Division 364 (Military Region 1) was founded on April 22nd, 1978. Over the past 40 years of building, fighting and maturing, generations of the Division’s cadres and troops have always strived to successfully fulfilled the assigned task, building up the tradition of “united, self-reliant, resilient, determined to win”, contributing to the tradition of the Military Region’s armed forces in the cause of building and safeguarding the Homeland.

Sr. Col. Nguyen Khac Huy commands a live-fire exercise in November 2017

In recent years, the task of military build-up and Homeland protection in the new situation has imposed very demanding requirements for the Military Region’s armed forces, in general, the Division, in particular. Perceiving it and the situation and its tasks, the Division has thoroughly grasped the Party’s military and defence guidelines, kept a close eye on the Military Region’s Party Committee and High Command’s leadership and direction, proactively taken synchronous measures for building and improving its synergy and combat strength, maintaining readiness for undertaking and successfully fulfilling every assigned task in any circumstance.

To that end, first, the Division’s Party Committee and Command have focused their leadership and direction on consolidating politico-spiritual foundation and making the unit politically strong. This is the primary element for boosting the combat strength of each unit. That is more important to the Division as most of its affiliated units are in standing structures with reduced strength. Most of troops are ethics from remote and isolated areas with different knowledge levels. Facilitaties are inadequate and downgraded. Weapons and equipment have been used for ages and lack synchronization. Against this backdrop, the Division has concentrated on conducting the work of political education and ideological orientation, and enhancing the effectiveness of party and political work in all operations, especially in training and combat readiness tasks. Offices and units have adopted measures for propagation, education, ideological management, internal political protection, while further making troops fully understand the tasks, educating tradition, opportunely orienting troops ideologically, particularly towards complex developments of the situation in the world, the region, the country and the area. Due to the particularities of its troops, due regard has been paid to visual propagation and promoting the vanguard, exemplary role of cadres and party members via specific deeds in educating troops and building their motive and repsonsibility. Moreover, the Division has intensified the implementation of the Grass-Roots Level Democracy Regulations, actively renewed the method to organize the Political, Cultural and Spiritual Day specifically, practically and in accordance with the situation of units. The Division’s commanders and offices have maintained the order for meetings and dialogues with cadres and troops, thereby opportunely grasping the situation and resolving the arising issues right at grass-roots level, creating a sense of unity and consensus within the unit. Fully aware that Party building represents a key point deciding the building of politically strong unit, the Division has attached great important to consolidating and improving the leadership and combat capabilities of party commitees and organizations, particularly in junior units. Promoting the recorded results, the Division is now accelerating the Party building and rectification according to the Resolution of the Party Central Committee’s 4th Plenum (12th tenure) in association with the implementation of the Politburo’s Directive No.5 (12th tenure) on enhancing the study and following of Ho Chi Minh’s thought, ethics and lifestyle as well as the Campaign “promoting tradition, devoting talent, deserving to be Uncle Ho’s soldiers” in an effort to maintain the Party’s leadership and combat goal in any circumstance.

Determining that training is the political, consistent task and the direct measure to improve its combat readiness capability and combat strength, the Division’s Party Committee and Command have concentrated their leadership and direction on making a breakthrough in the improved quality of training and exercises. Grounded on the Central Military Commission’s Resolution 765-NQ/QUTW, the Division’s Party Committee’s Resolution 703-NQ/ĐU, the Division’s Party Committee has released the Resolution 52-NQ/ĐU on “improving the quality of training in the 2013-2020 period and beyond”, with a focus on renewing the work of training leadership, direction, management and operation as well as the training and exercise content, organization and method at all levels. To achieve the stated goals and requirements, the Division has strengthened the leadership and direction of party committees and cells and commanders at all levels over the training task; stipulated the responsibility of offices and units for counselling, operating and organizing training task; requested units to make comprehensive, elaborate preparations for training, particularly the step to train and cultivate cadres and the increased inspection and review; resolutely removed the signs of oversimplification, formalism and “achievement disease” in training. In response to a dearth of cadres, annually, prior to the training season, the Division has proactively temporarily dispatched cadres from offices to units for training task, while classifying groups of troops to organize training courses, i.e. new recruits, first-year soldiers, second-year soldiers, reservists, etc. In addition to decentralizing training courses, the Division has seriously maintained the order for in-service training and cultivation of cadres via competitions, while encouraging and facilitating cadres’ self-study. Besides, the Division has established and maintained the operation of clubs (fit troops club, K54 pistol shooting club, AK rifle shooting club at division level) and promoted their role in assisisting units in these training sections. By taking those practical measures, up to now, 100% of the Division’s cadres have been trained at their level; 80% of batallion and company level cadres and over 70% platoon cadres have achieved the degree of an excellent trainer.

In order that troops possess good technical and tactical skills, resoluteness, manoeuvrability, adaptability to respond to every situation, the Division has actively renewed training content and method in accordance with its task, organizational structure and equipment. Units have followed the guildelines “basics, practicality, thorough grasp” while carrying out training courses in a synchronous, intensive manner and making them relevant to reality of combat, area of operation and characteristics of opponents. Units have taken technical training as the basis, tatical training as the centre, and detachment training as the focus. From lessons learnt from reality, the Division has closely combined training with exercises, regularity building, and discipline management as well as military training with political education, thereby building up troops’ belief in our ways of fighting and existing materiel. Due to troops’ uneven intellectual standards, the Divison has directed its units to attach great importance to training new recruits and classifying groups of troops to develop plans for tutoring troops. To meet the requirements set by operations in a hi-tech war, the Division has paid due attention to field training, night-time training, and training to enhance the manoeuvrability and capability of combat coordination and camouflage. The Division has also inceased training according to tasks, operational projects, and physical training, river-crossing training, fire and explosion prevention and control training as well as search and rescue training. Notably, significance has been attached to conducting exercises, especially combined and live fire exercises at all levels as exercises act as an effective form of training which helps cadres and troops stay close to reality of combat and improve their spirit. Over the past years, the result of the Division’s training has always been good and highly appreciated by the Military Region. In 2017, the Division organized and took part in 4 commanders and offices’ exercises, while directing the organization of combined tactical exercises for 3 infantry companies, 9 platoons and 54 squads. That result has clearly demonstrated the Division’s combat strength.

In tandem with training, the Division has sychronously taken measures to maintain and enhance the capability of combat readiness, avoiding being falling into passivity in any situation. To do so, the Division has directed its units to intensify education to raise cadres and troops’ awareness of discipline observance and revolutionary vigilance. At the same time, it has proactively built, reviewed, adjusted and completed the system of operational plans, determination and projects in accordance with the development of situation and mission requirements as the basis for organizing training and exercisese at all levels. Basing on the assigned task, the Divison has closely cooperated with agencies of the Military Region in carrying out field research and making preparations for posture according to operational projects, while working with localities in its area to grasp the reservist resources, build plans for mobilization and reception properly. In addition, significance has been attached to coordinating, exchanging and grasping the situation; intensifying inspection of offices and units’ combat readiness work related to operational projects, and fire, explosion, and natural disaster prevention and control; maintaining the order for practising combat readiness status shift during annual training courses. As a result, it has opportunely overcome weaknesses and limitations, particularly detected and seriously settled violations of discipline and combat readiness regulations as well as signs of subjectivity and lack of vigilance.

Also, the Division has paid due regard to the work of logistics and technical support, considering this work as an important element to maintain and enhance its combat strength. Up to now, the Division has self-supplied vegetable and most of meat and fish. The Division’s percentage of fit troops has always been over 98.5%. Regarding technical support, the Division has maintained the order for weapons and equipment maintenance and repair at all levels according to regulations; seriously maintained the quantity of material, weapons and equipment for combat readiness at all levels so that the Division could successfully fulfil all the assigned tasks.

The achievements mentioned above serve as an important prerequisite for the Division 346 to continue to further improve its synergy and combat strength, meeting the mission requirements, deserving to be the Military Region 1’s regular unit stationed in the “Capital of mountain and forest wind”.

Sr. Col. Nguyen Khac Huy

Commander of the Division 346