Qualla: The Sultan's Gurkhas https://qualla.com/gurkha-reserve-unit en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:37 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/w/8/c/u/gurkha-reserve-unit-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: The Sultan's Gurkhas https://qualla.com/gurkha-reserve-unit The Sultan's Gurkhas: Introduction https://qualla.com/gurkha-reserve-unit/ Photo credit Pangalau, CC BY-SA 4.0. In 1973, political prisoners from the failed Brunei revolt of 1962 escaped from Berakas Prison, reportedly with the help of a foreign warden. The breakout shook the small sultanate. Brunei's own police and military regiment were already stretched thin, and the escape exposed a vulnerability the ruling family could not afford. The Sultan turned to a solution with deep roots in the British colonial world: Gurkha soldiers from Nepal, warriors whose reputation for loyalty and ferocity had been forged across two centuries of imperial service. Within a year, the first contingent of ex-British Army Gurkhas arrived in Brunei, beginning a relationship that endures to this day.

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]]> Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/8/c/u/gurkha-reserve-unit-wp/w8cu-the-sultans-gurkhas-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full The Sultan's Gurkhas: From the Himalayas to the South China Sea https://qualla.com/gurkha-reserve-unit/ Photo credit Pangalau, CC BY-SA 4.0. The Gurkha tradition of foreign military service stretches back to the Anglo-Nepalese War of 1814-1816, when the British were so impressed by their opponents that they began recruiting them into the British Indian Army. When the Indian subcontinent gained independence in 1947, a ...

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]]> Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/8/c/u/gurkha-reserve-unit-wp/w8cu-the-sultans-gurkhas-from-the-himalayas-to-the-south-china-sea.mp3 0:06 2 full The Sultan's Gurkhas: A Praetorian Guard in the Tropics https://qualla.com/gurkha-reserve-unit/ Photo credit Pangalau, CC BY-SA 4.0. The comparison to Rome's Praetorian Guard is not accidental; military analysts have used the term to describe the unit's role. Approximately 2,000 Gurkha soldiers serve in Brunei, tasked with protecting the royal family, the citizenry, and the country's major oil installations. T...

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]]> Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/8/c/u/gurkha-reserve-unit-wp/w8cu-the-sultans-gurkhas-a-praetorian-guard-in-the-tropics.mp3 0:06 3 full The Sultan's Gurkhas: A Forgotten Rebellion https://qualla.com/gurkha-reserve-unit/ Photo credit Pangalau, CC BY-SA 4.0. The relationship between the Gurkhas and their employer has not always been smooth. At one point, more than 2,400 of the approximately 2,500 Gurkha soldiers in Brunei organized, forming a governing committee and subcommittees to press their grievances. They submitted a written me...

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]]> Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/8/c/u/gurkha-reserve-unit-wp/w8cu-the-sultans-gurkhas-a-forgotten-rebellion.mp3 0:06 4 full The Sultan's Gurkhas: Guarding Brunei's Future https://qualla.com/gurkha-reserve-unit/ Photo credit Pangalau, CC BY-SA 4.0. Today the Gurkha Security Unit, as it has been renamed, comprises three main branches: the Guard Unit, the Support Unit, and a K-9 Section. The K-9 program expanded in 2019, when Dog Force Australia provided a Train the Trainer Course to six seasoned handlers, focusing on explosi...

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]]> Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/8/c/u/gurkha-reserve-unit-wp/w8cu-the-sultans-gurkhas-guarding-bruneis-future.mp3 0:06 5 full