Major Hem Kumar Rai, The Commanding Officer, Support Unit, GSU

Maj Hem Kumar Rai was commissioned as Lieutenant Queen’s Gurkha Officer (QGO) on 05 December 2005 in the Second Battalion the Royal Gurkha Rifles and retired as a Captain on 04 December 2011. He began his Gurkha Security Unit (GSU) career in the rank of Lieutenant as the Company Second in Command of `A’ Company.

Over the course of his service in Gurkha Security Unit, Maj Hem Kumar Rai has held various key command and staff appointments. These include Staff Officer Grade 3 Communication starting from January 2016 until January 2020, Acting Chief Instructor at GSU Training Wing and commanding of a Platoon during induction training for newly joined inductees from Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkha Singapore Police Force, Indian Gurkha Brigade and Nepal Army. He was later appointed Staff Officer Grade 3 G1 of GSU in January 2020 and served until March 2022. His staffing works and leadership capability continued to be recognized when he was appointed as the Second-in Command of K-9 Unit in 2022 and subsequently served until 2024. Following his promotion to Major on 04 December 2024, he was appointed as Staff Officer Garde 2 Logistics and Finance of GSU in January 2025 and served until December 2025. On 22 December 2026, he officially assumed the appointment as the Commanding Officer of Support Unit, Gurkha Security Unit. 

Maj Hem Kumar Rai’s operational experience whilst in the Brigade of Gurkhas includes operational deployment as part of International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR) and later as Stabilization Force (SFOR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo respectively, operational deployment to Afghanistan in 2004 and later as Platoon Commander in Officer Cadet School in 2006. His service in the Brigade of Gurkhas include the United Kingdom, USA, Canada, Hong Kong, Kenya.

In recognition of his service, Maj Hem Kumar Rai was awarded the Gurkha Security Unit Service Medal in 2017, Long Service and Good Conduct Medal in 2024 and the GSU 50^th Anniversary (Golden Jubilee) Medal in 2025. Maj Hem Kumar Rai is an all-around sportsman and golf enthusiast. He is married to Mrs. Nanda Kumari Rai and is blessed with a son and a daughter.