Artillery Brigade 368 (hereinafter referred to as the Brigade), whose forerunner was Artillery Regiment 368, Division 2, under Military Region 5 was founded on 22 December 1974, in response to the Military’s task requirements at the decisive moment of the resistance war against US imperialists for national salvation, marking the development of the artillery force of Military Region 5. Right after its foundation, the Brigade inherited and brought into play the tradition of “bronze feet, iron shoulders, good combat, accurate firing” of the Artillery Force to develop itself on the key battlefield of Zone 5 and fulfil the international mission in Cambodia. In the past 50 years, cadres and soldiers of the Brigade have always remained united, proactively overcoming difficulties, achieving many brilliant feats of arms, building up the Brigade’s glorious tradition, making great contributions to the development, maturity, and victory of Military Region 5’s artillery troops. With its outstanding achievements, the Brigade has been given the title of Hero of the People’s Armed Forces, Third-Class Feat-of-Arms Order, Second-Class and Third-Class Fatherland Protection Orders, and many other noble awards by the State.

Troops of the Brigade practise firing during MT-22 exercise

Promoting its glorious tradition, in the period of Fatherland construction and protection, the Brigade has focused on raising the quality of training and combat readiness, while considering training and combat readiness as a central, routine political task to contribute to making itself exemplarily, typically comprehensively strong with great synergy and combat power in the new situation.

To that end, the Brigade has attached much importance to strengthening all-level party committees and commands’ leadership and direction over training and combat readiness. Annually, under the Combat Training Order of the Military Region Commander and higher echelons’ directives and guiding documents, the Brigade Party Committee and all-level party committees have issued specialised resolutions on training and combat readiness relevant to the particularities of each office and unit. Within those resolutions, all-level party committees have clarified weaknesses in training and combat readiness, identifying central and breakthrough contents in this work, formulating synchronous, close measures in accordance with their units’ task requirements and operational areas. Grounded on those resolutions, offices and units have developed action plans in a serious, effective way, enhancing the work of direction, administration, and inspection, opportunely making adjustments relevant to each period and moment. In the process, the Brigade has required all-level cadres to promote a sense of responsibility and actively renewed all-level party committees’ method of leadership, with the aim of ensuring uniform, smooth, rapid, and efficient leadership and command in the performance of all tasks. Due regard has been paid to well conducting education work to raise awareness of training and combat readiness among cadres and soldiers, particularly all-level party committees and commands, building strong motivation, sense of responsibility, and determination among all troops, opportunely dealing with signs of fearfulness for difficulties and hardships in the performance of their tasks.

Adhering to commands and directives by the Ministry of National Defence and Military Region 5, the Brigade’s Party Committee and Command have concentrated their leadership and direction on combat readiness. Forces in charge of combat readiness duty on a daily basis and during national holidays and major political events have been organised under regulations. The Brigade has strictly maintained a detachment-level artillery unit on duty for the Military Region, while regularly carrying out patrols and guard to ensure the safety of its assigned targets and stationed areas. Offices and units have practised combat readiness projects and plans to improve their organisation, command, and coordination capabilities and evaluate their manoeuvrability in dealing with situations. The Brigade has closely collaborated with local party committees and commands, the Public Security Force, and other friendly military units to protect national security, ensure social order and safety, prevent and combat crime, perform national defence tasks under the Government’s Decree 03/2019/NĐ-CP dated 5 September 2019, and design and implement combat readiness plans to safeguard major political events of the Party and State and avoid falling into passivity in any circumstances.

To keep raising their synergy and combat readiness capacity, the Brigade’s Party Committee and Command have placed much weight on carrying out training work in a practical, effective manner under the motto of “taking the training of cadres as the key, tactical training as the centre, artillery firing training as the main step, and specialised training as the basis”. The Brigade’s Party Committee and Command have frequently directed offices and units to make all necessary preparations for training. While repairing and constructing training grounds, materials, and equipment, the Brigade has focused on renewing the development and approval of training plans in a synchronous, highly feasible fashion. Training plans have been designed under coordination between offices and units in a meticulous, uniform way. Due attention has been paid to closely combining regular training with additional training, encouraging self-study and self-training, maintaining a harmony between brainpower and physical fitness, maximising and properly rotating training weapons, equipment, and grounds. The design and approval of lesson plans and teaching rehearsals have been maintained seriously under regulations on training-related staff work. Units have stepped up the movement on promoting initiatives and technical innovations, ensuring sufficient logistics materials, weapons, and technical equipment for training tasks.

The Brigade has seen the training of cadres, particularly at detachment level as a deciding factor in the quality of training. Offices and units have carefully prepared and well organised refresher courses for cadres, improving cadres’ professional competence and training methods, with a focus on settling cadres’ weaknesses in detachment-level training. In 2024, the Brigade held 4 training courses for its cadres and 2 other ones for its professional employees, deploying its cadres to refresher courses organised by the Military Region under regulations. Up to now, all cadres of the Brigade have been able to undertake training courses at their levels; 80% of battalion-level cadres and 75% of cadres at company and platoon levels have been rated merit or distinction in training work.

In the training process, the Brigade has directed its units to grasp and effectively apply training viewpoints, principles, mottos, and innovations in accordance with their particularities and each group of troops. Significance has been attached to holding synchronous, specialised, practical training courses and improving units’ organisation, tactic, and coordination capabilities. Grounded on the tasks of each group of troops and each unit, the Brigade has concentrated on training troops to master the weapons and technical equipment in service, enabling troops to effectively use both traditional and modern weapons and technical equipment, raising the quality of firing. Field training, long-distance manoeuvre, night-time training on various types of terrain have been intensified; the Brigade has stringently maintained regulations on joint training between its affiliates, carrying out inspections of company-level joint training (twice a month) and battalion-level firing command training (once a month), routinely conducting tabletop artillery firing.

Moreover, the Brigade has enhanced a reform in training management and operation, while closely maintaining procedures for training from easy to difficult steps as well as from individual training to unit-to-unit coordination. It has closely combined direction work with the organisation of training courses and required all-level cadres to enhance inspection of training work. It has strictly maintained regulations on statistical and report work and organised conferences to draw lessons on training on a weekly, monthly, and quarterly basis at all levels. It has closely combined training with discipline management and promoted the role of its competent offices in inspecting, monitoring, and guiding units in training work. It has frequently, effectively carried out party and political work during training at each level, particularly during the training of new recruits, attaching much importance to educating troops and raising troops’ awareness and responsibility, well organising cultural, artistic, and sport activities on days off and in rest hours under regulations. It has also focused on conducting preliminary and final reviews to correctly evaluate the outcome of training of each collective and individual, aligning the outcome of training work with task performance assessment and appointment of each cadre, party member, and youth union member. It has well organised emulation movements during training to opportunely commend and reward typical collectives and individuals, while regularly, effectively maintaining training contests to stimulate troops’ enthusiasm for training work. In 2024, the Brigade successfully organised one-side, one-level command - office exercises on the map and in the field, holding general tactical exercises for 2 battalions with good results, taking part in the Military Region’s live-fire joint exercise with the absolute safety. The Brigade has been suggested for the Good Training Unit Flag of the Ministry of National Defence by the Military Region.

In the new revolutionary period, more demanding task requirements are being imposed on the Brigade. To deserve the confidence of the Party, State, and people, cadres and soldiers of Artillery Brigade 368 will always treasure massive merits of their predecessors, continue to heighten a strong sense of responsibility, readily undertake and excellently accomplish all assigned tasks, and strive for new achievements and feats of arms to contribute to the Brigade’s heroic tradition.

Sr. Col. NGUYEN TRONG BAY

Commander of the Brigade