The Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment 280 (the Regiment hereafter), founded on April 25^th 1959, is tasked with maintaining combat readiness on Northern and Central battlefields. Right after its foundation, the Regiment maneuvered to protect Vinh city, Nghe An province and the Regiment was named Hong Linh then. During the resistance war against the American imperialist, the Regiment participated in 11,089 battles, shooting down 307 enemy aircraft, capturing many enemy pilots, ranking the top in this category.  Notably, on August 5^th 1964, after the “Gulf of Tonkin” event, the Regiment, together with the military and people of Vinh city, fought bravely and accomplished remarkable feats like destroying three enemy aircraft, establishing the tradition of “Winning the first battle”. With its achievements, the Regiment is the first anti-aircraft artillery unit of the Air Defense – Air Force to be honored with the title of “Hero of the People's Armed Forces” by the State and many other noble rewards.

A conference by the Regiment’s Party Committee to issue the resolution on the task implementation in the second half of 2018

After reunification day, the Regiment, being an organic unit in the combat formation of Anti-aircraft Division 361, was responsible for fighting and defending the southern and southeastern airspace of Hanoi capital. Being highly aware of that glorious but onerous duty, cadres and soldiers of the Regiment always promote its Heroic tradition, being unified, creative, and self-reliant, proactively overcoming difficulties, and successfully fulfilling all assigned tasks. In particular, in recent years, the Regiment has taken synchronous and drastic measures to build a comprehensively strong unit, improve the overall quality, combat strength, meeting the task requirements in the new situation.

First of all, the Regiment focuses on building a politically strong unit, considering it as a determinant to its task performance. Bringing into full play the experience and tradition, especially in the war against the American, the Regiment’s Party Committee and Command prioritize leadership and direction over the work of political and ideological education, while enhancing the effectiveness of political and party work in training and combat readiness. Over the past few years, while other forces of the Service have been equipped with modern weapons, the Anti-aircraft artillery soldiers in general and the Regiment in particular, still use weapons and technical equipment of older generation, causing a feeling of unease among cadres and soldiers. Understanding the situation, the Regiment promotes its education, thoroughly grasps the Party’s guidelines on national defense and military, duties of the Service and units; strengthens ideological orientation and management, makes the unit strong in political will, highly unified in spirit, action and avoids neglect; as well as builds confidence in weapons, equipment, fighting methods and art of air defense, etc. Meanwhile, the Regiment also well conducts the work of internal political protection, enhances democracy at grassroots level; holds cultural and political days, etc; opportunely discovers and overcomes obstacles, builds up solidarity and close relationship between cadres and soldiers.

The Regiment attaches great importance to Party building work, considering this as a key factor in building a politically strong unit. Accordingly, emphasis is placed on consolidating, perfecting, improving the effectiveness of party organizations; in which, the unit centers on leadership capacity and combat power of the Party and Party Cells; improving the quality of inspection, supervision, management and training of party members; combining the building of party organizations with that of comprehensively strong units and agencies. A boost is given to Party building and rectification work based on the Central Resolution 4 (XII tenure) in association with the Politburo Directive No.05-CT/TW, Directive 87-CT/QUTW of the Standing Committee of Central Military Commission on further studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, morality and style, the Campaign “Promoting traditions, devoting talents, deserving to be Uncle Ho’s Soldiers”. Annually, the work of assessing the quality of party organizations, party members and Party Committee of the Regiment is conducted. 100% of party units at grassroots level have successfully completed their tasks; the number of party members who excellently achieve their missions reaches and exceeds the target of the annual resolution.

The Regiment centers on improving training quality, satisfying the mission of managing and firmly protecting the assigned airspace. On the basis of thoroughly grasping Resolution 765-NQ/QUTW of the Central Military Commission, Resolution 558-NQ/ĐU of the Service Party Committee on “Improving training quality in the period of 2013-2020 and the following years”; resolutions, directives, plans, guidelines on Division’s combat training, the Regiment’s Party Committee annually devises specialized leadership resolutions to fulfill this mission. In particular, it focuses on innovating leadership, organization, training content and methods; clearly assigns responsibilities of units, agencies, party members in consultancy, direction, and management. The results of combat training are set as criteria for assessing task accomplishment of party members and officials in charge at all levels. Before each training period, the Regiment well performs its preparation work, consolidates and stabilizes organization and staff, completes lesson plans, training tools, fields, drill grounds, etc. In training, the Regiment adheres to the motto of “Basics, practicality, thorough grasp, safety, thrift”, attaches importance to synchronous and intensive training close to combat reality, objects and suitable with payroll and equipment; enhances training in exploiting, mastering weapons, ammunition and handling situations based on combat plan to protect the assigned airspace.

Troops of the Regiment practice shooting at the Shooting Range TB4

Considering cadres’ training as a crucial task, the Regiment combines training with self-training, in which the latter is set as top priority. Each member has one plan-based notebook and another one for self-study. Simultaneously, the Regiment requires officials at all levels to firmly grasp the content and method of specialized anti-aircraft artillery training, enhance the ability to judge and handle unexpected situations… so as to form the training basis for units. For combat crew training, it teaches members to master and skillfully apply commands, orders, movements, ensure the requirement of “deployment, maneuver, and quick withdrawal”, especially in night condition; focuses on improving the ability to deal with enemy air strikes, low-flying planes, cruise missiles, air-landing enemy forces, etc. In anti-aircraft operations, the short-time appearance of enemy targets requires high coordination among components. Therefore, the Regiment directs the basic training of the tactical team at all levels, ensuring proficiency in individuals and squads before organizing the entire crew training. Also, great attention is paid to inspection and assessment of training result through combat crew coordination.

Along with improving training quality, the Regiment strictly maintains discipline and regime of combat readiness from Headquarters down to squads, well implementing the content of “four knows”^(*) in airspace management, Instruction 27/CL-BTTM of the Chief of General Staff on handling air-defense situations; proactively reviewing, supplementing, adjusting documents, combat plans and organizing skilful training in case of squad changing. Meanwhile, it directs units to maintain air-defense observation posts to closely manage air and ground situations as well as flight operations within its range. As a result, for many years, the Regiment has not made any errors, avoided being passive and surprised in any situations.

Stationed in the districts of Hanoi capital with fast speed of urbanization, the Regiment is more likely to suffer from negative effects of the market economy and social evils. Meanwhile, guard and duty assignments require strictness; the majority of troops are non-commissioned officers and many with difficult family circumstances. Therefore, the Regiment particularly focuses on regularity building and discipline training.  Accordingly, on the one hand, it promotes education, thoroughly grasps superior instructions on regularity building and discipline training, in order to raise awareness, responsibility and to build self-consciousness in performing the task. On the other hand, it maintains strict regimes of duty, combat readiness, soldiers’ uniform and style; working as assigned and acting as ordered at all levels. Moreover, the Regiment regularly supplements regulations, tables, notices, etc. so as to ensure consistency in the whole unit. It also requires the party committees and commanders at all levels to set examples and implement the motto “the superior set an example for subordinates, officers for soldiers as well”. At the same time, it actively grasps units, enhances inspection, strictly manages its strength, weapons, vehicles and relationship of subordinates; resolutely fights, prevents and handles violations of State law, Military discipline, regulations on traffic safety, etc. As a result, the Regiment has, since 2010, witnessed no serious cases and a decrease in discipline violations, ensuring absolute safety in traffic and other activities of the unit.

Sticking to the criteria of a comprehensively strong unit, the Regiment attaches importance to well implementing the technical and logistics assurance work. For the technical work, it promotes decentralized preservation, maintenance and repair; improves the quality of these tasks in the unit. Simultaneously, it maintains the regulation of technical hours and days, “model technical ones”; weaponry and equipment maintenance competitions, annual Technical Contest associated with the implementation of Campaign 50. Meanwhile, the Regiment’s weaponry and technical equipment are always kept in good condition, opportunely meeting the tasks. For logistics work, the Regiment’s focal points are to provide sufficient logistic reserves for regular and unexpected tasks, especially combat readiness, training, rehearsal, real shooting; manage and use finance, materials, petroleum, electricity, water economically and effectively; well conduct the work of healthcare, hygiene, epidemic prevention, food safety, with the aim of ensuring enough strength in training and combat readiness. Units and agencies speed up development of gardening, to be 100% self-sufficient in vegetables and satisfy most of meat and fish demand, contributing to the improvement in soldiers’ life.

Being proud of 60-year tradition of construction, fighting and development, the Regiment 280 strives to constantly improve its capability, combat readiness, regularly heighten its vigilance, contributing to the management and firm protection of Hanoi airspace - the very heart of the whole country, deserving the title of “Hero of the People’s Armed Forces”.

Colonel Vo Van Phu, the Regiment’s Commander 
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(*) - (1) Know the flight forecast plan; (2) Know whether to fly or not; (3) Know only the places of flying; (4) Know the aerial action.