Sunday, July 04, 2021, 10:46 (GMT+7)
Division 324 improves the quality of exercises

To possess  the great synergy and combativeness and successfully fulfil all assigned tasks, in recent years, the Division 324’s Party Committee and Command have synchronously, drastically taken measures, with a focus on raising the quality of exercises to deserve to be a main, mobile unit of the Military Region 4. Grounded on directives and commands for training and combat readiness at all levels, the Division has formulated plans for exercises on various scales, made elaborate preparations, maintained coordination with relevant localities, units and forces, and closely organised exercises with the absolute safety of personnel, weapons, and equipment, thereby reaching the preset goals and requirements. It should be noted that all staff command and general exercises have been successfully or even excellently held, particularly at company and battalion levels, which has been highly appreciated by Commander of the Military Region 4. Via such exercises, all-level cadres’ organisational skills and capabilities in commanding combat have been gradually perfected, combat coordination between forces has been closely maintained, the Division’s synergy and combat power have been unceasingly enhanced to make itself capable of readily undertaking and successfully fulfilling all assigned missions.

Discussion during the reconnaissance mission of the exercise in 2020

To obtain those achievements, the Division has concentrated on well carrying out the party and political work prior to, during, and after its exercises. Being fully aware that “good judgement will lead to scientific actions and brilliant task performance,” the Division’s Party Committee and Command have directed offices and units to flexibly, creatively adopt various measures to improve the quality and effectiveness of the party and political work. Emphasis has been placed on making troops clearly understand combat training commands by Commander of the Military Region 4, plans for exercises by the Military Region 4’s Staff, and the Division’s task, advantages, difficulties, targets, technical and tactical requirements, and safety regulations. Troops have also been educated on the relationship between the Military and the people and the observance of commanders’ orders. In the education process, offices and units have proactively identified and resolutely fought against the signs of subjectivity and oversimplification so as to achieve a consensus amongst their troops on exercises and promote their synergy during exercises. Besides, the Division has required its offices and units to raise the quality of the emulation and commendation work, step up propaganda on the training ground, and opportunely disseminate the results of each exercise situation and task in order to give an incentive to their troops. Due attention has been paid to aligning the responsibility of all-level party committee members and commanders with the results of exercises as an important yardstick for assessing their capacity. Thanks to the party and political work, every year, all cadres and soldiers proactively surmount difficulties to successfully fulfil their tasks during exercises.

Furthermore, the Division has carefully made preparations in terms of personnel and material, such as documents, ground equipment, and theatre of exercise. Prior to each staff command or general exercise, the Division has established the steering board, the organising board, the assisting force, and “the object of combat,” while assigning the preparatory task to each office and unit in a synchronous, close, serious manner. Offices and units have thoroughly grasped and introduced exercise-related commands and directives, researched the area, formed their intention, developed sufficient plans, scenarios, and political, logistics, and technical documents to direct exercises. They have also reached an agreement on the combat staff work and the exercise contents in line with tactical rules, characteristics of the area, and their personnel, weapons, and equipment.

To accomplish its exercises, the Division has directed its staff offices and units to hold refresher courses on offices’ command exercises and units’ general exercises. Focuses of those courses have been placed on tactical theories, sequence of steps of combat readiness shift, preparatory work, combat practice, commanders and detachments’ action in each combat situation and stage. Specific tasks have been assigned to the assisting, guard, and particularly “acting” forces as the basis for practising exercises in a practically qualitative and effective fashion. In addition to personnel, the Division has directed its offices and units to invest human, material and financial resources in upgrading ground equipment and facilities, such as the headquarters of the evacuation zone, the exercise zone, and the system of shelters, trenches, fortresses, and physical models. Significance has been attached to both qualitatively and quantitatively deploying equipment for liv-firing exercises under the steering board’s situations and projects and ensuring the safety regulations. At the same time, consideration has been given to closely cooperating with relevant units, forces, and especially localities so that they would exactly know the timing and venues of the Division’s exercises, particularly the live-firing ones, maintain their production and business, create a favourable condition for troops, and ensure the safety of their people.

Moreover, the Division’s Party Committee and Command have placed special emphasis on organising exercises in a close, procedural manner and ensuring the absolute safety of personnel, weapons, and equipment as a top priority. Being fully aware that exercises represent the highest form of general training aimed at testing and evaluating a unit’s combat readiness and power, the Division has directed its offices and units to bring into play their political responsibility and determination, actively renew the contents of exercises, improve their capabilities in analysing and assessing the situation to quickly make right decisions. They have also been required to flexibly, creatively apply tactics and methods of combat to promptly settle operational situations designed by the steering board. Doing so has helped improve the political zeal, knowledge, and commanding style and method of all-level cadres to meet the requirements set by modern warfare and effectively respond to non-traditional security challenges.

A live-firing exercise

To ensure that every exercise would be closely organised without any drawback, immediately after the shift in combat readiness, the Division has required all-level party committees and commands to grasp and perform their tasks in a scientific, smooth fashion, receive the reserve force, and make careful preparations for combat. Meanwhile, conferences have been held in a quick, serious, procedural manner relevant to the conditions of wartime. Besides, offices and units have been asked to master preparatory steps, practise combat, grasp their role, receive, report, and pass commands, and specifically, sufficiently, opportunely introduce and perform the tasks. In this regard, importance has been attached to organising meetings with commissars and conferences between party committee standing boards and commands to introduce the tasks and identify the combat determination and missions of urgency. All-level party committees’ conferences to ratify the combat determination have been held in a timely, procedural, scientific, flexible way. When operating general exercises, units within the Division have focused on organising long training marches across difficult, complex terrains in accordance with combat reality so as to improve their troops’ will, fitness, and resilience. When garrisoning troops, they have trained on maps and physical models. Moreover, they have correctly dealt with situations in line with tactical forms and methods of combat at their level.

The Division has determined to ensure the absolute safety during its exercises, particularly live firing in the stages of manoeuvring forces to occupy and build the battlefield, preparing firepower, conquering the first line, attacking the targets, combating the enemy’s huddles, airborne operations, flanks and rear, controlling battles and withdrawing troops. Units have been required to strictly comply with commanders’ orders, manoeuvre for combat in accordance with the intent, organise live firing in each situation under commanders’ orders, and flexibly apply tactical principles to commanding operations. It is worth noting that in 2020, under the Division’s directions, the Regiment 1 and the Regiment 335 ordered the Infantry Battalion 3 and the Infantry Battalion 6 to hold live-firing exercises and combat the enemy within defensive positions on a midland terrain. During those exercises, 95% of the targets were destroyed, while the absolute safety were ensured.

Additionally, the Division has stringently, effectively maintained conferences and meetings to draw lessons after each phase and task of its exercises. Emphasis has been placed on reviewing and evaluating the combat staff work of commanders and offices, the building of fortifications, battlefields, and headquarters, detachments’ combat actions, combat coordination between forces, and troops’ observance of combat commands, discipline, and safety regulations during exercises. In the process, the Division has directed offices and units to organise conferences to draw lessons at each level, with a focus on analysing and assessing the results, clarifying weaknesses, and proposing measures to further improve the quality of the following exercises. Via such meetings, offices and units have opportunely commended and rewarded collectives and individuals with the outstanding achievements during exercises.

Those positive results and valuable lessons will provide the Division 324 with a solid foundation to well perform its training task in the upcoming time and make contributions to enhancing its synergy and combat strength for the defence of the Homeland.

Sr. Col. HOANG DUY CHIEN, Commander of the Division

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