Indian, US armies begin joint exercises in Hawaii(Gurkha Regiment and 25 Infantry Division)

Indo-Asian News Service ^

[milestogo]

Indian, US armies begin joint exercises in Hawaii

Indo-Asian News Service

September 6, 2006

The Indian Army began its largest joint exercise on foreign soil on Wednesday with 140 officers and soldiers joining their US counterparts in honing their counter-insurgency skills at the Schofield Army Base barracks in Hawaii.

'Operation Yudh Abhyas (preparing for war)' will run till September 23, a US embassy official said.

It follows a similar exercise held at Chaubhatia near Ranikhet in Uttaranchal in January.

During the 18-day exercise, the Indian troops, drawn from the Gurkha Regiment, will test their interoperability with forces from the US 25 Infantry Division in face-to-face and side-by-side anti-insurgency operations in urban and non-urban areas.

Joining them will be 20 Indian Air Force commandos from the Garuda force that has been raised to guard IAF air bases against guerrilla attacks.

The Indian troops were flown out in an IAF IL-76 transport aircraft that will remain in Hawaii for the duration of the exercise to enable its crew participate in airlift missions at the Hickam Air Force base on the island.

"This is a new element in the joint exercises and is a pointer to the direction in which they are growing," the embassy official pointed out.

Meanwhile, preparations are underway for the annual 'Malabar' series of exercises between the Indian and US navies in the Arabian Sea. These exercises are usually held off the Kochi or Goa coasts.

This apart, two other major India-US military-to-military contacts are planned for this year.

In the first, the Indian Army's additional director general of military operations, Major General Mukesh Sabharwal, is to travel to Fiji next week to present a paper at the Pacific Armies' Management Seminar that the US annually co-hosts with the countries of the region. The conference was held in India in 2005.

In the second, two officers from the Army Aviation Corps will visit the Wainwright Army Base in Alaska for training on the newly-inducted OH58D Kiowa attack helicopter, as also the UH-60 Black Hawk that the US is believed to have offered to India.

The Indian Army is known to be scouting for 196 helicopters - in a mix of gun ships and light transports - to replace its ageing fleet of Chetak and Cheetha helicopters. It has already evaluated the Bell-407 - the largest selling helicopter of its class - and the Eurocopter but hasn't made known its views on the other two machines.

The US has also offered the F-16 and F-18 combat jets for a 128-plane order that the IAF will soon be placing to replace its fleet of MiG-21, MiG-23 and MiG-27, some of which have already been phased out.

Also on offer are the Russian MiG-29, the Swedish Grippen, the French Mirage 2000-5 and the jointly developed Eurofighter.

The IAF has been saying for a year-and-a-half that it will "soon" float a tender for the new aircraft but as of now, this seems nowhere in sight. At one time, there was talk that India will opt for a mix of F-16s/F-18s as a quid pro for the proposed India-US civilian nuclear deal.

However, with the pact seeming to have run into some technical roadblocks, the IAF might have to wait a while longer for its new aircraft.

India and the US resumed their military-to-military contacts in 2002 with a joint army exercise at Agra, followed by another in Alaska.

Since then, these have been conducted at regular intervals by the army, the navy and the air force.

[indcons]

Ping

[river rat]

"Gurkha" is a term that designated unique/mercenary troops from Nepal.

Sounds like India "hired" their own Gurkhas regiment to serve within the Indian forces?

Semper Fi

[taxcontrol]

Two years after the Second World War ended, with the granting of independence to India, the Gurkhas regiments were divided. Six of the ten regiments became the Indian Gurkhas Rifles; the four (2ndGR, 6thGR, 7thGR and 10GR) remaining the British Brigade of Gurkhas. In India the troops plunged immediately into the India-Pakistan conflict over Kashmir; later came the Sino-Indian war (China-India) or 1962 and further battles between India and Pakistan in 1965 and 1971.

[ChristianDefender]

Pics please...

[indcons]

Gurkhas live in both India and Nepal and the name "Gurkha" is actually the name of an Indo-Tibetian comunity that lives in that region. Most Gurkhas in the Indian Army are citizens of India.

They are some of the most ferocious warriors on the face of the planet. Many a Nazi who lost his head to a Gurkha khukri (dagger) can attest to the terror that Gurkhas bring to the enemy in the battlefield.

[indcons]

"Gurkha, also spelt as Gorkha, are people from Nepal who take their name from the eighth century Hindu warrior-saint Guru Gorakhnath. [...] Later descendants of Bappa Rawal moved further east to found the house of Gorkha, which in turn founded the Kingdom of Nepal. Gurkhas are best known for their history of bravery and strength in the British Army and the Indian Army."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gurkha

[Candor7]

The Gurkha Regiment has a long and distinguished history, and the Germans feared them during WWII , for good reason. As a former member of the Canadian military, I was told in basic training of the story as to why Canadian troops laced their boots in a certain way.

Gurkhas were famous in the Pacific and European WWII theaters of war for stealthily sneaking into the lines of the enemy, and feeling the sleeping soldiers bootlaces. If they were not speed laced ( no x lacing), the throat was stealtily cut with the Khukri knife, and the soul commended to Shiva.

British Commonwealth soldiers are identifiable by the lacing system of their boots.

The gurkhas are excellent soldiers, and were natural companions to the Highland Regiments of Scotland. They even have their own regimental highland pipe band.

I am very happy to see them training with our soldiers in Hawaii. They are the best of the best that India has to offer. And they know the fine art of diplomacy with Islamofascists, having conducting it in the dark of night over many centuries. Our soldiers can learn from them as much as they learn from our soldiers, if not more.

[sheik yerbouty]

"Alas, the Ghurkas are upon you!"

[Candor7]

And the Gherkins are upon me too!

Talk about being in a pickle!

LOL.

[epow]

I have reservations regarding India as a dependable US ally, but having the feared Gurkhas on our side would be a plus for any US-Indian joint military operation that involved ground combat.

Those Taliban ragheads who think they're such total badasses don't know what kind of hell they would be in for if the Gurkhas ever got on their case. Disembowelment by a Gurkha's khukri isn't the most pleasant way to arrange a meeting with those 70 ancient "virgins" who have been hanging around in muslim paradise ever since that randy old pedophile Mohammed kidnapped them out of a Mecca brothel.

[indcons]

"Having seen plenty of Gurkhas guarding various sites in Iraq, it was a comforting feeling knowing these little bada$$es got your back."

LOL...one thing the Islamo-fascists have learned is the power of Gurkha vengeance. Along with the Sikhs, the Gurkhas are the only other community that the muslims don't dare to attack during their regular post-Friday namaz riots in India. And for good reason indeed!!

I remember a thread from about a year ago that discussed Gurkhas in the British Army. Needless to say, the Gurkhas have quite a few fans on FR (especially among FReepers who have worked or served with them in Allied forces).

P.S.: Welcome back...glad that you are safe from your tour of honor and sacrifice.

[indcons]

I agree with you. As long as the leftists in India are in power, US-India relations will never reach their true potential. The good news is that a majority of educated Indians see the US as a friend and an ally. This is also a reason why Pres. Bush has something close to 70% favorble ratings in that country.

The bad news - the notorious Indian bureaucracy and the usual culprits (communists, unions, and the fifth-column muslims) are the biggest (and formidable) obstacles in US-India relationships.

[indcons]

Ping

[indcons]

Gurkhas in action in Tunisia (WW2)

[river rat]

I didn't know ANY of that!
My view of the Gurkhas has been wrong for a whole lot of years!

Thanks for clearing that up..

Semper Fi

[ChristianDefender]

Thank. Geat pics.

[MPJackal]

I always loved those pickles.

[familyop]

This is good to see. We must work together with friends to defend the independence of each of our nations from unfriendly nations that lust for "empire."