PC/WI: Gurkha's in the US Army?

WILDGEESE

Gone Fishin'
With a post '45 pod, have the US Army field a minimum of a brigade size formation of Gurkha's.

Regards filers.
 
I never met them, but supposedly there were one or two in the Marine Corps in the 1980s. Did met a lot of Samoans, Phillipinos, Fijians, a former Soviet citizen in 1984, a son of a Egyptian army officer, Australian, several South Africans, assorted Latin Americans, a couple sons of Korean immigrants, more than a few Vietnamese immigrants, several Canadians, & quite a few others of origins where English is not common language.
 
What about an anti-gurkha communist revoloution that causes many gurkha's to leave for the west?
 
Gurkhas are an awkward choice since the USA never invaded their homeland.
May I suggest an ex-pat regiment from one of the countries the USA fought in? ....... Belgium, Canada, Caribbean Islands, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Philippines, Tunisia, Vietnam, etc.
 
Wouldn't they flee to the UK over the US though?

But if enough leave and the US is more open than the UK they might go to the UK. What about the US and UK intervening in said war in nepal and losing anyways (like vietnam). The UK pulls out early and only takes home its gurkhas and their families, but the US stays long enough to pull saigon mk.2 and takes in a bunch of non-communist future gurkhas...

Other option, US never revolts and gets a Gurkha brigade when they pull a canada.
 
Gurkhas are an awkward choice since the USA never invaded their homeland.
May I suggest an ex-pat regiment from one of the countries the USA fought in? ....... Belgium, Canada, Caribbean Islands, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Philippines, Tunisia, Vietnam, etc.

A vietnamese regiment in the US army sounds cool. It would be cool for the US to have to be vietnamese-speaking regiment. I can imagine a Brigade 2506 like group of veterans who want to overthrow communist Vietnam.
 
The closest you'd probably get would be a separate Army Reserve regiment or battalion exclusively for NMI, Guam, American Samoa, and the CFA states. Functionally it would be similar to the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Infantry Regiment, which is the Army Reserve's only infantry unit.

This would create a population pool of about 400,000. At the US rate of 4.2 active soldiers and 6.9 total soldiers per 1000, you would get about 1,700 active and 2,800 total troops, easily enough for a small brigade that would rely on reserves for support units. The most you could push it would be about 10 active soldiers per 1000, for about 4,000 active troops. Depending on the economic conditions on the islands, you might be able to get that far without conscription if your pay incentives are good enough.
 
Nepal today a Communist country that is against the gurkas Serving in The Indian and UK’s army. The British have never been very good at dealing with the gurkas who are in their country. They have been denied the ability to bring their families over their ability to claim citizenship has been bogged down in bureaucracy.
 
I never met them, but supposedly there were one or two in the Marine Corps in the 1980s. Did met a lot of Samoans, Phillipinos, Fijians, a former Soviet citizen in 1984, a son of a Egyptian army officer, Australian, several South Africans, assorted Latin Americans, a couple sons of Korean immigrants, more than a few Vietnamese immigrants, several Canadians, & quite a few others of origins where English is not common language.
Did basic with a guy from Vietnam, a member of the Japanese Defense Forces, and a girl from Guam. One of our training officers was a former Soviet who mocked the USSR more than Yakov Smirnoff. I also had a platoon sergeant with a Master's in English Literature who was obsessed with Japanese women.
 
Gurkhas are an awkward choice since the USA never invaded their homeland.
May I suggest an ex-pat regiment from one of the countries the USA fought in? ....... Belgium, Canada, Caribbean Islands, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Philippines, Tunisia, Vietnam, etc.

Don't forget China.
 
I can't see this coming until at least some time after WW2, before that I think the inherent racism in the US forces would be just too much to overcome.
 
I remember reading something in the 1990's about some people proposing that since Britain was reducing the Gurkhas role due to the lack of places to deploy them , that the US hire the Gurkhas as a foreign legion that we could send to places like Serbia. They would basically be expendable troops, that we could put in hostile lands and not worried about the public relation issue if any were killed.
 
I remember reading something in the 1990's about some people proposing that since Britain was reducing the Gurkhas role due to the lack of places to deploy them , that the US hire the Gurkhas as a foreign legion that we could send to places like Serbia. They would basically be expendable troops, that we could put in hostile lands and not worried about the public relation issue if any were killed.
Using them that way in 1990 seems like a public relations issue.
 
With a post '45 pod, have the US Army field a minimum of a brigade size formation of Gurkha's.

Regards filers.

That's going to be really tough. Basically, the Gurkhas have an affection for Britain that is astonishing, and Britain is always going to be their very first choice. The Indian Army (following Independence) also makes a lot of use of the Gurkhas, and the Gurkhas like this, because of the minimisation of the language and cultural differences.

It's certainly the case that in 1974-76, when I was in Nepal recruiting Gurkhas (one of the easiest tasks in the world), I don't think I ever heard one of them mention the United States in any way. It wasn't on their radar (which, given the state of the US Army in 1976 is probably just as well. 1976 was probably the nadir of the competence of the US Army).

For the Gurkha, ties of blood and salt and honour are important. They have that in spades with Britain, a shared history and tradition going back well over a century even then. America, to them, is just another place on the map.

To get a number of Gurkhas to want to join the US Army, you've first got to get rid of the possibility of Britain and India using them, which is going to be tough.

Then you've got the big problem that the Gurkha style is not a very good mesh with US Army doctrine. The US Army relies on a lot of very high-tech kit. The Gurkhas don't have the educational base to be entirely comfortable with high-tech kit. The US Army also has a doctrine that basically starts on the basis of dealing with a situation from a distance. The Gurkha is much more comfortable up close and personal (although the other party is seldom comfortable under such circumstances). US doctrine is just such a rubbish mesh with the skills of the Gurkha.

And that's before we get into cultural issues. You know the phrase: "He who fights and runs away lives to fight another day"? Guess what the Gurkha attitude to that is. The RGR motto: "Better to die than live a coward" is perhaps answer enough.

But the big problem you face is that with a post '45 POD, there isn't time to build up years of joint service and loyalty, and the Gurkha just wouldn't be interested.
 
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