Half a century ago, the Depot J106 (hereafter the Depot) under the Department of Vehicle Management (the Motor Vehicle and Machinery Department at present) was established on December 20^th, 1968. Being founded when the resistance war against American imperialism entered its drastic phase, the Depot focused on strengthening its organizational structure and building forces as well as the system of inter-connected and sustainable storehouses. The Depot establishment made a tremendous change in the technical work of the Army in general and in the work of organising, managing, receiving and distributing vehicle - machine equipment and technical supplies in particular, satisfying the urgent needs of the battlefield, making contributions to improving the manoeuvrability of the main corps for “speedy” and audacious assaults and thereby winning the decisive victories to liberate the South and reunify the country. Ushering in the period of building and protecting the Fatherland, the Depot’s cadres and soldiers have continued promoting the spirit of solidarity, innovation and creativity, strengthening production and technical improvement research, receiving and distributing thousands of tons of vehicle - machine materials and accessories and directly transporting hundreds of tons of materials and ammunition for the sake of training, manoeuvre, combat readiness and combat. These efforts have made the Depot became one of the leading units in the Technical Sector and General Technology Department’s “Determined to Win” emulation movement. In this period, with its position and importance, the Depot was assigned to perform the task of storing national vehicles - machines for national defence. For the great achievements, the Depot was honoured with the title of “Hero of the People’s Armed Forces in the renewal period” and many noble rewards.

These results owe to the fact that the Depot’s Party Committee and Board has thoroughly grasped higher echelon’s resolutions and directives in each period and actively carried out all working aspects with many synchronous solutions. In particular, the emphasis has been placed on making the unit comprehensively strong. To this end, first and foremost, it is necessary to focus on building a strong unit politically as a basis for enhancing comprehensive quality and successfully fulfilling the assigned political tasks. As a national strategic stockpile, the Depot’s Party Committee and Board have put store by the work of political and ideological education as well as by raising awareness, and building up political will and sense of military discipline and State law observance among cadres and soldiers. While well executing general education program, the Depot’s departments have classified objects and renewed content and measures in order to make their soldiers deeply understand the characteristics of the unit’s tasks. Specifically, due attention has been paid to equipping soldiers with thorough understanding that their tasks are not only to provide sufficient vehicle - machine material quantity and quality for the military missions but also to ensure technical safety and synchronisation in the receiving, managing, preserving as well as distributing process, laying down the foundation for each individual to apply to their task performance. The Depot’s Board has directed the agencies and sections to strictly abide by the regime and regularity of political and ideological education. Significance has been attached to combining political education, law dissemination with traditional education, ideological orientation and action guidance for soldiers. As a result, 100% of the Depot’s cadres and soldiers pass the annual political test, over 90% of which are rated credit and distinction.

At the same time, the party committees at all levels have attached great importance to the work of building and consolidating party organizations and party members, especially key cadres and all-level party committee members. Due regard has been also paid to constantly renovating and improving the quality of party activities and intensifying inspection and supervision in order to opportunely detect and prevent manifestations of discipline violation. Currently, the entire Party Committee has been stepping up the work of Party building under the Party’s Central Resolution No.4 (12^th tenure) in association with the implementation of the Politburo’s Directive No. 05-CT/TW (12^th tenure) with the focus placed on heightening the exemplary role of cadres and party members in the task execution, well enforcing the Regulations on Democracy at grassroots level, and periodically holding dialogues between leaders, commanders and the masses. By doing this, the Depot’s Party Committee and commanders have thoroughly grasped soldiers’ ideological situation, opportunely solved problems arising from reality, and created a democratic, disciplinary and harmonious environment within the unit. Thanks to that, all aspects of the Depot have enjoyed the stability, and all cadres and soldiers have single-mindedly devoted themselves to their duties. Via annual evaluation and classification, over 97% of party members have accomplished their tasks well and excellently; the Party Committee and party cells have been rated pure and strong.

In order to ceaselessly improve professional competence, the Depot has concentrated on enhancing the quality of training and actively stepping up the movement of promoting initiatives and technical innovations. Springing from the requirements of making the Army “revolutionary, regular, seasoned, gradually modern”, the demand for ensuring vehicles - machines, especially new-generation ones in the entire army has been increasingly growing. Meanwhile, there still has been a shortage of cadres and technical staff. Furthermore, they had got training in many different majors with different levels. In order to deal with this problem, on a yearly basis, the Depot has strictly implemented training plans for technical sectors and professions. Particularly, consideration has been given to synchronously and extensively training the contingent of repairers, drivers and technicians; closely combining training with educating, raising the sense of responsibility and professional quality, and dispatching cadres and staff to attend technical training courses at institutions inside and outside the Army with well executing the work of on-the-spot training. Besides, the Depot has organised full-time training courses combined with the self-study regime under the motto that: superiors instruct inferiors; qualified and experienced technicians guide new graduates, etc. As a result, professional competence of the Depot’s cadres and technical staff has been constantly heightened, being capable of effectively conducting the technical processes, especially the new ones of vehicle - machine reception, preservation, storage, maintenance, repair, distribution, and synchronisation, satisfying the principles and provisions of the Regulations on technical work, and ensuring absolute safety. A part from the training work, great value has been attached to undertaking scientific research and improving the managerial and operational process in order to reduce the costs and soldiers’ effort but still ensure productivity and efficiency. Currently, dozens of Depot’s projects and initiatives have been recognised and widely applied to practice, such as: the process of preserving chemicals and electrophoresis against degradations of materials; the system of eliminating poisons at chemical storehouses, etc.

The work of regularity building and discipline training has been given consideration as a crucial factor which directly influences the unit’s quality of political task accomplishment. Therefore, each agency and department has thoroughly grasped and fulfilled the objectives and criteria for making the Technical Sector regular. In particular, significance has been attached to planning the system of regular warehouses under the motto: “Easy to find, easy to see, easy to take, easy to check”; gathering, rotating, re-planning the number of vehicle - machine technical equipment in each department while arranging and classifying technical supplies in warehouses to ensure the convenience in management. The system of documents for registration, receipt, distribution and signboards at storehouses has been sufficient and synchronous in line with stipulated forms. Especially, thanks to the creative application of information technology to professional work, especially to managerial work, to date, 100% of items of vehicle - machine technical supplies have been managed via computer, satisfying the requirements of regular, scientific and modern management. The system of technical equipment and national defence machine reserve warehouses has been built in conformity with the standards of Regular Depots. Along with that, the daily and monthly working regimes (being on duty, patrolling and so on) and the registration of people and vehicles in and out the camp, especially at the warehouses have been strictly maintained. The system of fire and explosion prevention equipment has also carefully verified. The work of fire prevention and fighting has been inspected, strengthened, supplemented and adjusted opportunely in terms of force, vehicle and plan, ensuring readiness to handle any situations effectively. The work of internal political protection as well as the cooperation with local authorities and stationed security agencies have been closely executed. The movement “Building safe unit associated with safe locality” has been performed. Therefore, despite separated barracks and complicated social issues in the stationed area, the Depot’s cadres and soldiers have always upheld their political will and abided by the Army discipline and State law. Over the past years, the Depot has witnessed no serious disciplinary violation case and the ordinary violation rate has been less than 0.2%, ensuring confidentiality and absolute safety with regard to storehouse, barrack and property.

Together with the above-mentioned points, the Depot’s Party Committee and Board have also directed the unit to well perform the logistics work, actively exploited on-the-spot resources, increased agricultural production, grown vegetables and fruit and timber trees, bred cattle and poultry, thereby contributing to improving soldiers’ material and spiritual life and becoming a production model of the General Technology Department. The soldiers’ healthcare has been maintained regularly. In addition to the periodic health check-ups as prescribed, the Depot has also closely cooperated with functional units inside and outside the Army in inspecting and evaluating the quality of workplace safety as a legal basis to apply hazard allowance regime and help the Depot’s Party Committee and Board opportunely propose measures to minimize the impacts of the environment on soldiers’ health. Thanks to that, the annual healthy soldier rate has always reached 99.5% and above. All regimes and policies have been stringently maintained in line with regulations.

Promoting the tradition of 50 years of construction and development, the Depot’s generations of cadres and soldiers will always bring into full play the spirit of solidarity, innovation, creativity and make great efforts to accomplish all assigned tasks well in order to deserve the tradition of a “Hero of the People’s Armed Forces in the renewal period”.

Sr. Col. Pham Thanh Toan, Commander of the Depot