The US and Coalition forces evacuated tens of thousands of their citizens and Afghans in the final days of the withdrawal from Kabul.
Afghan special operators who fought the Taliban were among those evacuated. The UK is considering setting up a special-operations unit of former Afghans in the British Army.
The British military has done that before. The British Army has a unit of foreign fighters.
The Gurkhas are soldiers.
The Gurkha patrol team members are going to be in the UK in October of 2021.
Leon Neal is a photographer.
The Gurkhas are from four warrior tribes in Nepal. During the colonization of India, the British found them to be fierce adversaries.
The British created Gurkha units in their own military because they were so impressed by their fighting spirit.
The Gurkhas have been part of the British Army for over 200 years, serving in all major conflicts, including the two world wars.
Over 200,000 Gurkhas fought for the British in the two world wars. The Victoria Cross is the British equivalent of the US's medal of honor.
The former Special Boat Service operator told Insider that his experience with Gurkhas was positive.
Soldiers of the Second Battalion Royal Gurkha Rifles return machine-gun fire during a field-training exercise.
The US Army/Capt. Ryan Jernegan.
The former operator recalled a mission in Afghanistan during which he and others bunked at a Gurkha forward operating base as they pursued a high-value Taliban target.
The former operator said that they had been chasing the bad guy for a while. The area was dangerous. The Gurkhas got in a firefight every time they stepped out of the base, according to a former special forces soldier.
The Taliban attacked the FOB in force, but the Gurkhas stood their ground and repelled them. There was chaos in the morning when we came back. The former special forcesman said that the FOB had gotten a good beating.
The operator of the SBS saw a young Gurkha with a machine gun while looking over the battlefield.
The Gurkha soldiers with knives are at the Infantry Training Centre in Catterick, England.
Ian Forsyth is a photographer.
I can still remember him. He had gunpowder on his face and was covered in dust. He looks at me with a smile. The operator of the SBS told Insider that he was still cheerful after eight hours of combat. The Gurkhas are summarized by that moment. Cheerful but tough. I wouldn't want to be their enemy.
The British have 3,500 Gurkhas serving with them. About 200 spots in their ranks are open every year. Gurkhas can also serve in the British Army.
The Gurkha unit of the Singaporean military was called in to provide security for the summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The reputation of the Gurkhas is due to their fearsome reputation for bravery and warriorship.
An Afghan unit?
The Afghan special forces arrived in Kunduz.
Thomson Reuters.
Afghanistan has a long history of fearsome fighters and the Afghan special-operations forces are highly regarded.
The Soviets were driven out of the country after 10 years of fighting in the 1980s, and the Taliban have fought against the US and Coalition forces for 20 years.
Afghans gained extensive combat experience despite relying on foreign assistance. Those who escaped Afghanistan are battle-proven.
"Matching the Gurkhas will be a tall order," he said.
"Gurkhas have a citizen-warrior culture that has been passed down from father to son for generations," said the former commando. Nepalese boys and teens line up by the hundreds for an opportunity to join the Gurkhas, and those who don't make the cut are disgraced in their society. It's a tough world, but it's a mirror of their realities, history, and culture.
An instructor inspects a 60-mm mortar during an Afghan National Army Special Operations Command mortar course.
Robert Ditchey is a member of NATO.
The US special-operations community's view of Afghans is mixed. American special operators have served with great and dedicated Afghans.
The British Army may be able to set up an Afghan unit. Many Afghans know how the British military operates and fought a fierce enemy for years. The British special-operations community has been able to exploit the fact that the British armed forces are quite diverse.
In the long-term, it might be difficult to sustain such a unit. It would be fraught with security risks to directly recruit from Afghanistan. Potential future recruits from Afghanistan would have less training and may be less reliable, making such a unit less realistic.
The British special-operations community could still add individual Afghans to its ranks, even though an Afghan unit is not feasible.
A Hellenic Army veteran, a defense journalist, and a graduate of the University of Baltimore are some of the things that Stavros Atlamazoglou is.
