Infantry Division 395 under Military Region 3 is tasked with organising training courses and maintaining combat readiness and manoeuvre for settling situations, including natural disaster and epidemic prevention and control as well as search and rescue, under orders of the Military Region and the Ministry of National Defence (MND). The Division has to perform heavy duties, but its affiliates are stationed in all urban, mountainous, and coastal areas far from its headquarters together with a lot of difficulties in troops’ living conditions, amidst complex developments of COVID-19. Hence, the Division’s Party Committee and Command have adhered to the motto of “high-level combat readiness, good training, strict discipline, absolute safety” and synchronously implemented measures, with a focus on enhancing Determination to Win Emulation Movement as an incentive for offices, units, and staff members to overcome difficulties, successfully fulfil their assigned tasks, and build an “exemplarily, typically” strong, pure Divisional Party Organisation and an “exemplarily, typically” comprehensively strong Division.

Under those guidelines, the Division has strengthened the work of propagation and education to raise its cadres and soldiers’ awareness of emulation and commendation work and Determination to Win Emulation Movement, thereby creating synergy and achieve a consensus in the process. The Division’s Party Committee and Command have directed offices and units to grasp Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, the Party’s guidelines, the State’s laws and policies, and higher echelons’ resolutions, directives, and guiding documents on emulation and commendation work and Determination to Win Emulation Movement. Emphasis has been placed on the Law on Emulation and Commendation, the Central Military Commission Standing Board’s Directive 507-CT/QUTW, dated August 28th, 2014 on “continuing to renew emulation and commendation work within the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA),” the MND’s Circular 151/2018/TT-BQP, dated October 12th, 2018 stipulating and guiding emulation and commendation within the VPA. The Division has required its offices and units to include the work of propagation and education in all activities of troops and promote the effectiveness of internal radio systems. As a result, all cadres and soldiers have clearly understood the role of emulation and commendation work and Determination to Win Emulation Movement, while showing their great resolve for emulation and raising their responsibility to surmount difficulties and fulfil all contents and targets of emulation.

Leadership and direction of all-level party organisations, commissars, commanders, and political offices act as a determinant to the quality, effectiveness, and development of emulation and commendation work and Determination to Win Emulation Movement. Therefore, the Divisions’ Party Committee and Command have directed offices and units to grasp and concretise contents and targets of Determination to Win Emulation Movement launched by their higher echelons into their party committees’ resolutions and their commanders’ work plans. Due attention has been paid to promoting the roles of all-level political offices in guiding, inspecting, and evaluating emulation and commendation work and Determination to Win Emulation Movement. In the process, the Division has required its affiliates to seriously take steps of Determination to Win Movement and closely inspect and review the implementation of the Movement to draw lessons. Great value has been attached to frequently consolidating regimental- and divisional-level Emulation - Commendation Councils and emulation commissions both qualitatively and quantitatively and effectively maintaining their operation. At the same time, due regard has been paid to reviewing, supplementing, and perfecting Regulations on Emulation and Commendation, establishing a marking system from company to regimental levels as the basis for practical evaluations of emulation, and taking the outcome of Determination to Win Emulation Movement as an important yardstick for assessing the task performance of all-level party committees, commands, cadres, party members, and soldiers. Consequently, Determination to Win Emulation Movement within the Division has created a strong motivation for cadres and soldiers to successfully fulfil their assigned missions.

Commander of the Division rewarding collectives and individuals with outstanding achievements in realising the Politburo’s Directive 05-CT/TW in the period of 2016-2021

In order to develop Determination to Win Emulation Movement both widely and deeply, the Division has directed its offices and units to actively renew methods of organising the Movement in accordance with their practical conditions under the motto of “maintaining unity, encouraging innovation, tightening discipline, heightening role model-setting responsibility, and being Determined to Win.” Offices and units have regularly diversified methods of organising Determination to Win Emulation Movement and closely combined this Movement with the study and following of Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, ethics and lifestyle, the Campaign titled “promoting tradition, devoting talent, deserving to be Uncle Ho’s soldiers” in the new period as well as Patriotic Emulation Movement. Significance has been attached to promoting cadres and party members’ role model-setting responsibility and mass organisations’ vanguard role, closely combining regular emulation with peak emulation, and proactively adjusting targets of emulation properly.

Besides, contents and targets of emulation have been adjusted to successfully fulfil the Division’s central political task and effectively curb the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on building politically, ideologically, organisationally strong offices and units, raising the quality of “Three Breakthroughs” set by the 11th Military Party Congress Resolution, overcoming difficulties and weaknesses, and well performing new, important missions. The Division has encouraged its cadres and soldiers to frequently maintain combat readiness, particularly on national holidays and during the country’s significant events. In training work, cadres and soldiers of the Division have been encouraged to sufficiently prepare training facilities, grounds, documents, plans, and equipment. Consideration has been given to organising training courses for all groups of troops under the adjusted plans and social distancing due to the outbreak of COVID-19. As for political education, the Division has directed offices and units to design and deliver training documents to each individual for self-study. It should be noted that the Division successfully organised its one-side, two-level command - office exercises and live-fire exercises with the absolute safety. It also took part in Nam Dinh province’s defensive zone exercise and Quang Ninh province’s civil defence exercise in 2021; as a result, it was presented with certificates of merit by the Provincial People’s Committee of Quang Ninh and the Military Region’s Command. It won first prizes at the Army-wide Engineering Contest and the Army-wide Excellent Youth Union Cadre Contest.

The contents of emulation in logistics and technical support have been centred on the Division’s missions. When the COVID-19 pandemic was complex, the Division directed its offices and units to actively implement measures of pandemic prevention and control. At the same time, it required Infantry Regiment 2 to shift all facilities, materials, and troops of one battalion for localities to organise a quarantine zone, while mobilising more than 150 cadres and soldiers to cooperate with Chi Linh city in preparing another quarantine zone. It also organised a chemical team to take part in disinfection within Hai Duong province and deployed 3 doctors and nurses to Ho Chi Minh city and Southern provinces to assist those localities in keeping the pandemic under control, which was highly appreciated by party committees, authorities, and commands at all levels.

Being fully aware of the relationship between emulation and commendation, the Division has closely combined emulation with commendation and opportunely detected, cultivated, and multiplied typical examples. Offices and units have well conducted reviews of the performance of each mission to commend typical examples and draw lessons. The process of commendation has been carried out in a democratic, public, close, timely manner. The roles of all-level party committees, commissars, and commanders in detecting and introducing collectives and individuals with outstanding achievements for commendation have been encouraged. Importance has been attached to rewarding collectives and individuals directly performing contingency, complex, difficult missions, opportunely dealing with the sign of rampant commendation, and fighting against merit-driven disease during the process of emulation. At the same time, due attention has been paid to actively identifying, cultivating, and multiplying typical examples and effective models. As a result, in 2021, 201 collectives and 1,271 individuals from the Division were given titles of emulation and commendation at all levels; the Military Region recommended the MND to present the Division with Ministerial-level Emulation Flag.

Bringing into play those good results, in the upcoming time, Division 395 will continue improving the quality of Determination to Win Emulation Movement as an incentive for successfully fulfilling all assigned missions and raising its synergy and combat power to meet the requirements of national construction and protection in the new situation.

Sr. Col. NGUYEN DINH KHIEM, Commissar of the Division