By:Mr. Gopal Kumar Rai ( Tumchha)149 A Sneinton Dale Nottingham Soldier Amie Jelf was singled out for praise by Prince Harry when she took part in the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace.The Brierley girl has the honour of being the first woman in the Gurkhas to take part in the Changing of the Guard.The 25-year-old former Cinderford Army cadet was recently promoted to corporal in the Queen's Gurkha Signals. She has also seen active service on the front lines in both Iraq and Afghanistan."When you're marching down the mall in front of Buckingham Palace knowing you're the first woman to do it, it's a big thrill," said Amie."Prince Harry was watching through one of the windows and called the Captain of the Guard afterwards praising me."Amie, a former Dene Magna pupil, joined the army when she was 17 and is among a small number of women soldiers to be attached to the Gurkha squadron.She is one of only five British people to be attached to 200-strong Gurkha unit.But the daily dangerous toil undertaken by British military goes unrecognised by the general public back home, Amie says. "There doesn't seem to be any pride in our military," Amie said."We're just doing our jobs, it's not our fault that we're out there."You just don't hear anything about what's going on in Iraq and Afghanistan, nobody over here knows what it's really like. "There should be more respect for the military as they don't get any thanks for what they do."I also think they should bring National Service back in - it would give the younger generation a heads-up and wouldn't do them any harm.She added: "The army built up my confidence and gave me chances to do things I'd never have done otherwise."My granddad was in the army and I wanted to follow in his footsteps," Amie said. "Being the only female in the squadron was probably hardest thing I've had to do so far."Just to get on with the other Gurkhas is the hardest thing as they often speak in Nepalese and don't take orders from women. "But they love having me there and the Sergeant Major said I was their little princess."If her success so far in her eight-year military career wasn't enough, she was also recently crowned top female shot in the Royal Signals.Her score stood in the top 20 of the men's shooting scores.Amie said: "It was my granddad who pushed me to do it and will-power has taken me the rest of the way. "You've just got to prove you're better than anyone else."I've already been awarded a kukri, the traditional Gurkha knife, although you usually get given that when you leave the squadron."Amie will be heading back to Afghanistan in September.
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