Королевские гуркхские стрелки: полк британской армии

Infantry regiment of the British Army

The Royal Gurkha Rifles (RGR) is a rifle regiment of the British Army, forming part of the Brigade of Gurkhas. Unlike other regiments in the British Army, RGR soldiers are recruited from Nepal, which is neither a dependent territory of the United Kingdom nor a member of the Commonwealth.

The first battalion (1 RGR) is based at the British garrison in Brunei as part of Britain's commitment to maintaining a military presence in Southeast Asia. The second battalion (2 RGR) is based at Sir John Moore Barracks, Shorncliffe, near Folkestone in Kent as part of 16 Air Assault Brigade, and is available for deployment to most areas in Europe and Africa. Coriano Company and Falklands Company operate as part of the Army Special Operations Brigade providing training, mentoring and operational support for indigenous forces in partner nations, and is based in Aldershot Garrison.

Prior to 2011, administrative support for the entire Brigade of Gurkhas was provided by specially trained personnel called Gurkha clerks, who wore the cap badge of the Royal Gurkha Rifles. In June 2011, the Gurkha clerks were amalgamated into a single company sized unit called the Gurkha Staff and Personnel Support Company (GSPS), which was incorporated as part of the Adjutant General's Corps. As with the other Gurkha support units (Queen's Gurkha Engineers, Queen's Gurkha Signals, Queen's Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment), the GSPS received its own cap badge based on the badge of its parent corps.

Upon joining the British Army the RGR's predecessor regiments adopted British rank titles (e. g. sergeant and corporal) instead of the Indian Army names used before (e. g. havildar and naik). Similarly, the regiments' Viceroy Commissioned Officers, who were neither commissioned officers nor non commissioned officers but filled most of the junior officer positions in a battalion, had their titles changed to (King's) Queen's Gurkha Officer (QGO), e. g. lieutenant (QGO), captain (QGO), major (QGO) instead of the Indian Army ranks of jemadar, subedar, and subedar major. At the same time, some RGR Gurkha officers had a Queen's Commission; they often had a (GCO) suffix after their rank. Subsequently, on 17 June 2008, the London Gazette published a Supplement that effectively abolished the QGO system by listing every serving QGO officer with their new commissioned rank (e. g. captain (QGO) became captain); the (QGO) and (GCO) suffixes disappeared. Thus, serving Gurkhas, who previously would have become QGO, are now given a British commission and described as "Late Entry." Direct entry officers can be either British or Nepali (occasionally); they follow the normal British Army training for all direct entry infantry officers. A significant addition to the normal direct entry training for British RGR officers is that they will carry out Nepali language training in Nepal, which culminates in a month long hike through the Nepalese countryside both to practise their language skills and learn about the country from which their soldiers are recruited.

Corporal Dip Prasad Pun of the 1st battalion (1 RGR) was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross for an act of bravery during the War in Afghanistan in 2010. He alone defended his outpost against a force of up to 12 Taliban fighters. He fired more than 400 rounds, 17 grenades, and one mine. He resorted to fighting with his machine gun tripod after his ammunition had run out.