On February 3^rd 1975, the Signal Regiment 575 (the present-day Signal Brigade 575 under the Military Region 5) was founded and tasked with ensuring communications for the Military Region 5’s Command to direct affiliated units. At the same time, it focused on building a strong Regiment capable of mastering technology and keeping improving its capacity to manage signal equipment. Since its inception (a unit under the Phuong Dong Corps II in 1961) with a small force and obsolete signal equipment, the Brigade had become unceasingly strong in terms of force, quality, and technical equipment. The commanding capacity of its all-level cadres and the professional competence of its troops (radio wave, wired wave, manoeuvre signal, military post, and repair) were raised to opportunely meet the requirements for communications, thereby making great contributions to the general feats of arms by the people and troops of the Military Region 5.

After the country was unified, on the quiet front without a boundary between day and night as well as between frontline and rear, the Brigade’s cadres and soldiers cooperated with the Military Region 5’s units in raiding and destroying the FULRO (a reactionary organisation), ensured communications to serve the fight for defending the Southwest border, took part in the international mission in Cambodia’s Northeast, and gradually overcome difficulties to make itself comprehensively strong. With its remarkable achievements gained over the past 45 years, the Brigade was given the title of “Hero of the People’s Armed Forces” by the State.

Sr. Col. Nguyen Tien Dung inspects the work of ensuring communications

Bringing into play its heroic tradition in the new situation, the Brigade has always heightened a spirit of unity and self-reliance and proactively settled all hardships to maintain “timely, accurate, secret, and safe” communications in all situations. To achieve that outcome, the Brigade has always focused its leadership and direction on the work of education to raise its cadres and soldiers’ awareness and responsibility for the performance of their task. It should be noted that units of the Brigade are scattered and many of them are working independently with a dearth of staff members and equipment. Meanwhile, their tasks are demanding and they have to perform various missions a part from regular communications. That necessitates each party committee and command enhancing their leadership and direction while each cadre and soldier must promote their determination and responsibility to the utmost. The Brigade clearly understands that the primary goal of education is to make each cadre and soldier determinedly master equipment and surmount all difficulties and hardships to ensure smooth, effective communications regardless of a lack of equipment. Thus, the all-level party committees and commands within the Brigade have grasped higher echelons’ directives, well carried out the work of political and ideological education, and flexibly, creatively, effectively employed forms and methods of education to raise their cadres and soldiers’ awareness and responsibility. Significance has been attached to providing an incentive for cadres and soldiers to master equipment, making them self-aware to conform to the principles and disciplines for communications, and building up their scientific faith in the task of ensuring communications in difficult circumstances, against the enemy’s superiority and the trends of “soft warfare” and “hi-tech warfare.” As a result, cadres and soldiers across the Brigade have always kept their mind on their work, determinedly overcome difficulties to fulfil their task, and considered smooth, timely, accurate, secret, and safe communications as their prime goal.  

To improve the quality of signal equipment, the Brigade has proactively carried out surveys and developed plans to properly exploit cable networks, communications directions, and manoeuvre routes, while enhancing its capacity to ensure communications in the important directions and key units and areas. At the same time, it has concentrated on upgrading the radio network to maintain communications between the Military Region 5’s Command and the Ministry of National Defence, services, corps, and affiliated units as well as between itself and units and localities in the key areas. Additionally, it has promoted the short-wave and extremely-short-wave networks to standardise communications from tactical to campaign levels. Also, it has actively consolidated the wired network to improve the quality of communications and combined military communications with civilian communications in order to create an extensive, smooth communications network across units and localities.

To both ensure regular communications and perform the tasks of manoeuvre and combat readiness, the Brigade has used its force and equipment properly for missions and unexpected situations. It has also effectively combined military communications equipment and networks with the system of regional post and communications so as to maintain regular communications. Besides, it has upgraded the regular communications network, built new ones, and gradually used advanced ones. It has received and effectively exploited new equipment and vehicles, such as VSAT and Trunking vehicles, search and rescue communications vehicles, mobile general communications station vehicles, and new transceivers. It has developed plans for ensuring communications in the Military Region 5’s air defence combat and establishing communications network for intelligence and warning to opportunely serve the purpose of direction and command. It has adopted measures for diversionary tactics and camouflage, while anticipating and effectively dealing with situations in the conditions of electronic warfare. Besides, the Brigade has always attached significance to keeping communications secret, enhancing measures for protecting its forces’ communications security, and frequently inspecting the high-confidentiality communications network. Troops of the Brigade have observed the discipline of communications and the regulations on managing, using, and transporting dispatches.

A refresher course held by the Brigade in 2019

To ensure timely, accurate, secret, and safe communications, the training work must be effectively, practically carried out. Thus, the Brigade has focused on boosting the quality of training under the motto of “basics, practicality, and thorough grasp.” Grasping higher echelons’ directives and guiding documents on the training work, the all-level party committees and commands have focused their leadership and direction on organising the training work in accordance with each unit’s task. In addition to carefully preparing training materials and grounds, the Brigade has attached importance to training its instructors and training cadres prior to each training season. The Brigade has concretised the training programs into each training section relevant to each group of troops and each unit’s task and practical conditions. As for its officers, the Brigade has trained them to master theories about tactics, campaign art, and regulations on ensuring communications for types of combat and exercises, improved their professional knowledge, and made them capable of efficiently using the existing equipment and the new one, and providing training courses for their troops at their level. Concerning its non-commissioned officers and technical employees, the Brigade has provided intensive training courses for them to meet the requirements for regular communications and combat readiness, while frequently assessing the quality and competence of its technical staff via contests. Its non-commissioned officers have been trained to master specialised tactics and skills and know how to operate and correct their soldiers’ rehearsal. Consequently, all professional servicepersons and technical employees of the Brigade have satisfied the professional criteria. The Brigade has concentrated on training its units in specialised tactical types and making them capable of dealing with communications situations according to each task. Great value has been attached to training the Brigade’s troops to use new equipment and mobile communications vehicles, improving the manoeuvrability and capacity to deploy force and equipment in all forms of terrain and weather, and making its troops expert in maintaining constant, independent communications, preventing and fighting against the enemy’s electronic suppression in the hi-tech warfare. Great weight has been added to organising night-time and physical training and enhancing troops’ manoeuvrability to perform their task. Over the years, the Brigade has always fulfilled the training task and it has been continuously given the Flag of “Good Training Unit” from 2012 to 2018 by the Ministry of National Defence.

In addition to the training work, the Brigade has frequently launched emulation movements, such as “Clinging onto the line to maintain communications,” “Good training, unity, strict discipline, combat readiness, and smooth, solid communications,” “Maintaining unity and cooperation, ensuring smooth, solid communications, and determinedly successfully fulfilling the assigned task” as the basis for its cadres and soldiers to settle all difficulties and accomplish their missions. Against the degeneration of its equipment caused by weather and climate, the Brigade has heightened a spirit of self-reliance, promoted technical initiatives, and stringently maintained the order for equipment preservation and maintenance. Its cadres and soldiers have always followed the motto of “preserving and using equipment effectively, sustainably, safely, and economically”, while introducing effective technical initiatives and innovations. As a result, the Brigade has made best use of its existing equipment and gradually used the new one.

Thanks to the above-mentioned measures, the Brigade has always ensured “timely, accurate, secret, and safe” communications. The quality of radio network has always been stabilised while the wired communications network has been frequently consolidated with the standard quality. Besides, it has always maintained its force and equipment to provide smooth communications for military exercises, natural disaster prevention and mitigation, search and rescue drills and other contingency missions.

Sr. Col. Nguyen Tien Dung, Commander of the Brigade