What nation are you from?

In response to KHR's fine submission that featured Gurkhas not needing
retrorockets....

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Ed: Edited] (From article <6907@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU> in soc.culture.indian:)

GURKHAS - THE MARTIAL RACE

Now that an accord has been signed between the GNLF of Subhash ( not
the go back to India one :-)) Ghising and the Government of India, it
might be appropriate to recollect an interesting anecdote regarding these
doughty warriors.

In World war II, an English reporter who had heard so much about the bravery
and elan of the Gurkhas visited a camp just in front of the enemy lines
(Germans). During the course of his reporting, he had occasion to observe a
mission being conducted.

The mission was to airdrop a bunch of soldiers behind enemy lines to conduct
some relatively light action. He watched the commander of the Gurkhas (a
British soldier) pitch the mission and then ask for volunteers. To his
surprise, only about half the Gurkhas volunteered and were sent off.

Throughly disillusioned with the legends of Gurkha bravery, the reporter went
back home. After the war, he happened to run into a Gurkha who had been there,
and asked him why half the troops had failed to volunteer. It turned out that
none of the squad, both those who volunteered and those who did not, were
aware that they would get a parachute for the drop. Hence the low turnout.

> In response to KHR's fine submission that featured Gurkhas not

The version I heard had the Gurkha sergeant talk it over with his men, then
come back to his officer. "We'll go, sir, but we must insist on three
conditions. The plane we jump from must be flying as slow as possible; it must
be over soft ground; and it must fly at 100 feet when we jump." The officer
said "Can't do it, old boy. If you're at 100 feet, your parachutes won't have
time to open." The Gurkha said "Parachutes?"

[quoted original message omitted]