The Signal Brigade 205 under the Signal Corps (its forerunner was the Signal Regiment 205 – the first Signal Regiment of the Vietnam People’s Army) was founded on October 23^rd, 1958. Over the past 60 years of construction, combat and development, under the direct leadership and direction of the Signal Corps’ Party Committee and High Command, with the support of other offices and units, and local party committees, authorities and people, generations of the Brigade’s staff members have always been united in overcoming difficulties and challenges to successfully fulfil the assigned task. The Brigade was given the title of “Hero of the People’s Armed Forces” and the Second-Class Fatherland Protection Order by the State as well as many other noble awards by the Prime Minister, Ministry of National Defence (MND) and the Signal Corps High Command.

Those achievements have been attributed to the due regard paid by the Brigade’s Party Committee and Command to building a comprehensively strong and stable, typical, exemplary unit and creating favourable conditions for cadres and soldiers to accomplish the task of maintaining the signal “blood vessel” in all situations. Over the past years, particularly since 2017, following the Directives by the Minister of National Defence on building comprehensively strong and stable, exemplary unit within the Signal Corps and other corps of the Military, the Brigade’s Party Committee and Command have issued a special resolution, developed action plans and programs, set up criteria and conducted this work. Party committees and cells have adhered to resolutions, directives, plans and guidance by higher echelons as well as their unit’s particularities and task to focus on building comprehensively strong and stable, typical unit, overcoming weaknesses, and multiplying models, while promoting the role of party committees, commanders and mass organizations to make comprehensive changes in all tasks.

Sr. Col. Do Hoai Nam inspects the work of signal maintenance

To build strong and stable unit politically, the Brigade has focused on grasping higher echelons’ resolutions, directives, and guidance to build troops’ political stuff, resolve, and responsibility in performing the task. Attention has been paid to effectively implementing the Project “renewing the work of political education in units in the new period”, aligning political education with the implementation of the Grass-Roots Level Democratic Regulations and the Campaign “promoting tradition, devoting talent, deserving to be Uncle Ho’s Soldiers”; to effectively carrying out surveys on public ideology and opinion within the units. Moreover, due regard has been paid to enhancing the Determined to Win emulation movement, setting up and multiplying “good people, good deed” examples in line with the 12^th Politburo’s Directive 05-CT/TW on studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality and lifestyle. The Brigade’s youth have created new, effective models, such as “5-good signal youth union branch”, “elite mobile radio team”, “exemplary duty”, etc. The internal strength has been promoted to build fine, healthy, diverse cultural environment within the units while traditional halls and Ho Chi Minh’s halls have been consolidated; legal bookcases and posters have been complemented. As a result, a favourable condition has been created for cadres and soldiers’ self-improvement, ensuring the unity of will and action to overcome difficulties and accomplish the task.

Consideration has been given to consolidating and building a contingent of cadres and party members. Party committees and cells have actively renewed and improved the quality of Party meetings, maintained the principles of leadership, and built the regulations on leadership, particularly in central tasks, logistics and financial support, and capital construction. Importance has been attached to criticism and self-criticism under the Resolutions of the Party Central Committee’s 4^th Plenums (11^th and 12^th tenure) on Party building and rectification; to opportunely pointing out and resolutely settling weaknesses; to enhancing inspection, supervision and Party discipline with a focus on party members who are key cadres and those who fail to fulfil the task or work in sensitive environment. The Brigade’s Party Committee has always been rated pure, strong and stable on a yearly basis. Especially in 2013, 2015, and 2016, it was rated typically pure, strong and stable, and over 85% of the Brigade’s party members successfully fulfiled the task.

The personnel work has been closely led in accordance with regulations on a procedural, objective, democratic basis. Focuses have been placed on improving working method and style and professional competence, and on aligning the building of cadres with that of party members. Significance has been attached to evaluating personnel and analyzing the quality of party members as the basis for personnel rotation and appointment; to bravely including young cadres with good qualities and capabilities in the personnel planning to ensure the continuous development and solid inheritance among cadres. Great value has been attached to conducting the work of internal political protection, particularly appraising political criteria for appointing cadres, initiating new party members and assigning cadres to hold key positions. The Brigade has cooperated with local party committees and authorities in building safe units and areas, ensuring secrecy and preventing social evils from penetrating into the units.

Improving the quality of signal maintenance, training, regularity building and discipline management has been seen as a focal, consistent task by the Brigade. It has proactively advised the Central Military Commission and the MND, particularly the Corps’ Party Committee and High Command on planning signal network and infrastructure. It has promoted its role as the Signal General Station of the MND Headquarters and the Centre for connecting and operating the military signal network; strictly maintained the order for managing and operating signal to contribute to improving the quality of maintaining smooth, solid communications in all situations, particularly in the tasks of protecting sea, island, border, airspace sovereignty. Those efforts have contributed to maintaining the communication rate from 99.5% to 100%; to managing and effectively exploiting the MND’s network of online meeting and the secured direct communication lines between the MND and the Ministries of Defence of China and ASEAN Member States. It has operated the system of military post offices, received and delivered documents, military hardware and equipment in a close, absolutely safe manner. Mobile signal detachments have been made “seasoned” to ensure communications and telecommunications for significant political events of the Party, State and Military. At the same time, it has carried out key signal projects which have contributed to completing the military signal network. Typically, it has established the defence switchboard and the independent military switchboard, built signal works under the Project 678, installed and supported the movement of military units’ switchboard, built hundreds of underground cable lines in Hanoi city and Northern provinces, and tested new military hardware in a procedural, absolutely safe fashion.

As for the training work, it has continued to make a breakthrough in improving the quality of managing and operating the signal system, the task performance of its offices, the capability in command and management as well as professional competence of cadres, particularly platoon and company-level ones. Besides, it has enhanced the capability to exploit and use new equipment and the quality of task-based and situation-based training, inspected and assessed cadres’ self-study, and participated in competitions and gained good results. To build regularity and manage the discipline, it has actively taken various measures with the motto: “superiors set examples for inferiors, party members set examples for the masses, and offices set examples for units”. As a result, a positive change in regularity building and discipline management has been made; the order for daily, monthly regimes, uniform and manners has been strictly maintained; there has been no serious violation of discipline within the units.

Moreover, the Brigade has focused on building the model unit of the Corps’ Technical Brach. In the process, it has closely followed the requirements of modernizing military signal, opportunely provided materials and technical equipment for regular and contingency tasks. It has strictly maintained the order for building regularity, closely managing and allocating signal equipment, tools, and technical materials. It has regularly consolidated and ensured the safety regulations of digital signal stations, labour safety, and fire and explosion prevention and control, completed the installation and transfer of digital signal stations to units. It has studied and effectively applied information technology to the work of technical management, operation and training while well implementing the movement to promote initiatives and technical innovation. Many of its research topics have been given the award of “Creative Youth” by the MND and the Corps’ High Command and effectively employed. Furthermore, the Brigade has successfully conducted the work of logistics and financial support for tasks; boosted agricultural production, improved the quality of troops’ ration, and ensured food hygiene. It has effectively implemented the emulation movement “Military logistics branch follows Uncle Ho’s teachings” in line with the movement “Building and managing regular, green, clean, beautiful barracks”. The work of taking care of troop health has been well carried out while the rate of healthy troops has always reached 99.6%.

Those recorded results provide a solid foundation for the Brigade’s Party Committee and Command to continue to lead and direct the building of comprehensively strong and stable, typical, exemplary unit, and successfully fulfil the task of maintaining the signal “blood vessel” opportunely, accurately, secretly and safely in all situations, thereby deserving the title of Hero of the People’s Armed Forces.

Sr. Col. Do Hoai Nam, Commander of the Brigade