Dam Ha is a mountainous, coastal district of Quang Ninh province with a total area of 414.368km² and a population of over 40,000 including 9 ethnic groups. Most of the staff members of district’s armed forces are ethnic people; therefore, their educational background and awareness are different. Perceiving that, over the past years, the district’s military command and its party committee have regularly focused their leadership and direction on building comprehensively strong offices and units as the core to perform local military and defence tasks. To do so, the district has seen the improved quality of training and combat readiness as a breakthrough while adopting practical, effective measures as follows.

First, the district has increased the work of education to raise a sense of awareness and responsibility of cadres and troops towards the tasks of training and combat readiness, considering this as a basic, consistent, top measure. Before each training season, the district introduces directives and resolutions of higher authorities on training work, particularly the combat training Orders by Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army, Commander of the Military Region 3, Commander of Quang Ninh Provincial Military Command as well as guiding documents of higher echelons. It focuses on clarifying targets and requirements set by its tasks of training and combat readiness as well as advantages and difficulties during the process of implementation. Moreover, great importance is attached to giving notification of the situations related to regional and local defence and security, particularly the situation in the East Sea, and clarifying the concepts of partners and adversaries via political meetings and concentrated training courses, etc. Those activities have contributed to raising cadres, soldiers, members of militia and self-defence forces and reservists’ vigilance and making them fully understand that improving the quality of training and successfully fulfilling the task of combat readiness serve as a central political task in peace time and an objective demand for the cause of safeguarding the Homeland.

Adhering to the targets and requirements of the training task, annually, the district’s military party committee issues specialized resolution on the training task, which provides the basis for offices, units and localities’ implementation. Monthly, party cells all review and grasp requirements and content of training, while pointing out weaknesses and proposing remedial measures to improve the quality of training and combat readiness in the coming time. At the same time, due regard is paid to accelerating the implementation of the Project of renovating political education in units in the new period. The district has organized emulation movements and attached the implementation of the “Determined to Win” Emulation Movement to that of the Politburo’s Directive No.5 on the study and following of Ho Chi Minh’s thought, ethics and lifestyle and the Campaign “promoting traditions, devoting talents, deserving to be Uncle Ho’s soldiers” during training process. As a result, all staff members of the district’s armed forces are fully aware of the importance of the training work, show strong determination to fight, and readily undertake and successfully fulfill all the assigned tasks.

In addition, the district attaches importance to making preparations for training, namely developing plans and programs for training, training cadres, making and approving lesson plans, and preparing training grounds. Among which, training and cultivating cadres is regarded as the key step. Before each training season, the district holds training courses for cadres in charge of training and those of commune-level military commands, which concentrate on new points and weak points of the previous year relevant to the tasks of units and characteristics of the area. Focuses of training courses are on enhancing the capabilities of management and command, methods for training, lesson preparation and lecture rehearsal. Up to now, 100% of the district’s cadres and groups of instructors are capable enough to undertake the training work. Preparations for facilities, training grounds, training aids, lesson plans, and accounts for training management are made in a sufficient, uniform, standardized and scientific manner. In the inspections of training preparation carried out by the Provincial Military Command and the Military Region 3 in 2017, the district was highly commended. The district’s military command conducted research and survey and gave advice to the district’s Party Committee and People’s Committee on planning and construction of general training ground with a total area of 23.29ha. When the project is completed, it will facilitate the training work of the district’s armed forces.

For the sake of the improved quality of training, the district unceasingly renovates content, form and method of training in accordance with each group of troops. Grasping the Central Military Commission’s Resolution 765-NQ/QUTW, the district carries out the training work in a comprehensive, focalized fashion and makes it relevant to each force’s tasks, subjects, operational projects, organizational structure and equipment in accordance with its budget. As for commanders and offices, the district focuses on improving their knowledge and working method related to command, combat preparation and operation; knowledge and method to offer recommendations to local party committees and governments with regard to leadership, direction and operation of defensive zone operations, organization of defensive zone exercise, flood and storm prevention and control, search and rescue, fire and explosion prevention and control, forest protection, etc. As for the reserve force, great importance has been attached to training artillery, air defence, recce, signal, engineering, chemical troops while emphasis has been placed on technical training to make sure that reservists could master technical equipment and possess skills to deal with the situations during operations. Moreover, the district has paid due regard to training them in natural disaster prevention and control and mass mobilization. As for the militia and self-defence forces, the district complies with the motto of “basics, practicality, effectiveness”, focusing on training to improve infantry combat skills, master weapons and equipment, and make members of the militia and self-defence forces proficient at on-site combat projects and collaboration with other forces on patrol, control, and maintenance of political security and social order.

Opening ceremony of the training course intended for the district’s reserve force in 2017 (photo: qtv.vn)

During the course of training, the district has directed localities and units to take training in infantry combat skills as the basis, tactical training as the centre, and materiel practice as the main element. Training in combat skills has been conducted from easy level to difficult level. Tactical training has been conducted from gun battery (or section) level to platoon and company levels. Besides, the district has required units to train their troops in a sufficient, scheduled manner; to maintain the order of all-level competitions; to increase inspection and supervision of commanders and offices to opportunely detect weaknesses and draw lessons. Significance has been attached to planning and dispatching cadres to major in local military at colleges and improving capabilities of commune-level military commands and professional and semi-professional militia and self-defence cadres. As a result, over the past 5 years, the district’s active forces have always fulfilled 100% of training content intended for officers and non-commissioned officers. Annually, 100% of its communes, townships and self-defence units have completed the training task for members of militia and self-defence forces as well as reservists. It should be noted that, in 2016, the district won the runner-up prize in the Coastal Militia Competition and the third prize in the Provincial-Level Excellent Battalion Commander Competition. In 2017, the district won the runner-up prize in the Mobile Militia Platoon Competition and the third prize in the Province-Wide Defence Sport Competition.

In addition, the district regularly perfects the structure of troops and the system of weapons and equipment for forces; maintains the order of combat readiness according to the Military Region 3 Commander’s Order 397/CL-BTL and the Provincial People’s Committee’s Directive 08/CT-UBND; frequently adjusts, complements and completes operational documents and plans and others on defence mobilization, people’s air defence, flood and storm prevention and control; and organizes training and exercises closely. Annually, the district directs 2 of its communes to hold defensive exercises and organizes district-level defensive zone exercises every 4 years. In 2014, the district-level defensive zone exercise was highly appreciated by the Provincial Military Command. In 2016, the district directed Quang An and Duc Yen communes to combine defensive exercise with forest fire prevention and control exercise. In 2017, the district mobilized more than 1,000 cadres, soldiers and members of the militia and self-defence forces to cooperate with Public Security and Border Guard in patrol, control and new-type rural area building, thereby making contribution to maintaining political security, order and safety of the area, which was highly appreciated by local party committees, authorities and people.

Bringing into play the recorded results, in the time to come, the armed forces of Dam Ha district will continue to grasp and successfully implement the training motto of “basics, practicality, thorough grasp”; to closely combine military training with political education, regularity building and discipline management; to actively renovate the program, content, organization and method for training and exercises, with emphasis placed on situational training and operational projects for protection of the area. Notably, the district’s military command will focus on counseling and directing preparations for the district-level defensive zone exercise of 2018, greatly contributing to improving the synergy and combat power of the armed forces, making the district’s defensive zone strong, meeting the requirements of safeguarding the Homeland in the new situation.

Colonel Duong Quang Phu, Standing Member of the District’s Party Committee

Commander of the District’s Military Command