In recent years, the task of education and training of the 2^nd Army Officer Training College has seen new developments, posing higher requirements for technical work, especially material and technical support for combat readiness, training, and live-fire drills and epidemic prevention and control in general, and the Covid-19 pandemic in particular. During the implementation, besides the advantages, the College’s Technical Department encountered a number of difficulties as its arsenals are diverse in types, overused, unsynchronised, damaged, and may potentially cause safety hazard. The maintenance and repair of vehicles and equipment are also difficult due to the scarcity of materials and spare parts. Meanwhile, every year, the College carries out many field trips, exercises and drills away from its campus, hence using a large number of vehicles, weapons and technical equipment. This has a significant influence on technical support for the tasks of education and training. Being well aware of that, its technical sector has promoted its core role in advising, directing, guiding and implementing this important task, contributing to improving the quality and efficiency of technical work, ensure for the task accomplishment of the College.

Accordingly, the Party Committee and Commanders of the Technical Department have actively advised to consolidate its structure, build a contingent of qualified and capable technical officers and staff, serving as the core of technical work. This is seen as a key determinant to the results of the technical work of the College both in the short term and in the long term. In order to solve well the above problem, on the one hand, the Department actively advises the College ’s Party Committee and Board of Directors to direct agencies and units to promote political and ideological education, raise awareness and responsibility for technical work for the College’s cadres, teachers, students, employees, soldiers, especially the contingent of professional technical staff. In particular, importance is attached to fostering comprehensive capacity, political bravery, professional ethics, consulting and commanding capability, managerial and administrative style, and the ability to exploit, use and preserve weapons and equipment. At the same time, promote the role of party committees, commanders and technical staff in leading, directing and implementing this work; uphold the spirit of "proactive, creative, self-reliant, self-sufficient", overcome difficulties, well implement the Campaign of “Manage and exploit weapons and technical equipment in a good, sustainable, safe, and economical manner and Traffic Safety” (The Campaign 50) associated with the Determination to Win Emulation Movement, creating a driving force to improve the quality and efficiency of technical work. Facing the imbalance in major and the inequalities in the levels of the technical staff, the department has actively advised the College’s Party Committee and the Board of Directors to adjust the structure of technical staff at all levels to suit the characteristics of each unit, while simultaneously implement measures to build a contingent of technical officers and staff with comprehensive capacity, standardised qualifications and skills. Diversify forms of training for technical staff; on-the-job training is carried out together with intensive training courses; strictly maintain routines and quality of technical training at the units according to decentralisation. In order to focus on "Improving the quality of education and training", the technical units of the College actively innovate the contents and methods of training relevant to the target objects and practical requirements of technical work; due attention is paid to training on combat technical support. Focus on training technical staff to master commanding, consulting, coordinating, and supplying at campaign and tactical levels in each form of combat. Attaching importance to training in mastering, exploiting and using existing equipment and means, especially new and modern hardware, and improving the repair and rescue capability for technical staff during field trips and in complicated terrain and weather conditions. At the same time, focus on improving the manoeuvrability, support work , as well as the ability to handle situations of technical detachments accompanying the cadets’ off-campus marching and drills, etc.

The Board of Directors inspecting the Technical Initiative Contest

In order to meet the increasingly high requirements of education and  training tasks, the Department focuses on building technical formalities, renewing support methods; actively apply modern information technology in the management and administration of the technical work of the College. Accordingly, along with promoting the key role in preserving, maintaining, repairing and synchronising weapons and technical equipment, the Department both conducts repair at stations and workshops and mobile repair when required, especially in long-distance off-campus exercises and drills, timely handling situations in difficult terrain and weather conditions, etc. At the same time, it recovers, arranges, classifies, maintains, repairs and stores weapons and equipment in warehouses in a strict, scientific and absolutely safe manner. Actively apply modern techniques and technologies to the maintenance, repair and storage of weapons, equipment and vehicles; strengthen inspection and testing to improve the quality and reliability of weapons and equipment after repair. Technical equipment has always been maintained according to serial number, type, quality and synchronisation.

With regard to technical facilities, the College has planned, upgraded and built new technical facilities in accordance with the regulations. To date, 100% of its arsenals have been upgraded and newly built in accordance with the 5-Good Warehouse standards. It has also built new stations, workshops, automobile and tank and armoured zones with technological equipment for maintenance and repair of weapons and technical equipment. In addition, the College always implements the classification of weapons and technical equipment; strictly maintains the procedures of handling and storing ammunition and explosives, focusing on assessment, batching and classifying to ensure absolute safety in the management, exploitation and use of weapons and technical equipment, not to let unsafe incidents occur. The Campaign 50 is focused, orderly and effectively implemented. In the preliminary review of the period 2015 - 2020, 01 collective and 02 typical individuals were awarded the Certificate of Merit by the Minister of National Defence. The results of the campaign not only maintained and ensured the quality, but also the lifecycle extension of weapons and technical equipment, making an important contribution to improving the quality of education and training.

The above results are attributed to the close leadership and direction with relevant solutions and measures of the College’s Party Committee and Board of Directors, and the solidarity, unity and efforts of all officials, teachers, cadets, staff and soldiers of the College in general, and the Technical sector in particular. From the results achieved, some lessons are drawn by the College Technical sector as follows.

1. Regularly grasp and strictly implement the views and policies of the Central Military Commission, the Ministry of National Defence, and superior agencies on technical work, especially grasping and implementing the Resolution No. 382/NQ-ĐUQSTW, dated November 29, 2007 of the Central Military Party Committee (now the Central Military Commission) on the leadership of the technical work in the new situation; Resolution of the 15^th Party Congress of the College, 2020 – 2025 tenure; raise the awareness and sense of responsibility for the subjects; promote the role of party committees and commanders at all levels in the implementation of technical work. Include the content of technical work in the monthly leadership resolution of party committees and the work plan of the commanders.

2. Thoroughly carry out political and ideological education, raise awareness, professional qualifications and sense of responsibility for cadres, students, employees and soldiers on technical tasks of the College, thereby promoting the responsibilities of Party committees, commanders at all levels as well as individuals in performing technical tasks, especially the technical staffs. Party committees and commanders at all levels should direct organisations, through practical activities and meetings, to regularly conduct education and propagation in various, creative and relevant forms and measures, to make individuals highly responsible for this important task.

3. Uphold the advisory role of the technical department and the coordination of relevant agencies and units. Build the College’s Technical sector all-strong with sufficient and capable staff. Continue to invest and upgrade technical facilities, equipment and technology with foci, specific roadmap and clear tasks and targets for each stage.

Senior Colonel HOANG TUAN ANH, PhD, Head of the College’s Technical Department