The Missile Regiment 236 under the Division 361, the Air Defence - Air Force Service is assigned to perform the training task, maintain combat readiness, and directly safeguard the airspace of Hanoi and several prime national targets in the North and the Northwest. Over the years, in addition to training courses on mastering the existing weapons and equipment, the Regiment is tasked with gradually training its troops to use a number of upgraded, digitalised, and new-generation weapons and missiles. Meanwhile, its cadres’ knowledge has been limited. There have not been sufficient documents for new weapon, equipment, and missile training and use. Materials and equipment have yet to meet the requirements set by its task.

To deal with those difficulties and challenges, the Regiment’s Party Committee and Command have drastically, synchronously adopted measures for raising the quality of training as a breakthrough in improving the Regiment’s synergy and combat strength. As a result, there has been a considerable positive change in the Regiment’s combat training work. Since 2013, 38 affiliates of the Regiment have been given the title of Good Training Unit while the Regiment has been awarded the Flag of Good Training Unit and the Emulation Flag for many consecutive years. When performing its training task, maintaining combat readiness, and safeguarding the airspace, the Regiment has drawn several lessons as follows.

First of all, enhancing the leadership, direction and management by the all-level party committees and commands over the training work. On a yearly basis, the Regiment seriously introduces higher echelons’ resolutions and directives on the training work, particularly the Combat Training Directive by the Service’s Commander and the system of guiding documents by superior offices. Grounded on those documents, the Regiment’s Party Committee develops a specialised Resolution on “raising the quality of training, building the military standard order, and managing the military discipline” and directs offices and units to formulate their action plans and programmes for the Resolution in accordance with their particularities, organisational structure, function, and assigned task. To effectively implement the Resolution, the Regiment’s Party Committee and Command directs the all-level party committees and commands to frequently review and supplement the leadership regulations, directly approve training, live-fire, exercise, and military competition plans and programmes, assign party committee members and key cadres to be in charge of each affiliate, and use the training results as a yardstick for assessing the task performance of each individual and affiliate.

Due to the task requirements, affiliates of the Regiment are stationed in 3 provinces and 1 municipality. There is always a dearth of cadres within its units. And its affiliates both perform the training task and maintain combat readiness. Hence, to meet the task requirements, the Regiment has stepped up decentralisation of the training work and devolved the task of counselling, operating, and organising training to its offices and all-level commands. The Regiment has directed its affiliates to formulate their training plans relevant to each group of troops in a uniform, scientific manner and enhance the work of inspecting, supervising, and reviewing training. Over the years, the Regiment has drastically executed the Project on inspecting the training work from afar, while seconding cadres of the Regiment and its offices to its battalions, stations, and independent units in the beginning of a training season. Doing so has enabled it to opportunely detect and rectify weaknesses, remove the achievement obsession, and deal with the signs of being afraid of difficulties in the training process. The all-level commands have rendered their cadres and soldiers fully aware of the position and importance of combat training, training goals, requirements and targets as well as difficulties in this work. Thanks to that, a sense of responsibility and determination to perform the training task among cadres and soldier, particularly the all-level party committees and commands has been built and raised.

A training session on C-75M missile

Second, actively renewing the methods of training. In the training process, the Regiment has frequently updated itself on new developments in air defence science and technology, while studying and applying the art of air defence combat in the hi-tech warfare. At the same time, its has adhered to the training motto of “basics, practicality, thoroughly, safety, and thrift” and applied training-related viewpoints, principles, and connections to each force as the basis for its offices and units to adopt proper measures for training their troops in specialities, tactics, and combat skills. Besides, the Regiment has actively organised conferences on “identifying, managing, and settling unmanned aerial vehicle system” and established the Young Creative Team and the Team for Researching Opponents in order to collect, study, translate, compile documents for weapon and missile training and use in accordance with its conditions.

In the training process, the Regiment has required its units to provide training courses relevant to specialities, function and assigned task of their technical staff and combine basic training with intensive training in exploiting weapons and equipment and handling breakdowns during exercises. In the training of detachment-level units, due regard has been paid to quickly withdrawing and deploying weapons, increasing manoeuvrability, deploying combat formation in the harsh weather and terrain conditions, and making troops capable of holding different positions. In the training of combat teams, significance has been attached to mastering combat projects and plans and individual skills, flexibly employing the shooting principles, and effectively exploiting weapons. To improve the effectiveness of training, the Regiment has directed its units to adhere to the training procedure and steps, namely theoretical training, verbal command practice, and practice on diagrams, drawings and models. When all members of a combat team have memorised verbal commands, movements, and switch positions, they have been allowed to practise on the military hardware without electricity. When they have mastered all verbal commands and movements, they would practise on the military hardware with electricity. That training procedure would help ensure the quality of training, save the cost, and extend the military hardware’s lifespan. On a monthly basis, the Regiment deploys its top cadres to provide supplementary training courses for its independent units. Besides, consideration has been given to aligning tactical training with technical training, combining technical training with materiel maintenance and repair, maintaining the order for combat duty, practising locking on the targets, increasing physical and night-time training, and directing offices and units to adjust their training plans in accordance with their task. Additionally, great value has been attached to raising the quality of tactical, general and live-firing exercises and including new, complex, difficult combat situations and projects in training, exercises, and competitions. Up to now, all combat teams of the Regime have been capable of dealing with complex situations in the air.

Third, improving cadres’ ability and making them capable of providing training courses on mastering old military hardware and effectively using new military hardware for their troops. In fact, the Regiment’s young cadres have been basically educated, but they lack experiences in commanding, managing, and operating the training work. Meanwhile, air defence combat requires rapid information processing, quick movement, and right decisions. Against that backdrop, the Regiment has placed emphasis on enhancing the quality of training its cadres on a weekly and monthly basis and prior to each training season. The training of cadres has been centred on counselling the training task, researching opponents, mastering technical and tactical features of military hardware, new missiles, and unmanned vehicle system, organising the training work, making and approving lesson plans, and holding teaching rehearsals. To more effectively exploit its existing weapons and missiles, the Regiment has organised specialised Russian and English courses for its cades, and actively sent many cadres to attend training courses and acquire new knowledge at military schools and universities. Besides, the Regiment has assigned the Young Creative Team to work with foreign military experts to maintain its military hardware and transfer military technologies. Doing so has enabled members of the Team to acquire more knowledge and experiences so that they would become top experts in training and counselling the all-level cadres as well as giving instructions to troops on maintaining and exploiting new equipment and missiles.

Fourth, well performing the work of logistics and technical support. On an annual basis, the Regiment directs its offices and units to prepare sufficient lesson plans, supplement and produce training models and aids, upgrade training grounds, and sufficiently, opportunely provide funds, petroleum and materials for combat training. Offices and units have also been required to strictly adhere to the order for material inspection and maintenance and opportunely carry out small-scale repair so as to maintain the technical coefficient under the regulations. While encouraging its troops to proactively overcome difficulties and ensure the technical conditions of weapons and missiles for the training task and combat readiness, the Regiment has stringently maintained the “Technical Day” in order to mobilise all staff members and forces to perform the technical work, carried out a general inspection of materials for training and combat readiness, and conducted the work of propagation to raise its troops’ responsibility for effectively and sustainably using weapons and equipment. Furthermore, the Regiment has promoted the core role of the Young Creative Team in introducing technical initiatives and innovations and developing hi-tech training models in order to save materials, funds, and technical reserves.

Bringing into play the recorded results and experiences, the Missile Regiment 236’s Party Committee and Command would continue to raise the quality and effectiveness of training and combat readiness as the basis for improving the Regiment’s combat strength and making it capable of successfully fulfilling all assigned missions.

Col. NGUYEN VAN TOAN, Commander of the Missile Regiment 236