-
The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
- Joined
- Mar 5, 1999
- Messages
- 34,096
He's got to be a doctor or pharmacist.
------------------
Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
http://members.aol.com/himimp/index.html
------------------
Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
http://members.aol.com/himimp/index.html
We'd need to send them some of your medication, Rusty. Can't you see 'em over in Nepal, anxiously awaiting the delivery of a new shipment of "Rusty's specials?" (And in return they send us Rusty Specials?
(Ducking, covering, and filling in the hole)
Tom
(Ducking, covering, and filling in the hole)
Tom
"you manage the ultimate coup: you find a way to sneak under Uncle Bill's bed to check out his personal khukuri collection."
Harry
Harry
- Joined
- Mar 5, 1999
- Messages
- 34,096
John Powell tried his best to talk me out of the ivory handled model with the nine little tools but no deal. That knife really should be in a museum rather than feeding the dust bunnies under my bed. Someday it will be.
------------------
Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
http://members.aol.com/himimp/index.html
------------------
Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
http://members.aol.com/himimp/index.html
Man! I haven't been able to get more than a glimpse on the forum for the last few weeks, and I seem to be missing a lot of interesting discussions
These posts are really funny!
Rusty, re: your question sometime ago on the organization of a Gorkha unit, here it is as I know it. Of course, like Uncle Bill said, it's been a while since I last spent time amongst them, but checking up some sources, there doesn't seem to have been too many changes. Again, this is Indian Army Gorkhas, not the British Army. (let me warn here that I tend to get long-winded at times, so if military stuff bore you, you might consider skipping this post
)
Section = 10 Riflemen, commanded by 1 Naik (corporal)
Platoon = 3 Sections, commanded by Subedar (JCO - will come to this later)
Company = 3 Platoons, commanded by Major & Coy HQ
Battalion = 4 Rifle Companies, commanded by Colonel, Lt. Col is 2IC (second-in-command) + Support Company (MGs, Mortar platoon, pioneer platoon, sniper section, etc.) + HQ Company (cooks, clerks, transport, etc.); making a grand total of about 750 - 800 personnel per Battalion.
Each Battalion belongs to a certain specific Regiment and follows the traditions, norms, etc. of that Regiment. There are 7 Gorkha Regiments in the Indian Army, the 1st Gorkha Rifles with 5 battalions (1/1 GR, 2/1 GR, etc.), the 3rd Gorkha Rilfes with 5 battalions, the 4th Gorkha Rifles with 6 battalions, the 5th Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force) with 6 battalions, the 8th Gorkha Rifles with 6 battalions, the 9th Gorkha Riles with 6 battalions, and the 11th Gorkha Rifles with 7 battalions. You might've noticed that the regiments skip some numbers, that's because those were the regiments that the British took with them after Indian independence in 1947 (the 2nd, 6th, 7th and 10th - which sadly no longer exist, all having been amalgamated into a greatly reduced "Royal Gurkha Rifles").
The 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 8th Gorkha Rifles recruits predominantly from Gurung and Magar tribes of western Nepal, the 9th recruits primarily high-caste Chettri and Bahun, and the 11th recruits primarily from Rai and Limbu tribes of western Nepal. Gorkhas are also recruited in large numbers in the Assam Rifles and the Naga Regiment.
The ranks in a Gorkha battalion are roughly:
Rifleman
Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs):
Lance-Naik (L/Cpl) - (one stripe on right arm, if I remember correctly. The other arm bears the insignia of the Division to which the battalion is serving with)
Naik (Corporal) - (two stripes)
Havildar (Sergeant) - three stripes
Havildar-Major (Sergeant-Major) - (three stripes with an Ashoka Lion on top).
There are a couple of other ranks in between that I'm not too sure about - Company Havildar-Major, Battalion Havildar-Major, etc. - I know some of them wear an additional insignia in the form of a leather bracelet with an Ashoka-Lion, not sure of the details, though.
Junior-Commissioned Officers (JCOs):
This layer of ranks used to be called the Viceroy's Commissioned Officers (VCOs) in the British days. They are picked from the NCO ranks - in other words, you don't get commissioned automatically as a JCO, you have to pay your dues in the ranks. In the old days (and even nowadays) they served as a vital link between the officers and the troops (both coming from such different backgrounds, I guess they needed old hands around to make things run properly). They wear rank badges similar to commissioned officers (except with an additional yellow-reb strip of ribbon on the epaulettes just above the regimental insignia) and are accorded a lot of the same respect.
Naib-Subedar (one star on shoulder epaulette)
Subedar (two-stars)
Subedar-Major (Ashoka-Lion). The SM is one of the most important figures in the battalion, having had the longest service, many times longer than the Colonel's, and is his close confidant in many matters ranging from Regimental and Gorkha customs and traditions, to training, to welfare of the troops, etc.
Commissioned Officers (in this case, mostly Indian, and there is stiff competition among the officer candidates to get a commission in the Gorkhas) - they're more or less the same as in the British Army:
2 Lt. - one star
Lt. - two star
Captain - three stars
Major - Ashoka Lion
Lt. Col (2IC) - Ashoka Lion and one star (nickname "Lamb" - since in case of any trouble from higher-ups he's the first one to be "offered for sacrifice"
)
Colonel (CO) - Ashoka Lion and two stars, with red tabs on the collar and a red band on his Gorkha-hat (nickname "Tiger" for obvious reasons)
Whew! There you go ... better stop here before I bore too many people
- Sonam
[This message has been edited by gtkguy (edited 21 October 1999).]
These posts are really funny!
Rusty, re: your question sometime ago on the organization of a Gorkha unit, here it is as I know it. Of course, like Uncle Bill said, it's been a while since I last spent time amongst them, but checking up some sources, there doesn't seem to have been too many changes. Again, this is Indian Army Gorkhas, not the British Army. (let me warn here that I tend to get long-winded at times, so if military stuff bore you, you might consider skipping this post
Section = 10 Riflemen, commanded by 1 Naik (corporal)
Platoon = 3 Sections, commanded by Subedar (JCO - will come to this later)
Company = 3 Platoons, commanded by Major & Coy HQ
Battalion = 4 Rifle Companies, commanded by Colonel, Lt. Col is 2IC (second-in-command) + Support Company (MGs, Mortar platoon, pioneer platoon, sniper section, etc.) + HQ Company (cooks, clerks, transport, etc.); making a grand total of about 750 - 800 personnel per Battalion.
Each Battalion belongs to a certain specific Regiment and follows the traditions, norms, etc. of that Regiment. There are 7 Gorkha Regiments in the Indian Army, the 1st Gorkha Rifles with 5 battalions (1/1 GR, 2/1 GR, etc.), the 3rd Gorkha Rilfes with 5 battalions, the 4th Gorkha Rifles with 6 battalions, the 5th Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force) with 6 battalions, the 8th Gorkha Rifles with 6 battalions, the 9th Gorkha Riles with 6 battalions, and the 11th Gorkha Rifles with 7 battalions. You might've noticed that the regiments skip some numbers, that's because those were the regiments that the British took with them after Indian independence in 1947 (the 2nd, 6th, 7th and 10th - which sadly no longer exist, all having been amalgamated into a greatly reduced "Royal Gurkha Rifles").
The 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 8th Gorkha Rifles recruits predominantly from Gurung and Magar tribes of western Nepal, the 9th recruits primarily high-caste Chettri and Bahun, and the 11th recruits primarily from Rai and Limbu tribes of western Nepal. Gorkhas are also recruited in large numbers in the Assam Rifles and the Naga Regiment.
The ranks in a Gorkha battalion are roughly:
Rifleman
Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs):
Lance-Naik (L/Cpl) - (one stripe on right arm, if I remember correctly. The other arm bears the insignia of the Division to which the battalion is serving with)
Naik (Corporal) - (two stripes)
Havildar (Sergeant) - three stripes
Havildar-Major (Sergeant-Major) - (three stripes with an Ashoka Lion on top).
There are a couple of other ranks in between that I'm not too sure about - Company Havildar-Major, Battalion Havildar-Major, etc. - I know some of them wear an additional insignia in the form of a leather bracelet with an Ashoka-Lion, not sure of the details, though.
Junior-Commissioned Officers (JCOs):
This layer of ranks used to be called the Viceroy's Commissioned Officers (VCOs) in the British days. They are picked from the NCO ranks - in other words, you don't get commissioned automatically as a JCO, you have to pay your dues in the ranks. In the old days (and even nowadays) they served as a vital link between the officers and the troops (both coming from such different backgrounds, I guess they needed old hands around to make things run properly). They wear rank badges similar to commissioned officers (except with an additional yellow-reb strip of ribbon on the epaulettes just above the regimental insignia) and are accorded a lot of the same respect.
Naib-Subedar (one star on shoulder epaulette)
Subedar (two-stars)
Subedar-Major (Ashoka-Lion). The SM is one of the most important figures in the battalion, having had the longest service, many times longer than the Colonel's, and is his close confidant in many matters ranging from Regimental and Gorkha customs and traditions, to training, to welfare of the troops, etc.
Commissioned Officers (in this case, mostly Indian, and there is stiff competition among the officer candidates to get a commission in the Gorkhas) - they're more or less the same as in the British Army:
2 Lt. - one star
Lt. - two star
Captain - three stars
Major - Ashoka Lion
Lt. Col (2IC) - Ashoka Lion and one star (nickname "Lamb" - since in case of any trouble from higher-ups he's the first one to be "offered for sacrifice"
Colonel (CO) - Ashoka Lion and two stars, with red tabs on the collar and a red band on his Gorkha-hat (nickname "Tiger" for obvious reasons)
Whew! There you go ... better stop here before I bore too many people
- Sonam
[This message has been edited by gtkguy (edited 21 October 1999).]
- Joined
- Mar 5, 1999
- Messages
- 34,096
Bhanis, thanks a million for this information. Pala tried to explain it all to me but our communications don't quite cut it.
And, he hasn't served for more than 40 years so he may be outdated, too. Things change.
Great info and, again, many thanks.
------------------
Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
http://members.aol.com/himimp/index.html
And, he hasn't served for more than 40 years so he may be outdated, too. Things change.
Great info and, again, many thanks.
------------------
Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
http://members.aol.com/himimp/index.html
Hmmmmm..... 750-800 men in one Gorkha regiment. Rusty, methinks we have a ways to go before we're individually able to equip one regiment, but, looks like you'll be able to easily equip 2 platoons.
Harry
"Everyone has the democratic right to be wrong."
[This message has been edited by Kozak (edited 21 October 1999).]
Harry
"Everyone has the democratic right to be wrong."
[This message has been edited by Kozak (edited 21 October 1999).]
- Joined
- Mar 5, 1999
- Messages
- 34,096
Rusty, don't feel like the Lone Ranger. I post in the wrong threads, too.
------------------
Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
http://members.aol.com/himimp/index.html
------------------
Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
http://members.aol.com/himimp/index.html