosthetics,
Speaker 4: you know. I think I think when I when I
Speaker 4: got my prosthetic legs and when I started to get
Speaker 4: used to them, I think that's when I got where
Speaker 4: when I got my old confidence back, you know, whereas
Speaker 4: before before my before I got my prostetic I was,
Speaker 4: I was. I was on the wheelchair the time, you know,
Speaker 4: so it was quite tough though. I think it was
Speaker 4: about four five months after my incident. But but when
Speaker 4: I got my prosthetic bag and I got used to them,
Speaker 4: you know, and I got my strength back, you know,
Speaker 4: and I I really thought that I should do something
Speaker 4: for myself, you know, or even something for my family
Speaker 4: to to to to something to look forward, you know,
Speaker 4: rather than just be sorry for yourself, you know, because
Speaker 4: I was I was a sporty person before my injury. Anyway,
Speaker 4: I used to I used to do lots of sports.
Speaker 4: So I thought I should do something, you know, obviously
Speaker 4: you can't. I knew I could. I couldn't do anything
Speaker 4: similar to what I used to do, but obviously I
Speaker 4: had some ideas what can be done with prosthetics, you know,
Speaker 4: prosthetic legs like athletics, you know, because I saw because
Speaker 4: I saw some of the guys using those running blades
Speaker 4: and athletics before. So yeah, so I think it was
Speaker 4: twenty ten. I think when I first started using my
Speaker 4: running blades, I was quite tough to start. It was
Speaker 4: quite tough to you know, because it was completely new things.
Speaker 4: But once I got used to it, you know, used
Speaker 4: to that within balance, and I think I started, Yeah,
Speaker 4: I did really well on in my training days. So yeah,
Speaker 4: and I had a vision. I had had it, you know,
Speaker 4: And that time twenty twenty twelve Olympics were coming as well,
Speaker 4: so I had something to focus on, you know, But
Speaker 4: obviously that was I couldn't. I didn't didn't make to
Speaker 4: the team. That's a different story. But but when I
Speaker 4: when I started my clig training for tell I, I
Speaker 4: was aiming to get to the twenty twelve Olympics.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and you did end up participating in the Invictus Games.
Speaker 2: And winning a couple of medals.
Speaker 4: Right, Yes, that was something that you know, it was.
Speaker 4: It was one of the you know, greatest things about
Speaker 4: my my you know, achievement. I think I would say
Speaker 4: to be you know, to yeah, to be in the
Speaker 4: in RICTUS Games. Yeah. So yeah, because I couldn't get
Speaker 4: in the team in twenty twelve, So I was very
Speaker 4: disappointed about after after the you know Olympics, I didn't
Speaker 4: get into the team. Then I I didn't. I didn't
Speaker 4: stop training even after twenty twelve, so I kept turing.
Speaker 4: I captain training, I had a coach, I had a
Speaker 4: local coach and athletic stadium. I used to go there
Speaker 4: two three times a week, you know. Then there was
Speaker 4: an opportunity for me to go to US for Water
Speaker 4: Games in twenty thirteen, and I so I competed in
Speaker 4: the games. Yeah, and I won, yeah, a couple of
Speaker 4: gold medals there. So yeah, so my event was one hundred,
Speaker 4: one hundred and two hundred in the dash. I also
Speaker 4: took took part in sitting volleyball as well. So yeah,
Speaker 4: so that's how he started competitive aspect from World Games.
Speaker 4: Then the next the year after twenty fourteen, then Victor's
Speaker 4: games were introduced first time by Prince Harry and it
Speaker 4: was in London. All the venues were the same, exact
Speaker 4: same as twenty twelve Olympics, so it was pretty bonus,
Speaker 4: you know. They you know, obviously I had a disappointment
Speaker 4: from twenty twelves, but I had a chance to you know,
Speaker 4: compete in the exact same location, which is pretty cool.
Speaker 4: And that I think that year, the first year or
Speaker 4: the first you know in mictors games are really really
Speaker 4: big thing in twenty fourteen because because because it was
Speaker 4: you know, after twenty twelve, and obviously in those times
Speaker 4: because of the all the all the injuries from herick,
Speaker 4: you know, Afghanistan. I think the games are very famous
Speaker 4: because of that. Yeah.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And how did how did this sort of journey
Speaker 2: the next step for you? It sounds like getting into golf.
Speaker 2: How did that come about?
Speaker 4: Oh? Oh, so golf. I picked up golf in twenty
Speaker 4: fourteen as well, So yeah, someone in twenty fourteen. So
Speaker 4: golf is something that I never thought I would play.
Speaker 4: To be honest, I as I said, I was really
Speaker 4: really sporty person. But I think the golf is the
Speaker 4: only thing that I never played or I thought I
Speaker 4: would never play, didn't. I didn't like golf at all
Speaker 4: before my injury. But so in twenty twenty fourteen, so
Speaker 4: my my recovery recovery officer at that time, it was
Speaker 4: Captain he he he he.
Speaker 1: He did this.
Speaker 4: Injured Servicemen and Family Open Day or you know outing
Speaker 4: kind of like it's open day for injured servicemen and
Speaker 4: families and he he organized this thing in a golf
Speaker 4: multi activities place where the golf range was there. So
Speaker 4: that's that's where I first time I hit a golf
Speaker 4: boy on a golf rage. Me and other few friends
Speaker 4: and we loved since I think me and my two
Speaker 4: other amputy friend empathies Friend Day. We all studied that
Speaker 4: year twenty fourteen, the end of twenty fourteen. So yeah,
Speaker 4: that's that's how we started playing golf.
Speaker 1: And what is It's p x G.
Speaker 4: So so PHG. The full form is PGS Parsons Extreme Golf.
Speaker 4: It's basically an American, an American golf company started by
Speaker 4: someone called Bob Parson. He's he's you know x US marine,
Speaker 4: you know, a Vietnam veteran. So he started his company
Speaker 4: in twenty fourteen, I think. So this is very unique
Speaker 4: golf brand. You know, it's these these clubs are really
Speaker 4: designed differently that they made a little bit different than
Speaker 4: other you know, normal clubs, other other other brands, you
Speaker 4: know a little bit of expensive side as well, you know.
Speaker 4: But the good thing with PHG because of the owner
Speaker 4: is X military. He has this vision or this program
Speaker 4: called Heroes Program where all the military people or all
Speaker 4: the military people or I get disc on from it.
Speaker 4: And it's including the first responders, including nurses and teachers
Speaker 4: as well. So all these you know, men and women
Speaker 4: get disc on from. So so I'm I'm actually doing
Speaker 4: I'm actually ambassading this program. I wouldn't say I was. Yeah, people, people, people,
Speaker 4: you know, ask me if I am basting the bra
Speaker 4: it's not actually invested in the brand, But I'm actually
Speaker 4: invested in the program called Heroes Program. It's a little
Speaker 4: bit different.
Speaker 2: I would say, where can people go if they want
Speaker 2: to get involved in the program.
Speaker 4: Uh So they have website, you know that the the
Speaker 4: you know brand website PG dot com. Yeah, for for
Speaker 4: the for the for you, for the US customer. I
Speaker 4: think it's pretty straightforward. You can actually go go to
Speaker 4: their website and actually check everything and I think you
Speaker 4: can put your detail on it and you can tell
Speaker 4: that you Elizabeth for the disco or not, whereas in
Speaker 4: you UK it's a little bit different. I think you
Speaker 4: have to go, you have to go physically and show
Speaker 4: them ther ID card and everything to get discover. It's
Speaker 4: quite it's quite nice. Of the moment it's twenty percent
Speaker 4: of all the clubs and thirty percent or the other
Speaker 4: necessaries and the club. Uh, it's it's very nice.
Speaker 1: Do we have any questions? Pretty sure we do.
Speaker 5: I just I want to ask you because you know,
Speaker 5: you mentioned.
Speaker 3: That when when you first sort of lost your legs
Speaker 3: and you know you're in this situation and you were
Speaker 3: an athletic guy. You know you're you're an achiever, and
Speaker 3: you saw all your friends doing things that you couldn't
Speaker 3: do that I imagine that was a low time for you.
Speaker 3: And then you know, you get your prosthetics and you
Speaker 3: start to get involved in all these athletic events. How
Speaker 3: did your mindset change? Like what was the thing for
Speaker 3: you that says I'm going to do this, like I'm
Speaker 3: not going to let this define me. And what advice
Speaker 3: would you offer to other veterans or anybody who is
Speaker 3: in a similar situation.
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, I mean it was. It was pretty difficult,
Speaker 4: you know, because you were physically dumb and mentally dumb
Speaker 4: at the same time. It's quite it's quite easy to
Speaker 4: say for me now than you know it at the time,
Speaker 4: you know, actually do it, you know, but I would
Speaker 4: so when I when I was in that phase, you
Speaker 4: know where I was in, when I was in you know,
Speaker 4: a few months dumb, going to my recovery, I actually
Speaker 4: thought of my family as well. You know, I said
Speaker 4: to myself, you know, I have to do something for
Speaker 4: myself and to my family, you know, you know, because
Speaker 4: because I worked so hard, I trained so hard to
Speaker 4: get into the British Army. It's a it's a quite
Speaker 4: it's a big achievement for me or for any girl.
Speaker 4: Because and you when you got when you got injured,
Speaker 4: and when you when you lose your boath legs, it's
Speaker 4: it's it's a completely different you know, your life is
Speaker 4: upset down right, and it's a I would't say it's
Speaker 4: a great shame, but you you feel like it's a
Speaker 4: shame that this happened to you and you want to
Speaker 4: do something to get over this, you know, And luckily
Speaker 4: I had some you know, sports mentality to do something
Speaker 4: in that that feel, you know. So, yeah, that's that's
Speaker 4: how That's how I felt for the first time, and
Speaker 4: I said to myself, I should do something for myself
Speaker 4: and for family, you know, rather than just sitting around
Speaker 4: and you know, feel sorry for yourself. And I think
Speaker 4: things just added up. So it may not happen to everyone,
Speaker 4: but you know so I think everything came together once
Speaker 4: I started to do something, you know, I and I
Speaker 4: started to do well in athletics and I started to
Speaker 4: win medals, you know. So yeah, So would you say
Speaker 4: that the.
Speaker 3: Mental recovery almost followed? Like you were kind of feeling
Speaker 3: down both mentally and physically.
Speaker 5: Would you say that.
Speaker 3: Starting the sports and starting the activities helped your mental
Speaker 3: recovery Instead of like recovering mentally and then going, Okay,
Speaker 3: now I'm.
Speaker 5: Going to get out there and do it. It was
Speaker 5: like you just got out there and did it, and.
Speaker 3: Then you're like your emotional well being and everything caught
Speaker 3: up with that.
Speaker 4: Uh see, can we simultaneously Okay, they both have to click,
Speaker 4: you know. But you know, I was I was lucky
Speaker 4: enough to be on a great family with me. You know,
Speaker 4: my wife, my parents and everyone my regiment as well,
Speaker 4: you know, all my friends and families you know. So
Speaker 4: you know, so I mean so yeah, But obviously you
Speaker 4: have to be strong. You have to be really strong.
Speaker 4: And I think all the departments needs to click. But
Speaker 4: I would say that some people, I think they don't.
Speaker 4: They don't realize that how how much support you get from,
Speaker 4: you know, from all the agency or the all the places.
Speaker 4: Sometimes lacks of lack of knowledge as well, you know,
Speaker 4: people don't realize how much support you've got. And there
Speaker 4: are there are lots of different you know, organization where
Speaker 4: you can get help from. You know, do some stuff,
Speaker 4: you know, do some activities you know, and you know,
Speaker 4: meet new people, you know, get your confident back, you know.
Speaker 4: Uh like like game of golf, you know you it's
Speaker 4: I mean, I think because of the golf. I think,
Speaker 4: I because of the goal. I think I still see
Speaker 4: my older friends from from the military. And it's because
Speaker 4: the golf game is quite unique. You can play in
Speaker 4: a level of field, you know, regardless of your your
Speaker 4: your you know, disabilities or age or sex. You know,
Speaker 4: you can be a very good player or not so much,
Speaker 4: but you can still play in your handicap, you know,
Speaker 4: and compete, so which gives you gives you confidence back
Speaker 4: and yeah that's great.
Speaker 5: Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 3: So some questions from our audience solely thank you very much.
Speaker 3: Are some UK infantry units better than others? Example the
Speaker 3: Parachute Regiment and the Royal Marines? Oh boy, getting salty spicy?
Speaker 5: Yeah, what was it for me? Yeah, yeah, that's true. Okay, sly,
Speaker 5: thank you very much.
Speaker 3: If all UK infantuners were deployed to the Russo Ukraine War,
Speaker 3: how would they perform?
Speaker 5: Also would they work well with each other?
Speaker 4: We did good good, I mean I mean not in
Speaker 4: that position to you know, comment on this short but
Speaker 4: in my experience I think did good. But obviously it's
Speaker 4: it it's a bigger picture. I mean it's not something
Speaker 4: right say yeah.
Speaker 5: Can I can I ask you in terms of.
Speaker 3: How were the gurkhas treated by the rest of the
Speaker 3: British army because Westerners often have a tendency to discount
Speaker 3: foreign soldiers right from you know, countries that aren't that
Speaker 3: aren't Western.
Speaker 5: Did you experience that or did they receive you with
Speaker 5: like open arms?
Speaker 4: So when I when I joined, I would say, by
Speaker 4: the time I joined, I think it was more neutral.
Speaker 4: I think the mentality was more neutral, I think, but
Speaker 4: I've heard from my seniors, my senior Gause, you know,
Speaker 4: they had some experience, a little bit of you know
Speaker 4: and even you know, not not a fair kind of Yeah,
Speaker 4: there are some We had some issues in the past
Speaker 4: about the pension thing because the Gurkers were not given
Speaker 4: the you know, same pension as the British. So you know,
Speaker 4: it's it's just because you before ninety ninety seven we
Speaker 4: were we were stationed in Hong Kong, so that was
Speaker 4: our station, Gurkus stationed there. So so what what the
Speaker 4: British Army is saying that the people who served before
Speaker 4: I know seven the there their service were not camps
Speaker 4: one hundred percent for the to get the pension, so
Speaker 4: it won't one before I know and seven. So people
Speaker 4: who served, the Gurkers who served before, they're still fighting
Speaker 4: for their pension, to get full pension for all this
Speaker 4: service they did. So yeah, I mean, I as I said,
Speaker 4: I mean because in British Army it's a very unique regiment.
Speaker 4: Uh uh, it's some if it's if it's anything that
Speaker 4: I think we would treat a little bit different, but
Speaker 4: not in a bad way. I would say in a
Speaker 4: good way, because we almost even we are exact same
Speaker 4: British Army as as an other regiment. We we are
Speaker 4: almost as a special.
Speaker 5: Regiment, you know, like a command.
Speaker 4: Yes, not especially forcible. It's very unique and we we
Speaker 4: have a really what they say, because we have a
Speaker 4: very long history and very our forefather's They they done
Speaker 4: so much respect in the past and you know one
Speaker 4: so much gotta three awards, thirteen bases. Yeah, yeah, so yeah,
Speaker 4: very decorated regiments.
Speaker 3: So yeah, Can I ask you where do you think that,
Speaker 3: because obviously there is Jack and I have both heard it.
Speaker 3: You know, I think most members of the US military,
Speaker 3: at least the US Special operations community, have heard about
Speaker 3: the ferocity, the courage, and the combat prowess of the Gurkas.
Speaker 5: And like you said, thirteen Victoria crosses. You know that
Speaker 5: you have a storied.
Speaker 3: Past and and that includes you know, Afghanistan, the Gurka
Speaker 3: who fought off like forty Taliban was it or like
Speaker 3: it was like forty Taliban? Right? Where where does that
Speaker 3: come from? Is it just the nature of is that
Speaker 3: the Nepalese spirit?
Speaker 2: Is it?
Speaker 3: Is that the training you receive what makes Girkus there's
Speaker 3: fierce force that you know, I mean the box were about,
Speaker 3: like you have the storied past of these fierce fighters.
Speaker 5: Where does that come from or not? Not where does
Speaker 5: it come from? Because it's real? But what is it
Speaker 5: about the girkas that makes that true?
Speaker 4: Okay? I think it's a mixed level thing. I think so.
Speaker 4: I think it comes from the blood. I think it's
Speaker 4: just a gene I would say, in that police blood
Speaker 4: because I would say that because even if you if
Speaker 4: you see a civilian place or non you know, as
Speaker 4: a normal police person, when it when it comes to
Speaker 4: fighting or you know, to do anything, it just it
Speaker 4: just comes naturally.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 4: You know, you know that, you know, they get pumped
Speaker 4: up so quickly, you know what I mean in simple saying,
Speaker 4: So there's always the fighting spirit is always there. Yeah,
Speaker 4: even without the training.
Speaker 5: It's just a cultural thing.
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's just if I give you example, uh, and
Speaker 4: I'm not talking about soldiers or because I'm talking about
Speaker 4: this normal place, a bunch of guys. If you see
Speaker 4: so let's say, if you if you're going down the
Speaker 4: street and then in the night or anywhere, and if
Speaker 4: you see a guy in a place, guy getting beaten
Speaker 4: or getting bullied by someone else, there's one hundred chance
Speaker 4: that the other guys go and help him. And trying
Speaker 4: to fight without a guy without knowing that the place
Speaker 4: guy I was, I'll guarantee you. So that's that's that's
Speaker 4: the thing within the place. You know people. So uh
Speaker 4: and when we get when we get to their because
Speaker 4: we have a different training, I think we have a
Speaker 4: different vision. We we we were told that what's it
Speaker 4: what's it like to be the good? Because then we
Speaker 4: were taught we are different. Although we are British Army,
Speaker 4: you know, we have different regiment, we have different different moto.
Speaker 4: So we we we would train on top of that
Speaker 4: thing we would trained with because a little bit different
Speaker 4: than a regiment.
Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, sorry, thank you much.
Speaker 3: I'm gonna skip this question about the past right because
Speaker 3: I believe the Kushar has already answered that.
Speaker 5: Sorry, thank you. Is there a stigma if a gurka
Speaker 5: quits on a course?
Speaker 4: Well, what do you mean? Take love?
Speaker 3: Yeah, So if you guys are going through a tough
Speaker 3: phase of training and somebody has already a girka, if
Speaker 3: he quits that training because it's tough, is is it?
Speaker 5: Is there a stigma around that, Uh, not necessarily.
Speaker 4: You know, yeah, I mean there have been few. I
Speaker 4: mean there must have been cases, but people you know,
Speaker 4: didn't go through the training. I mean, I mean we
Speaker 4: went up for you know. Yeah, so so that you mean,
Speaker 4: like you said that any shame?
Speaker 3: Yeah, but not really no really no no, Sally, thank
Speaker 3: your match. Do Jack and Dave keep smoking and drinking
Speaker 3: since Rangers never quit. Yeah, yeah, nobody likes the quitter,
Speaker 3: right Sally, thank you. Uh what is the funniest moment
Speaker 3: in your career?
Speaker 4: Oh? Fun yet? Oh wow, there are lots of Actually
Speaker 4: I don't know, I would says golf. I think it
Speaker 4: was because when I started golf, I I was very
Speaker 4: new to this but I didn't know and nothing. I
Speaker 4: only went to the range first. And someone asked me
Speaker 4: if I played golf, and well, I started playing golf recently,
Speaker 4: and and I think that guy must have played all
Speaker 4: the time. He asked me what's my handicap? And I
Speaker 4: told him about my my my double. Honestly I did that,
Speaker 4: I said double. And I was quite annoyed as well,
Speaker 4: why did you ask me? And you know I was,
Speaker 4: I was a little bit annoyed now And he said,
Speaker 4: oh no, no, I was, you know, talking about your
Speaker 4: you know, golf and it's a system and okay, I
Speaker 4: didn't know anything about that. Sorry about that. I was
Speaker 4: so funny, it was that.
Speaker 5: Sally, thank you.
Speaker 3: Do you have any respect or sympathy for your former enemy?
Speaker 3: And do you think you would be like them if
Speaker 3: born in their shoes? Uh?
Speaker 4: Yeah, if I if I'm talking about the exact enemy.
Speaker 1: Did that to me?
Speaker 4: Did it to me? Is that some? Is it? I think? So?
Speaker 5: Yeah?
Speaker 3: Like you know, take the Taliban, I guess or or
Speaker 3: whomever in Afghanistan? Do you have any sympathy for them?
Speaker 3: Do you have any respect for them?
Speaker 4: What? Yes? Or no? I mean I praised them pay
Speaker 4: because they I mean, and you know, and yeah, it
Speaker 4: takes a lot of courage for them too, you know,
Speaker 4: because for them because they have nothing, they almost have nothing,
Speaker 4: you know compared to what we but we have, you know,
Speaker 4: as a you know, combat thing wise, you know, you
Speaker 4: have to be quite stupidly ready to you know, face
Speaker 4: the you know, the soldiers. But yeah, I don't know,
Speaker 4: I went obviously I can't say that I I forgive them,
Speaker 4: you know, because it was it wasn't like one to
Speaker 4: one combat, you know, right, that they were more like,
Speaker 4: you know, sit and hide somewhere and you know it's
Speaker 4: someone So it wasn't really it's not really commanded looking
Speaker 4: honest yet.
Speaker 5: Yeah, m Corbyn, thank you much. Did someone from the
Speaker 5: s A S.
Speaker 3: Really take out three ISIS fighters with a kukrite in
Speaker 3: twenty sixteen?
Speaker 4: Oh sure? Yeah?
Speaker 5: Do gurkas?
Speaker 4: Uh?
Speaker 3: Do gurkas ever go to s A S. Do they
Speaker 3: ever go to the Special Forces selection.
Speaker 4: That you know of? Yes? There are few, a few,
Speaker 4: good because I think some of us still serving a
Speaker 4: thing in SASA.
Speaker 1: There was that one dude, I think his name's Pims
Speaker 1: who went to the SBS.
Speaker 4: Oh yeah, names, yeah, names, thank you? Yeah yeah yeah yeah.
Speaker 4: I think he's the only one who went to SPS.
Speaker 4: The other others in SAS you can tell by his videos.
Speaker 4: And he's the one tough guy. Yeah names. But I
Speaker 4: know five or six guys from SAS. Yeah they yeah,
Speaker 4: they done really well. Yeah yeah. Uh.
Speaker 3: Luis Vascaez thank you very much. What's it like to
Speaker 3: compete on the Simpsons Cup team?
Speaker 4: Oh? Yes, yes, So. Simpson Cup is basically is a
Speaker 4: golf golf tournament between the US and UK veterans. It's
Speaker 4: like about the Cup. If you know golf, you know
Speaker 4: Writer Cup. So it's a match play against US and
Speaker 4: UK veterans. Thirteen thirteen players in each each team and
Speaker 4: his annual competition. So one one he held in US
Speaker 4: and the following year in the UK. So one year,
Speaker 4: you k one year US so so I I I
Speaker 4: competed in four or four Simpson Cups, including this year.
Speaker 4: It was held in New York shinokock Kill if you
Speaker 4: know you know shinokock Kill. So we we we tied,
Speaker 4: we tied, tied the cup. So we it was it
Speaker 4: was half but we we we retained the cup because
Speaker 4: we were previous champions, so we hit. Yeah, I mean
Speaker 4: it's it's one of the probably proudest moments, to be honest.
Speaker 4: I mean it's it's tough. It's it's quite tough to
Speaker 4: get in the team. Is that there are selection great
Speaker 4: as you know, you have to be searching a level
Speaker 4: of golfer to get in the get in the team
Speaker 4: in the first place. And yeah, as it's it's a
Speaker 4: very unique tournament and I'm really proud to be part
Speaker 4: of the and presenting team GB so Coushan.
Speaker 3: Now that you are you know, professional or semi professional
Speaker 3: golf player, and you do know what a golf handicap is.
Speaker 3: When people ask you what's your handicap? Do you still
Speaker 3: say double MPT just to see their reaction?
Speaker 4: No, I think, yeah, it's so well, I could say that.
Speaker 4: I mean, it's just I think I think I would. Yeah,
Speaker 4: I wouldn't want to say that now because I know
Speaker 4: it's it might not work. Yeah almost, I get like
Speaker 4: because the first time that happened, because I didn't know anything,
Speaker 4: it worked, so they took a joke. But I think
Speaker 4: when I say, I feel that it might not work
Speaker 4: this sleep so because I played quite well nowadays, like
Speaker 4: I'd rather tell them my handicap, not my physical handicap.
Speaker 4: So a play of eight eight point zero, so which
Speaker 4: I'm really proud of. So I kind of show off
Speaker 4: to say.
Speaker 3: That, Scotchy, thank you, Rach. What do you know about
Speaker 3: the GUR contingent in Singapore? Is the recruitment different since
Speaker 3: they are police and do you know what they do?
Speaker 4: It must be a the police guy. Okay, so I didn't.
Speaker 4: I did so. I didn't mention this earlier because I
Speaker 4: didn't want it to go through all the because because
Speaker 4: this is this is part of British Army. Well, it's
Speaker 4: not a part of British Army. It's uh so when
Speaker 4: when we get selected for British Army, so there will
Speaker 4: be some some places to get in which is called
Speaker 4: it's Singapore Police there I think they are well, they're not,
Speaker 4: they're not they're not military, they are police. But but
Speaker 4: the selection appreciated exactly the same. It's just by the
Speaker 4: end of the selection they so they will be Singapore Police,
Speaker 4: go single police and we are really charming and British.
Speaker 4: But that I support that training is different when they
Speaker 4: get into the police obviously because they're places that they're
Speaker 4: different and their role are completely different than ours.
Speaker 5: So yeah, and then RS thank you much.
Speaker 3: He says, I want to do this right, I owe
Speaker 3: Gorka Hali.
Speaker 4: Oh but you did pretty well.
Speaker 5: They what's the right way to say it?
Speaker 4: I am Gorky. It's it's it's an accent more than anything. Yeah,
Speaker 4: So I always coming or go Cali is Goka. So
Speaker 4: I think in a simple term that I say here
Speaker 4: comes to Gokak are coming. So this is this is
Speaker 4: this is a war cry. This is the war cry of.
Speaker 5: That's very cool.
Speaker 1: And do the.
Speaker 3: Are there any instruments associated with girk is on the march.
Speaker 4: So we have Goka band and we have Patua drums,
Speaker 4: pat jumps and we have our own some designated music
Speaker 4: goes with the page. Uh. And the other thing with
Speaker 4: the good regiment is the marching pace. You know, the
Speaker 4: pace of the march is quicker than other British contract
Speaker 4: I don't I don't want to be wrong here, but
Speaker 4: it's it's faster than you know, other other British in it.
Speaker 4: It's very quick. March pace is very quick.
Speaker 5: Interesting do you do we have anything on Patreon?
Speaker 1: Okay, okay, Kushaal, thank you for spending some of your
Speaker 1: evening with us.
Speaker 2: Is there anything that we didn't ask or anything that
Speaker 2: you want to promote or put out there and let
Speaker 2: people know about. Uh?
Speaker 4: So you know, I'm basically doing golf in nowadays more
Speaker 4: than anything. So yeah, so almost I'm almost promoting PhD
Speaker 4: you know, everywhere I go. So if you feel in
Speaker 4: the golf, you know, to reach out to pH g
Speaker 4: website and if you if you you know you can
Speaker 4: get discount. That's fun. If not, then still great clubs,
Speaker 4: you know, can you can go and have a try?
Speaker 4: You know, you might love them.
Speaker 5: Do you have a website for them?
Speaker 4: So it's PHG dot com Okay, PHG dot com and
Speaker 4: you'll you'll see everything there.
Speaker 3: And and where can people find you? Are you on
Speaker 3: social media or auh?
Speaker 4: Yeah? Yeah, shows me. I'm on Facebook and Instagram. Yeah.
Speaker 4: I don't really use them a lot, to be honest.
Speaker 4: And so I think I'm a for Instagram. I think
Speaker 4: I'm a blade runner. My ideas blade runner.
Speaker 3: So it's p x G dot com for the golf stuff, right,
Speaker 3: and then blade runner on Instagram on Instagram, Blade underschool Runner,
Speaker 3: Blade underscore Runner on Instagramkushal, thank you so much for
Speaker 3: sharing your story with us tonight.
Speaker 2: I really appreciate you coming on here and telling us
Speaker 2: all about this and sharing some of this history as
Speaker 2: well as your personal experiences too.
Speaker 4: Thank you so much, guys, thank check, thanks for letting
Speaker 4: me talk in the show. I'm sorry you find missed anything.
Speaker 4: I'll pump a little bit because late you did.
Speaker 1: You did great, and we can have you back anytime
Speaker 1: you want.
Speaker 2: And for our viewers out there, we'll be back on
Speaker 2: Friday with a ranger who did a documentary about rangers
Speaker 2: that I have to watch this week but we'll we'll
Speaker 2: have more on that Friday. Kushall again, thank you and
Speaker 2: check out our eyes On podcast our sister podcast, there's
Speaker 2: a link down the description, and consider joining our Patreon
Speaker 2: to support this channel and keep us going.
Speaker 1: Really appreciate it, guys. We will see you on Friday.
Speaker 4: Thanks so much, guys. Thank