Securing Afghanistan: Captain Premkaji Gurung’s story

I am Captain Premkaji Gurung and I am part of the Royal Gurkha Rifles. We are a special unit in the British Army that only has Nepalese soldiers, and we have the reputation of being among the finest and most feared soldiers in the world.

I had always felt that it was important for me to join the Army. In my early life, my grandfather and uncles told me about their stories and experiences in the British Army. This influenced me to follow in their footsteps and join at 19 years old. 25 years later, I’m second in command of the first Royal Gurkha Rifles battalion and I’m currently deployed in Afghanistan, on Operation Toral 7, as the officer commanding the Base Defence Operations Centre.

Operation Toral 7 has been in action from October 2017, and the 1st battalions of the Royal Gurkha Rifles and the Royal Anglican Regiment are currently deployed there. The aim of the operation is to provide British presence in Afghanistan as part of NATO’s mission to help rebuild the country.

My role is to be responsible for any incident which might occur in the New Kabul Compound, a military base set up in the capital city of Afghanistan — Kabul. As my job is making sure that there is a secure and safe environment, I set the rules for the advisors of the Afghan Government and their National Defence and Security Forces. This is important as it prevents the growth of terrorism in Afghanistan and, in turn, also reduces the risk of terrorism in Britain and in other countries.

Although we had enough time to train for the operation, we had to teach a lot of soldiers to drive Army vehicles very quickly. As a unit, we also went through basic and individual build-up training before moving onto training with the rest of the unit as a team and doing mission rehearsals.

Operation Toral is my fourth deployment in Afghanistan, yet the operation is completely different from any other. It was my first time in Kabul and so I needed time to adapt to the camp. The base has representatives from 40 other countries, and I have been able to develop my relationship-building skills and way of working with people. I have also been able to teach them skills that I learnt so far during my time in the Army.

But being in control of a base with so many different nations can sometimes be a bit complicated. Each nation has their own way of doing things and we have needed to bring everyone together to work the same way. I make sure that we do plenty of practices so that everyone has the same work ethic and way of doing things.

Although I do miss being with my friends and family, I believe operations are still hugely important to demonstrate the reach of the British Army and to show the Army’s professionalism internationally. Operations are also a good opportunity for us to keep the name of the Brigade of Gurkhas held high, and to share knowledge and experience with young officers and soldiers.

My favourite aspect of Operation Toral is seeing the multinational military and non-military people all working together. I run exercises for up to 2000 people in camp, and it is very empowering when you see them do the correct — potentially lifesaving — drills together.