Training is a central, routine task and a solution of importance to improving each office and unit’s synergy and combat power. For that reason, Army Corps 4’s Party Committee and Command have focused their leadership and direction on well performing this important task via practical, synchronous measures to meet the task requirements of a strategic main mobile army corps.

Over the years, the Corps’ Party Committee and Command have concentrated on implementing Resolution 765-NQ/QUTW by the Central Military Commission (CMC) and Resolution 253-NQ/ĐU by the Corps Party Committee on “raising the quality of training in the period of 2013-2020 and beyond.” Emphasis has been placed on achieving a reform in leading, directing, and managing training courses and exercises as well as in contents, programmes, and methods of training and exercises. Besides, due attention has been paid to ensuring facilities for training and exercises. Offices and units of the Corps have adhered to the motto of “basics, practicality, thorough grasp,” proactively, flexibly adjusted contents and programmes of training in accordance with social distancing for COVID-19 prevention and control, held training courses comprehensively, synchronously, closely combined training with discipline management and military standard order building, and aligned political education with military training. At the same time, they have strengthened inspections and re-examinations of training outcome to draw lessons, resolutely overcome weaknesses, and deal with oversimplification, formalism, and merit-driven practice in the training process. As a result, cadres and soldiers’ awareness and responsibility for this important task have been raised. Offices, units, and cadres’ capabilities in commanding and running training courses and exercises have been considerably improved. Troops’ combat readiness capacity and manoeuvrability to settle contingencies have been increasingly bettered. All units of the Corps have met the requirements set by combat readiness and response to natural disasters. The Corps’ synergy, combat readiness capacity, and manoeuvrability have been dramatically improved. The Corps has successfully and even excellently fulfilled all assigned missions.

Currently, the situation in the world and the region continues to be complex and unpredictable. Hostile forces are stepping up their “peaceful evolution” strategy, encouraging “self-evolution” and “self-transformation,” and striving to “depoliticise” our Military. Military build-up, national defence consolidation, and the Homeland protection under Resolutions of the 13th National Party Congress and the 11th Military Party Congress impose more task requirements on the Corps. Against such a backdrop, the Corps has determined to continue realising a breakthrough in raising the quality of training and exercises to contribute to building a revolutionary, regular, elite, gradually modern Corps with a high level of combativeness and manoeuvrability, well performing all tasks, and avoiding falling into passivity in any situation.

Commander of the Corps giving emulation flags to individuals and collectives

In order reach that goal, the Corps has strengthened its leadership and direction to raise its cadres and soldiers’ awareness of this important task. It has required all-level party committees and commands to grasp higher echelons’ resolutions and directives on training work, particularly the CMC’s Conclusion 60-KL/QUTW, dated January 18th, 2019 and the Corps Party Committee’s Resolution on continuing to realise the CMC’s Resolution 765-NQ/QUTW, dated December 20th, 2012 on raising the quality of training in the period of 2013-2020 and beyond as well as Directives on military-defence work by Chief of the General Staff. Offices and units across the Corps have enhanced political education and ideological management so as to render their cadres and soldiers fully aware of the importance of training work to raising the Corps’ synergy and combat power and make a positive change in their staff members’ determination to carry out this work. Emphasis has been placed on clarifying the role of training work in each unit’s task performance and the Corps’ training and combat tradition, advantages, difficulties, and training targets and requirements in the new situation. Besides, the Corps has directed its offices and units to renew forms and methods of education in accordance with each group of troops, especially new soldiers and cadres at tactical level. At the same time, due attention has been paid to improving the quality of party and political work during training, stepping up cheering activities on training grounds, and launching and making the Determination to Win Emulation Movement and the Campaign titled “promoting tradition, devoting talent, deserving to be Uncle Ho’s soldiers” in the new period relevant to contents and targets of training. Besides, the Corps has directed its offices and units to raise their staff members’ awareness and responsibility for COVID-19 prevention and control in new normality so as to safely, flexibly, effectively adapt to the pandemic during training and combat readiness and successfully fulfil all missions in any situation.

The Corps has renewed its contents and methods of training and raised the quality of training its cadres and detachments as a measure of utmost importance. Prior to each training season, all affiliates of the Corps have been asked to review, adjust, and stabilise their organisational structure, with priority given to sufficiently staffing units tasked with training and combat readiness (at least 95%). Offices and units have proactively designed, approved, and promulgated training documents and lesson plans, while resolutely removing overlapping contents or irrelevances to new combat conditions. The Corps has directed its offices and units to organise comprehensive but focalised training courses, align technical and tactical training with tasks-based and situations-based training, enhance physical and night-time training, and improve troops’ manoeuvrability and capabilities in camouflage and diversion under harsh weather conditions or during long-distance field training marches. Simultaneously, the Corps has required its offices and units to hold refresher courses for all-level cadres on issues relevant to their positions and duties. More specifically, commanding officers at all levels have been asked to attend training courses on infantry, service, and specialised tactics, staff work for combat and training, safety regulations, and materiel management. Meanwhile, non-commissioned officers have been trained to run training sessions within squads and batteries. In the training process, significance has been attached to promoting self-consciousness of cadres at all levels. According to the Corps, all cadres shall be able to take charge of training work at their levels; over 90% of battalion-level cadres and more than 70% of cadres at company and platoon levels shall achieve merit or distinction in this work.

Thanks to all-level party committees and commands’ resolute, effective leadership and direction, the Corps’ training quality has been considerably improved. In 2021, all staff members of the Corps passed infantry shooting and tactical tests, and more than 80% of them achieved merit or distinction. One-side, one-level command - office exercises on maps and on the field for regiments, brigades, and divisions together with live-fire tactical exercises for battalions, companies, platoons, and squads were successfully organised and ensured the absolute safety of personnel, weapons, and equipment. Bringing into those good results, offices and units should focus on raising the quality of training and live-fire exercises, improving troops’ manoeuvrability on river plains, organising situations-based training courses, closely combining training with practice and exercises, and aligning military training with political education and discipline management. Grounded on their training plans, all affiliates of the Corps should effectively apply technical initiatives and innovations to the training process. Great value should be attached to training second-year soldiers to swim breaststroke and swim with heavy loads as the basis for training troops to cross rivers. At the same time, due attention should be paid to enhancing physical training and organising long-distance, loaded field training marches and night-time manoeuvres on all types of terrains. Offices and units of the Corps should stringently maintain regulations on long-distance and loaded running and seriously implement plans on training marches to enable troops to improve their resilience. In order to better their combat command and coordination relevant to reality combat, all affiliates of the Corps should well organise general tactical exercises for platoons, companies, and battalions, live-fire field exercises, live-fire combat exercises, joint exercises, tactical-level units’ combat exercises, and exercises on response to non-traditional security challenges, particularly natural disasters and epidemics as well as on search and rescue.

Furthermore, offices and units of the Corps should ensure logistics and technical support for training. To that end, importance should be attached to sufficiently preparing grounds, weapons, and technical equipment for training. To deal with difficulties in training grounds, the Corps will require its offices and units to effectively use funding allocated by higher echelons, construct and upgrade training grounds, apply technical initiatives and innovations, and employ electronic lesson plans in training, practice, and exercises. At the same time, it will cooperate with Military Region 7 and National Shooting Range Region 3 in organising live-fire exercises for large guns and artillery, live-fire tactical exercises, and live-fire combat exercises in a close, safe way. Besides, it will direct its logistics and technical offices to well execute Campaign 50 and the Campaign titled “Military Logistics Branch follows Uncle Ho’s teachings” in order to sufficiently, opportunely ensure logistics and technical materials, effectively keep COVID-19 pandemic under control, maintain troops’ fitness, and make contributions to improving its training, combat readiness, and combat quality in new normality.

Maj. Gen., Dr LUONG DINH LANH

Commander of Army Corps 4