Nearly 150 Gurkha soldiers are going to be forced out of the British Army under the first wave of sweeping cuts to the UK´s military, the London-based Evening Standard reported on Thursday. According to the report, about 920 soldiers and 930 RAF personnel will be told today that they are being made redundant, 750 of them against their will.

Though it is not clear which units are affected, it is said no members of the RAF ground crews based in Italy to support operations in Libya are being made redundant.

The British Army is making around 260 compulsory redundancies, 140 of them Gurkhas, as part of the UK government´s efforts to tackle the deficit and cut defense expenses.

The British Ministry of Defense is said to be expecting some Gurkhas facing the axe to transfer to other infantry regiments which are currently below full strength. Though a total of 869 soldiers applied for redundancy, only 660 of them are being allowed to leave.

Some 622 British airmen and women sought voluntary redundancy, of whom 440 had their applications granted, the report said, adding that the RAF is also making about 490 compulsory redundancies.

The plans to cut the posts were announced earlier this year as part of a program which could see 11,000 redundancies across the RAF, Army and Royal Navy by April 2015.

There are currently around 3,640 Gurkhas from Nepal serving in the British Army.

Gurkha recruitment to continue: UK

The British embassy in Kathmandu on Thursday said that the Brigade of Gurkhas will continue to recruit fresh soldiers from Nepal in future despite the reduction in its size.According to a press note issued by the embassy, the redundant soldiers will be given 12 months notice and a period of resettlement into civilian life.

Published on: 2 September 2011 | Republica