Nick Harvey: Loyal Gurkhas deserve a special place in our Forces

Alongside plans to reduce the Army’s size by 20,000, it called for the full integration of a 30,000-strong future reserve 
force into the regular Army – no mean feat.

The changes were triggered by 2010 defence review, which I was involved in at the time, in response to the need to make savings after the last government left the defence accounts in a dire state. Moreover, leaving our 12 year operations in Afghanistan meant reconfiguration was essential in order to meet future security challenges.

Many Gurkha soldiers were deployed in Afghanistan over the last 12 years. As a widely admired, loved and revered part of the British Army, we owe them a huge debt of gratitude for their dedication and loyalty to this country.

But strangely, five years after allowing them to settle here after completing their service, we still don’t routinely recruit them to the reserves when they leave despite their desire to continue to serve.

The targets the MoD has set for the future reserves have been met with scepticism: they mean in practice we need to double the number of trained and ready reserves from what we currently have in the Territorial Army.

Sadly, just like the rest of the regular Army, the Gurkhas have faced the bitter pill of forced redundancies under Army restructuring. It therefore seems a no-brainer that we should not lose some of the toughest and bravest fighters we’ve got and instead help them lead the way for the future reserves.

A huge recruitment drive and massive rejuvenation of the reserves will be necessary if the plans are to succeed: particularly a culture change within the MoD and Army about how reserves are perceived.

Currently, public concerns persist that reserves are simply making up numbers after troop redundancies, that they are just an add-on to the ‘real’ Army. Countering such perceptions is essential and the Gurkhas can lead the way. That is why I am asking that we begin signing up our ex-Gurkha soldiers as part of the culture shift towards a battle-ready, fully integrated reserve force.

Gurkhas have been an integral part of the British Army for almost 200 years, characteristically loyal, courageous and dedicated – earning 13 Victoria Crosses between them – and they lost 45,000 lives during the two 
world wars.

More recently, their contribution in Afghanistan highlighted not only their bravery, but also a unique affinity with our Afghan partners culturally and linguistically.

Above all, these fierce fighters are one of the most highly regarded, robust and respected elements of our Army.

At the moment, unlike most ex-service personnel who have a reserve liability on leaving the forces, ex-Gurkhas are not routinely recruited into the reserves.

As Nepalese citizens, they can only join the voluntary Reserves – the Territorial Army (TA). By 
and large they don’t join the TA: there isn’t a culture of 
them joining as they could not stay in Britain until Liberal Democrats led the campaign to change that.

Their much-sought-after talents are currently helping private security companies but their willingness to continue serving this country does not disappear. The MoD needs to recognise and retain the Gurkhas’ skills.

We should start by giving 
them the r eserve liability, recognising the contribution they still have to offer.

As regular reserves, they can 
lead the way in building the Territorial Army and the regular reserve into the new future reserves. This will send a strong signal that the new, rejuvenated reserve force is more robust and battle-ready than ever.

Recruiting Gurkhas into the reserves is not only good for defence, but good for the
Gurkhas too.

Gurkha communities continue to feel a huge sense of prestige about the legacy of their regiments. That was why the successful campaign to give them residency rights was such a proud moment for the Liberal Democrats. It remains as important as ever that we look out for them in return for the sacrifice they have made for Britain.

A Reserves White Paper is due to be published this summer. How better to build on the Gurkhas’ heritage in that White Paper than to extend reserve liability to the Gurkhas, re-form some of them as reserve regiments and offer a pathway into a second Army career as a reservist? To Liberal Democrats, that would be a 
win-win.