We used to joke that the Ghurkas needed those knives in order to cut the enemy down to their size. They were very good natured and joked around a lot (sometimes using very dark humour to be honest) but there was no one more serious when it came to work. No one wanted to go one-on-one with them because it was a lost cause. If you look at the most serious dedicated martial arts student - you will probably not even come close to the seriousness and amount of time they dedicate to their training. It is a matter of pride at home. Did you know that while an ex-SF soldier makes 10,000-30,000/mth in Iraq as a private contractor the Ghurkas on average earn 1,000? of course that 1,000 translates to a lot more than what the SF soldier makes when it is taken home to Nepal. I think it was around 70:1 the last I checked so they were taking home 70,000 for every 1,000 American (they were paid in dollars or sterling, not rupees - their choice). At least those employed by the same contractors my ex worked for anyway when he provided security to the Ambassador in Iraq. This was more than a year ago now though. I had some wonderful food made by them once - a sortof dumpling and rice and meat dish but it was absolutely delicious.



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>>I met a few Ghurkas myself over the years. I trained with them at military bases here in the U.S. (Fort Polk, LA does joint ops training with them in mock cities there and they do training in Montana as well) and met them 'on the job' overseas. Nothing like them in my opinion. I'd never want to be on the opposing force!
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>And reputedly never will you meet a more pleasant, polite and well-behaved body of men. They are loved by the locals where they are barracked in England. Once saw a docu on British Army recruitment in Nepal. Thousands apply for just scores of posts. Getting the job can mean the difference between destitution for their families, or life-long security with pension
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>>>British Army!
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>>>My uncle used to tell me tales of the Gurkhas and their cookery knives.
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>>>I know - it kukri - just having a little jibe at your previous spelling :-)
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>>>The tale is that they're not allowed to unsheath them without drawing blood. So the knives have a wee nick near the haft such that they can give themselves a wee scratch on the heel of the hand when drawing them, if they're not to be used against someone else. Don't know how true that is but it makes a good, romantic and scary tale.
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>>>During the Falklands War it's held that the Argentines were most scared of the prospect of facing the G's who were called to action there.
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>>>Sometimes the G's also do guard duty at Buckingham Palace, in place of the Guards regiments