Milestone moment as Gurkha recruits find out which regiments they will join

More than 300 recruits to the Brigade of Gurkhas have discovered which regiments and battalions they will be joining later this year.

The recruits are six months into a nine-month infantry training course at ITC Catterick, having left Nepal in February to join the British Army.

Marking the milestone with a special ceremony, the event saw recruits receive new berets and other insignia associated with their chosen units.

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But while handing out badges and berets is vital, the parade offered much more, with key figures from across the Brigade of Gurkhas in attendance, and the chance for the recruits to meet personalities from their future units.

Most men are joining the First and Second Battalions of the Royal Gurkha Rifles, two of the most highly respected units in the infantry.

While there's an intense rivalry between the two battalions, there's also deep respect among the men.

Speaking to 88 soldiers he will soon command, Lieutenant Colonel Pete Houlton-Hart, commanding officer of 2RGR, encouraged the recruits to continue giving one hundred per cent to their training.

"You've joined a new family today," he told his men.

"You've become soldiers in the fullest sense of the word. When you look at the 26 Victoria Crosses [won by the Brigade], they were all won by the infantry. They're all from what would now be 1 and 2 RGR.

"You are a soldier in the fullest meaning of the word. You will close with, and you will kill the enemy if you are called to do so by the king.

"Take a moment to remember that."

One of the recruits learning more about what the future held in store was Trainee Rifleman Devahang, who's joining 1 RGR.

"I'm really proud to be in 1 RGR, as it's the finest regiment for me," he told BFBS Forces News, brimming with pride.

"I'm happy to have met new people from the regiment and it was a great privilege to meet senior officers, too. We've never had that opportunity before."

Another happy recruit who had been selected for his first-choice unit was Trainee Rifleman Sudip. He will serve his career in the Queen's Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment (QOGLR).

"I'm very happy. I got my first choice and it's like heaven for me.

"I just met one of the senior officers from the QOGLR. I feel so happy to have met him, as I don't think I'll get the chance to meet him again in the future.

"I'm just so happy, I can't say my emotion in words."

Of the 337 recruits, 175 will serve in the Royal Gurkha Rifles, 43 in the Queen's Gurkha Engineers, 48 in the Queen's Gurkha Signals, 61 in the Queen's Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment, four in the Band of the Brigade of Gurkhas, and six in Gurkha Staff and Personnel Support Company, AGC.

All recruits are on track to pass out of training in October, a moment marked with a major parade in front of dignitaries at ITC Catterick.