His Royal Highness Prince Edward, The Earl of Wessex and Her Royal Highness Princess Sophie, The Countess of Wessex are in Brunei Darussalam as the Personal Representative of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to attend The Golden Jubilee of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalams accession to the throne.

According to the British High Commission Press Release, while in the country, His Royal Highness Prince Edward, The Earl of Wessex and Her Royal Highness Princess Sophie, The Countess of Wessex were pleased to take the opportunity to visit the British Armed Forces at NBD; mingle with Seria-based staff and service staff and their family and witnessed training in the jungle and trying Gurkha curry.

The British Armed Forces in the country include the Gurkha Light Infantry Battalion; 2nd Battalion Royal Gurkha Rifles; 7 Flight Army Air Corps with three Bell 212 helicopters and the Jungle Warfare Division. Separately, 30 UK Loan Service Officers and Senior Non Commissioned Officers work in various major appointments in the Royal Brunei Armed Forces.

The Earl and Countess of Wessex are welcome by receiving Mala's lanyard from Commander Lieutenant Colonel Jamie Murray and his wife, Susan as a traditional Gurkha celebration.

The Earl and the Countess of Wessex then visited the Hornbill School officially opened by His Royal Highness Princess Sarah in 2005, where the school provided lower education for more than 320 British and Nepalese children from military families as well as English public service in this country.

On the occasion, The Earl and Countess of Wessex are pleased to take part in various activities such as art, drama and IT along with students aged between 3 and 11 years.

The Earl and Countess of Wessex are also delighted to mingle with parents, teachers and support staff and wish to officiate the new playground.

Shortly afterwards, The Earl and Countess of Wessex were flown into a thick rainforest by climbing two helicopters from the 7 Flight Army Air Corps and then equipping themselves with kukris, a famous Gurkha combat knife and set their feet in thick bush guided by soldiers from the 2nd Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles (RGR).

The Earl and Countess of Wessex were first shown how Gurkha patrols could track enemies in the forest through a combination of soles and other signs such as disturbed leaves and broken branches.

The Earl and the Countess of Wessex later approached the narrow and rocky road before looking at how the Gurkha troops survived the forests by trapping wild animals and birds, building shelters and searching and filtering drinking water and royal forest excursions ended with a demonstration of field cuisine.

Next, The Earl and Countess of Wessex picked fruit from nearby trees, tasted Gurkha curry and mingled with Nepali soldiers about their experience with 2RGR. This included their eight visits to Afghanistan between 2003 and 2016 and other operations such as Sierra Leone, Bosnia, Kosovo and East Timor.

During lunch, The Earl and the Countess of Wessex were welcomed to the soldiers from the Third Battalion of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces who regularly practice with their Gurkha friends.

The British Armed Forces at NBD work closely with RBAF and routinely conduct joint trainings from individuals to unit level. In March 2017, they organized the Regional War Symposium with representatives from seven ASEAN member states, Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

In flight back from the woods, The Earl and Countess of Wessex were accompanied by a Blackhawk helicopter from the Royal Brunei Air Force and upheld by TUDB Commander, Brigadier General (U) Dato Shahril Anwar bin Haji Ma'awiah shortly after arriving at the Jungle Air Force Base.

Source:
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by Brudirect.com

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