Please note that the post below was published more than ten year ago on 21st November 2009 Nick Herbert MP, shadow cabinet member for the Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, was in Cumbria this morning to see the areas affected by the flooding. He writes on Conservative Home about his visit. Here is an extract. I’ve been in Cumbria today to see the areas affected by the floods. I arrived early in Keswick where I met officials from the Environment Agency. Although the river levels had fallen considerably and homes were no longer flooded, the damage to homes had been done. And the water which had got into houses wasn’t just from the river – it was foul water which had risen from the drains. I talked to fire crews who were pumping flood water back into the river, and discovered that they were from Tyne & Wear and Lancashire. They had been called in at an hours’ notice and had been working on the scene ever since, staying at a local hotel. You cannot fail to be impressed by the
Comments
The French Foreign legion has a respected and notoriously difficult mental and physical stamina test for would be recruits. This test is designed to pick the Creme de la Creme from around the world. The British recruit malnourished kids from the slums Nepal.
Why do people think malnourished kids from the slums of Nepal make good fighting soldiers? What is wrong with malnourished kids from Uganda, Niger or Bolivia? No wonder the French have the Neutron bomb and we don’t! We are a totally daft nation that deservedly won’t last the century.
It isn't a matter of the individual soldiers, it is the tradition which the Gurkha regiment has built up.
I don't believe any intelligent person can study military history for any signifiant time without realising that a huge factor in the effectiveness of most good military units is the esprit de corps which they have built up, often over decades or even centuries. This is not something which can be put together in five minutes. Many years ago someone said that if you wanted to field a force of archers who could dominate a medieval battle, start by training their grandfathers.
That tradition has been created in Nepal for the Gurkhas and we would be silly to throw it away.
GO CHRIS!
Make that three aspirins
You show him what for!