The Nepalese soldier with 1st Battalion, Royal Gurkha Rifles who was removed from Afghanistan after beheading a Taliban commander, has now been cleared for duty after a four year investigation.
In July of 2010 Gurkha soldiers conducted a raid in Helmand province to kill or capture a high value individual. The troops killed their man, but the mission had very specific instructions to bring back proof that they had gotten the right guy.
Initially, the Gurkhas attempted to retrieve the entire body for identification, but soon found themselves engaged in an intense Taliban counter attack. The Gurkhas needed to break contact, but they also needed to complete their mission. The soldier made the heat-of-the-moment decision to pull out his traditional Kukri knife and take only the Taliban commander’s head, allowing his men to remain mobile and complete their objective.
Rather than acknowledging the soldier for placing the mission first and his quick initiative under hostile fire, POG commanders who place public relations in a higher priority bracket than mission, went on a CYA campaign of shaming the individual to the media as they rushed him out of country. Eventually, common sense won out, and now the soldier is finally being commended for his dedication to duty.
7 comments:
That's exactly how the Taliban treats it's victims. More power to him and thanks to him for his service.
An index finger would have done the trick and easier to carry.
Gurkhas don't mess around. Some of the toughest soldiers on Earth.
Anonymous said...
An index finger would have done the trick and easier to carry.
July 11, 2014 at 12:55 PM
Aw did some soft hearted liberal get their feelings hurt? To much violence for your soft heart to handle.
Not at all . Enemy heads are fine,fingers don't weigh down your pack.
As well he should be! Good job.
Good for him!
Hacking off someone's head with what amounts to a curved machete isn't pleasant task, but mission effectiveness and team lives were at risk.
As for cutting off a finger, we're not in the 'States, people, where fingerprints are on record.
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