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Colonel IA Rigden, OBE, Colonel the Brigade of Gurkhas
1. Top Three Priorities:
 Secure the future of the Brigade.
 Maintain and sustain our operational reputation.
 Become a fully integrated and secure part of the new army in
manning balance. We must have the right operational
structure, a clear promotion path and a steady predictable
flow of recruits to keep us up to strength.
2. Risks to the Brigade.
 Loss of Public support.
 Loss of Reputation. This can be as a result of bad press if
retired Gurkhas or their dependants are perceived not to
contribute to local society, become too vocal in their
demands, or the serving Brigade does not perform well.
 Weakening of our links to Nepal and Brunei . We have
survived to date because of the support of the Government of
Nepal to continue to allow us to recruit and the generosity of
HM The Sultan of Brunei. We must continue to keep our
links strong.
 The problems of integrating retired Gurkhas from Nepal
into UK with the strains on communities that this can cause.
We need to help them and get this right.
 The need for GWT to be recognised for the work it does to
support welfare in UK . GWT gives £200,000 to the ABF each
year which is the lead charity for all ex-soldiers, and
facilitates other agencies such as the Royal British Legion and
SSAFA in support of our Ex-Gurkhas. Much of this is unsung
and, from the retired Gurkhas’ point of view, he only sees the
GWT as a Nepal focused organisation – which it largely is,
but must be for good reason. The GWT is our primary
Gurkha charity and our main link to Nepal. The work that it
does in Nepal not only benefits our 8500 remaining welfare