The Queen’s Gurkha Engineers

The Queen’s Gurkha Engineers

The short history of Gurkha Commando Sappers began in 1996 when the first Gurkha Sapper passed the arduous All Arms Commando Course and received the coveted Green Beret - the hallmark of all Commando- trained soldiers. Since then, more and more Gurkha Sappers have earned their green beret and the ranks of The Queen’s Gurkhas Engineers ‘dagger wallah’ have grown to almost 80 and continue to increase. Gurkha Commando Sappers have now been a permanent feature of 24 Commando Engineer Regiment based at Royal Marine Barracks Chivenor for over five years, serving with distinction on three separate operational tours and several other overseas deployments with Commando Forces. In 2006 QGE was asked to send a section of commando trained Gurkhas to serve within 59 Independent Commando Engineer Squadron in support of 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines (3 Cdo Bde RM). The Section arrived in North Devon and almost immediately deployed to Norway for winter warfare training inside the Arctic Circle. The entire Section performed well on what is regarded to be an extremely arduous course in tough conditions and quickly settled in amongst their new colleagues from both the British Army and the Royal Marines. Exciting new training opportunities such as this, combined with operational deployments to Afghanistan as part of 3 Cdo Bde RM, proved to be highly attractive and there was a sharp increase in the number of QGE Sappers volunteering to serve with Commando forces. At the time of writing there are currently over 30 QGE Commando Sappers based in RMB Chivenor. Since the formation of 24 Commando Engineer Regiment in late 2007, Gurkha Commando Sappers have deployed across the globe providing engineer support to 3 Cdo Bde, including Norway, Canada, Belize and the USA. Importantly a QGE Commando toli has also served on three extremely demanding operational tours of Afghanistan on Ops HERRICK 5, 9 and 14 r espectively. Our experiences on each of these three tours have been very different. Op HERRICK 5 was highly ‘kinetic’ with sappers providing ‘full on’ close combat support alongside their Royal Marine colleagues. Sappers frequently ‘went noisy’ with Explosives Method of Entry (EMOE), using bar mines to gain access to Afghan compounds, which is now known as Assault Breaching (AB). We operated deep inside insurgents’strongholds and fought through to deny, destroy and neutralize their network, command structure, Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and weapon caches. Gurkha Commando Sappers - Operations in a Multi-National Environment By SSgt Khadka Gurung and Sgt Sanjay Thapa The tempo on Op HERRICK 9 was equally intense and QGE Commando Sappers provided exceptional close engineer support enabling the Brigade to live, fight and move. After several ‘close calls’ the intensity of HERRICK 9 was brought home to all when, unfortunately, two members of the Regiment sustained life-changing injuries although both have since recovered well. In recognition of their outstanding performance and distinguished service in Afghanistan throughout Op HERRICK 9 the following QGE personnel were presented with operational awards: • Corporal Mohan Thapa - Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Service (QCVS) • Staff Sergeant Khadka bahadur Gurung – Commander Brit ish Forces Afghanistan (COMD BRITFOR) Commendation.

• Corporal Bhabendra Moktan (now SSgt Clerks of Works RE) - Commander Brit ish Forces Afghanistan (COMD BRITFOR) Commendation. In 2009, in preparation for deployment on Op HERRICK 14, the Brigade deployed to the United States of America on Ex AURIGA; a combined amphibious exercise alongside the US Marine Corps based in Camp Lejeune, South Carolina. QGE Commando Sappers trained alongside Combat Engineers from the US Marines, many of whom would be based in the Upper Gereshk Valley (UGV), in and around the town of Sangin throughout the summer of 2011. On Op HERRICK 14, 24 Commando Engineer Regiment provided the nucleus of the Task Force Helmand Engineer Group operating in support of 3 Commando Brigade across central Helmand. Alongside additional Field Squadrons from 32 Engineer Regiment, 24 Commando Engineer Regiment provided engineer support to both 42 and 45 Commandos RM respectively in the Nad-e-Ali district of Helmand Province. Op HERRICK 14 was notably different from both

HERRICK 5 and HERRICK 9; the Area of Operations (AO) had changed dramatically with the Task Force now focused upon holding the more populated areas of central Helmand with US forces having assumed responsibility for the UGV. Generally the AO was, in parts, less ‘kinetic’ than previous tours and the focus of the entire Task Force was now very much on securing the support of the civilian Afghan population. The Brigade Commander summed this up very neatly in his mantra for HERRICK 14; “People first, insurgent second”. The days of bar-mining through Afghan compounds were well and truly over and every action taken by the Task Force had to be assessed in terms of the potential collateral damage on the civilian population. The Afghans became the focus of our efforts with the insurgent a close second. This is not to say the tour was any easier than previous deployments; if anything it became even harder to meet the insurgent on the battlefield whilst keeping our focus firmly on the civilian population - a true test of courage, professionalism and moral conviction for any soldier. Thankfully the Regiment and the QGE contingent returned home safely at the end of September 2011 after seven months of hard but ultimately successful work in Afghanistan where once again the combination of Gurkha and Commando ethos had proven to be unstoppable on the battlefield. Despite not serving together as a Commando Troop the QGE toli performed to the highest standard in a variety of roles from providing close support and artisan skills within the Field Squadrons, technical recce and design as part of the Construction Design Cell and even within the Brigade Reconnaissance Force (BRF) taking the fight to the insurgent.
source:- khukuri-2011