It is a great honour for the Brigade 604 under Military Region 2 (hereafter the Brigade) to be selected to be built into a “typical and exemplary” comprehensively strong model unit according to the Decision 2154/QĐ-BQP, dated June 8^th, 2018 by the Minister of National Defence. Fully aware that it is an important basis and motivation for the Brigade to reach a new height, the Brigade’s Party Committee has introduced a resolution in order to successfully accomplish this important task. The commanders of the Brigade and its affiliates have developed plans to realize the resolution with specific targets and measures so as to ensure high feasibility.

The delegation of the Ministry of National Defence inspecting the Brigade’s building of “typical and exemplary” comprehensively strong model unit in June 2019

First of all, focusing on building a politically strong unit. The Party committees and commanders at all levels have always well performed the work of propagation and education to raise the awareness, determination and responsibility of all soldiers towards the building of a comprehensively strong model unit. At the same time, the implementation of the project “Reforming political education in units in the new period,” the Directive 05 by the Politburo (12^th tenure), and the Campaign “Promote traditions and devote talent to deserve to be Uncle Ho’s soldiers” has also been stepped up with emphasis placed on propagation and education to make cadres and soldiers ceaselessly promote the tradition of the Signal Corps and be imbued with Uncle Ho’s teaching “Try harder and harder... ensuring opportune, accurate, confidential and safe communications, gaining new achievements.” All of these have contributed to making all cadres and soldiers fully aware of their tasks and function, uphold the sense of responsibility, determination, and solidarity to fulfil the tasks despite difficulties.

The Brigade’s Party Committee has always exercised firm leadership over the execution of 4^th Central Resolution (12^th tenure) on building and rectifying the Party with the importance attached to concretizing 27 manifestations of degradation in political ideology, morality, and lifestyle into contents in line with the tasks of the whole unit and its affiliates. In particular, the breakthrough content has been identified as self-criticism and criticism under the spirit of “self-review and self-correction”, linking the exemplary role with the assessment of the task performance of cadres and party members, especially of key cadres at all levels. As a result, the Brigade’s Party Committee has always been rated strong in politics, ideology, organization and morality, leading to a rise in the leadership capacity and quality of party organizations and party members. In 2018, 95.57% of the Brigade’s party members performed their tasks well and excellently. Under the supervision by the Military Region 2’s Party Committee’s Inspection Commission, the Brigade was rated as a good task accomplishment unit.

The party, political work in the tasks of training, combat readiness, manoeuvre, regularity building, and discipline maintenance has obtained encouraging results. The personnel work has been carried out strictly in accordance with the procedures. As a result, the contingent of cadres at all levels has always played a vanguard and exemplary role in performing the tasks. The policy work has been aimed at ensuring the best material and spiritual life for soldiers, generating motivation for them to fulfil their tasks. Due attention has been paid to building strong mass organizations, resulting in their good task performance and efficiency. The cadres and soldiers have made great strides in the emulation movements “Clever mass mobilization” and “Clever mass mobilization unit” within the stationed area. In order to maintain the political stability, the Brigade has focused on doing the ideological work well, proactively detecting and opportunely solving problems. By this way, there has been no case of showing manifestations of degradation in political ideology, morality and lifestyle, “self-evolution” and “self-transformation.”

Second, establishing the organizational structure in accordance with regulations, strictly maintaining the order for combat readiness duty and good training. The positions have been properly filled in accord with the payroll table, ensuring over 95% of the payroll. The Brigade has carried out the recruitment work well with sufficient criteria; received new servicemen and servicewomen, provided helpful advice for non-commissioned officers and soldiers on job application in compliance with the higher echelon’s instructions. In order to improve combat readiness, due regard has been paid to actively supplementing and perfecting plans. In particular, the plan of combat readiness has been exercised twice a month at company and battalion levels; the quality of one-side, one-level command and staff exercises on the map has been rated good. The regimes of command duty, daily duty, signal duty, and combat readiness duty have been maintained strictly; additionally, all the happenings have been opportunely handled so as to ensure smooth, solid communications.

The training work has been organized comprehensively and synchronously in line with the contents as prescribed. For specialized ones, the Brigade has focused on training its troops to exploit and use the existing communication equipment, master hi-tech equipment and specialized tactics, and ensure the effective communication in all situations. All of these have contributed to enhancing commanding capabilities of communication assurance manoeuvres. Simultaneously, the Brigade has proactively prevented and dealt with the situations in cyberspace in order to ensure information security and meet the tasks of A, A2, A3, A4, and search and rescue, while effectively applying information technology to the execution of exercises and manoeuvres. The affiliates’ commanders have been required to regularly show their presence at the training grounds, supervise the training quality of each soldier, opportunely draw lessons at each level, and conduct competitions as well as promote the emulation movements in training, such as: “Standard movements, beautiful formation,” “Skilful hands, less electricity,” “Receive correct and sufficient signals, master equipment,” “Self-management youth line,” “Youth vehicle crew,” and so forth. Currently, 100% of the cadres satisfy the training task requirements according to their levels. Specifically, 90% of the battalion cadres, organ assistants and commanders are rated good and excellent (50% are rated excellent); 80% of the platoon and company cadres are rated good and excellent (40% of them are rated excellent); 60% of the squad commanders are rated good in terms of training soldiers. In particular, 100% of the training contents are rated satisfactory, over 85% of which are rated good and excellent. Absolute safety has been ensured in training, manoeuvre and document management.

Third, intensifying regularity building and discipline maintenance. Great value has been attached to the work of regularity construction. The system of boards, signs and forms in the unit has been fully equipped with the consistence as prescribed.  All units across the Brigade have promoted their internal resources to build green, clean and beautiful barracks, thereby creating motivation for cadres and soldiers to study and train. In terms of discipline maintenance, the Brigade’s all-level party committees and commanders have made all soldiers thoroughly grasp the Directive 04/CT-BQP, dated February 9^th, 2012, the Circular 192/2016/TT-BQP, dated November 26^th, 2016 by the Minister of National Defence and the documents on strengthening the discipline maintenance and the prevention of law violations and serious disciplinary violations in the Army. Meanwhile, consideration has been given to stringently maintaining daily and weekly regimes. In addition, superiors set examples for inferiors and higher echelons set examples for sub-units with great importance attached to completely overcoming limitations and shortcomings in regularity building and discipline maintenance. Besides, the Brigade has strictly managed its troops, opportunely solved the difficulties of soldiers, especially ones working at the stations far from the unit, in sensitive areas, or on holidays. Thanks to that, it has created the solidarity and unity; the soldiers have voluntarily obeyed the law and discipline; the standards of speech and action have been emphasized; the democratic atmosphere has been expanded; and the civilized and healthy lifestyle has been widely spread.

Fourth, regularly paying attention to the work of logistics, finance, investment planning and technology. Fully grasping and implementing the Directive 58/CT-BTL, dated January 20^th, 2013 by the Military Region 2’s Commander, the Brigade has introduced a system of logistics documents of combat readiness and regularly reviewed, adjusted and supplemented it in accordance with the task requirements. The logistics forces and facilities have been closely managed, mobilized and supplemented for the tasks, ensuring soldiers’ entitlements; the movement “Military Logistics Branch follows Uncle Ho’s teachings” has been well performed. In 2018, the Brigade won the Prize C in the “Innovation contest on improving training equipment and logistics assurance” at Military Region level. The work of agricultural production has been carried out according to the model: basic garden, basic pergola and basic barn; the centralized animal husbandry farms towards industrialization have been effectively maintained. Up to now, the Brigade has been totally self-sufficient in vegetables and 90% self-sufficient in meat and fish; the rate of healthy army has always reached over 99%; the Brigade has achieved the title “Unit of good catering - good management of military supplies”. In parallel with that, the Brigade has concentrated on well conducting the barracks planning work in line with its tasks, ensuring good service for soldiers’ life. Significance has been attached to the management of construction investment and the maintenance of construction works and to the appointment of responsibilities in the use of defence land, funding and barracks assets. The finance work has been stringently carried out in compliance with regulations, ensuring the publicity and transparency. Furthermore, the Brigade has well executed the movement of thrift practice, corruption and waste prevention and managed to build “Good financial management unit”.

The system of technical assurance documents and plans has been created in accordance with the unit’s particularities with sufficient quantity and quality, ensuring good service for the tasks of training, manoeuvre, mobility, combat readiness, making contributions to the successful completion of the technical assurance task for communications. The movement “Undertake research and improve technologies to apply to communication assurance” has made great strides. In 2018, 2 out of 8 Brigade’s projects were ranked as good in the Creative Youth Contest organized by the Signal Corps. In 2019, 4 out of 15 Brigade’s projects were ranked as good in the Technical Innovation Contest held by the Military Region 2.

The initial recorded achievements in building a “typical and exemplary” comprehensively strong unit will serve as the strong motivation for the Brigade to continue to achieve better results, deserving the trust of Leaders of the National Defence Ministry and Military Region 2.

Sr. Col. Le Hong Son, Brigade Commander

Lt. Col. Nguyen Thanh Hai, PhD, Deputy Head of the Brigade’s Political Department