British Gurkhas Nepal
Encyclopedia
British Gurkhas Nepal is an administrative organisation of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

 that forms part of the Brigade of Gurkhas
Brigade of Gurkhas
The Brigade of Gurkhas is the collective term for units of the current British Army that are composed of Nepalese soldiers. The brigade, which is 3,640 strong, draws its heritage from Gurkha units that originally served in the British Indian Army prior to Indian independence, and prior to that of...

. The mission of BGN is to organise and facilitate the recruitment, transit and welfare of Gurkhas recruited into the British Army, to ensure that all Gurkha units are manned fully and to maintain communication with Gurkha units stationed around the world.

BGN falls under the direct command of HQ 4th Division
4th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)
The 4th Infantry Division is a regular British Army division with a long history having been present at the Peninsular War the Crimean War , the First World War , and during the Second World War.- Napoleonic Wars :...

 in Aldershot
Aldershot
Aldershot is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located on heathland about southwest of London. The town is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council...

. BGN is commanded by a full colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

, who also serves as the defence attaché
Attaché
Attaché is a French term in diplomacy referring to a person who is assigned to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency...

 at the British Embassy in Kathmandu, and operates from three locations within Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...

:
  • Kathmandu - the capital of Nepal is the location both of Headquarters British Gurkhas Nepal and the Kathmandu station, which is the focal point for organisation of transit to and from Nepal, the welfare of serving soldiers and payment of pensions.
  • Lalitpur - Pokhara is the main recruitment centre, where the annual selection course is run. Pokhara is also the location of the main pension records and houses the headquarters of the Gurkha Welfare Scheme.
  • Bhaktapur
    Bhaktapur
    Bhaktapur , also Bhadgaon or Khwopa is an ancient Newar town in the east corner of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. It is located in Bhaktapur District in the Bagmati Zone...

     - Dharan is a small station intended to assist BGN operations in eastern Nepal. It is used primarily as a movement base and regional recruiting centre.


BGN's most important function is the annual recruitment process. Every year, a total of 294 men are selected following the rigorous selection process that is run from the camp at Pokhara. Of these, 230 join the British Army, while the remaining 64 join the Gurkha Contingent
Gurkha Contingent
The Gurkha Contingent is a line department of the Singapore Police Force. Members of the GC are trained to be highly-skilled and are selected for their display of strong discipline and dedication in their tasks...

 of the Singapore Police Force
Singapore Police Force
The Singapore Police Force is the main agency tasked with maintaining law and order in the city-state. Formerly known as the Republic of Singapore Police , it has grown from an 11-man organisation to a 38,587 strong force...

.

BGN also facilitates transit, both to and from Nepal, of recruits, serving soldiers on leave and their families. Under the Gurkha Married Accompied Service (GMAS) policy, all married serving Gurkha soldiers with three years or more service can be accompanied by their families to their posting, whether in the UK or Brunei
Brunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...

. BGN has responsibility for arranging the call forward of Gurkha families under this scheme, and for organising flights to and from a posting.

Each site has a pensions officer who has responsibility for organising the payment of pensions, while welfare for serving soldiers is run centrally from Kathmandu, with a number of Area Welfare Centres in other locations. Welfare for ex-servicemen is the responsibility of the Gurkha Welfare Service, an arm of the UK based Gurkha Welfare Trust
Gurkha Welfare Trust
The Gurkha Welfare Trust is a British charity, established in 1969. It is the principal UK charity dedicated to the provision of aid to Gurkha ex-servicemen and their dependents in their homeland of Nepal....

, which is based at Pokhara. The GWS is responsible for the distribution of both individual welfare through distribution of pensions and grants to ex-servicemen and widows, and communal welfare through provision of infrastructure projects.
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