BritLad
Forum Newcomer
The first Gurkha soldier to be killed fighting in Afghanistan was named today as Yubraj Rai. The 28-year-old, from the 2nd Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles, died on Tuesday in the Musa Qala area of southern Afghanistan when his patrol came under attack.
Rifleman Rai, from eastern Nepal, was the first Gurkha soldier to be killed in fighting since 1999, the Ministry of Defence said. Thousands of British Army Gurkhas have served in Iraq and Afghanistan in recent years, but this is the first time a Nepalese Gurkha soldier has died from direct fire in either conflict.
The latest death comes just over a month after a High Court judge overturned a Government policy preventing 2,000 Gurkha war heroes from living in Britain because they had retired before July 1, 1997.
Historically, all Gurkhas were forced to return to Nepal when they retired from the Army, on a pension a fraction of that of their British counterparts.
The Government changed the law to allow those who retired after 1997 to remain in the UK on a full pension, but those who retired before then had to apply for a visa, and were usually rejected.
Nice looking lad :sm (61):
Rifleman Rai, from eastern Nepal, was the first Gurkha soldier to be killed in fighting since 1999, the Ministry of Defence said. Thousands of British Army Gurkhas have served in Iraq and Afghanistan in recent years, but this is the first time a Nepalese Gurkha soldier has died from direct fire in either conflict.
The latest death comes just over a month after a High Court judge overturned a Government policy preventing 2,000 Gurkha war heroes from living in Britain because they had retired before July 1, 1997.
Historically, all Gurkhas were forced to return to Nepal when they retired from the Army, on a pension a fraction of that of their British counterparts.
The Government changed the law to allow those who retired after 1997 to remain in the UK on a full pension, but those who retired before then had to apply for a visa, and were usually rejected.
Nice looking lad :sm (61):
