Fully aware of the importance of political education in general, in combat training in particular, the Party Committee and Command of the Naval Commando Brigade 126 have always taken various measures and new, creative, effective approaches to this work, thereby contributing to improving the Brigade’s quality of combat training and strength and its task performance. However, there have been weaknesses in this work as the Brigade have to perform many tasks simultaneously, its troops are stationed in various sea and island areas, several cadres and soldiers’ awareness of the training task is insufficient, young cadres are inexperienced, and equipment for the party and political work in combat training is limited.

To overcome those weaknesses, the Brigade’s Party Committee and Command have focused on directing offices and units to actively renew the content and method of political education. On a yearly basis, prior to the training season, the Party Committees of the Brigade and its affiliates issue special resolutions on the training work associated with political education, assign party committee members to be in charge of the tasks, and attribute individual responsibility to the units’ results of combat training and political education. Commanders and commissars concretize those resolutions into action programs/plans and launch movements to create the emulation atmosphere right at the first stage of combat training. As the Brigade operates in the sea and island environment and the harsh, complex climate with the high requirements for fitness and strict discipline during combat training, the Brigade’s Party Committee and Command has required the affiliates to attach importance to developing the plans for political education in accordance with each group of soldiers, particularly with Waterborne Commandos, Frogman Commandos, Anti-Terrorism Commandos, and the forces performing the task separately and far from the headquarters in the difficult living conditions.

Captain Tran Van Nghia encouraging troops after a training session

Under the Brigade’s direction, units have thoroughly grasped the higher echelons’ directives and resolutions on combat training and readiness, particularly the Central Military Commission’s Resolution 765-NQ/QUTW and the Naval Party Committee Standing Board’s Resolution on raising the training quality in the period of 2013-2020 and beyond. Political education has rendered cadres and soldiers fully aware of the particularities of naval commandos, the advantages, disadvantages, and requirements, viewpoints, principles, combinations, and breakthroughs in combat training (breakthroughs in practising the Naval Commando Force’s battles in the task of defending sea and island sovereignty). Adhering to the training motto of “basics, practicality, and thorough grasp”, the Brigade has focused on training its troops to be “expert and skilful at combat” according to 5 criteria¹ and making training specialized and relevant to each group of troops, the operational areas, and the condition of hi-tech warfare. At the same time, the Brigade has rendered its staff fully aware of the enemy’s plots and artifices as well as the Navy’s direct object of struggle, while raising their revolutionary vigilance and consolidating their faith in the existing materiel and the Naval Commando Force’s combat method and their determination to settle difficulties and fulfil all assigned tasks. Doing so has contributed to making a huge change in its staff’s awareness and responsibility, encouraging its troops to overcome hardships and obtain good achievements in combat training, and removing the signs of fearfulness of difficulties and hardships in combat training.

Units have employed various methods of political education, delivering lectures and analyzing the issues with the use of images, models, visual aids, and documentaries in order to make them easier for troops to learn, understand, and remember as well as create a pleasant atmosphere for learners and achieve the effectiveness. Moreover, the Brigade has directed its affiliates to strictly maintain the order for news briefings and opportunely provide troops with the information about social and political issues, thereby helping them clearly understand the situation, building a sense of unity within the units, and encouraging them to overcome difficulties and better perform the training task. At the same time, it has frequently required its affiliates to maintain the Regulations on Grass-Roots Level Democracy and the operation of Soldiers’ Councils as well as exercise military, specialized, political, and economic democracy so as to ensure openness and transparency, democratically discuss the measures to perform the tasks, deal with the issues, achieve a consensus within the units, and make a positive change in cadres and soldiers’ awareness and action. As a result, troops’ aspirations and issues have been opportunely settled, which has contributed to creating a consensus within the Brigade and improving its task performance.

Consolidating a contingent of cadres in charge of political education and improving their knowledge is a central part of the political education work in combat training. Those cadres play a decisive role in the quality of political education for troops, especially in combat training. Thus, the Brigade’s Party Committee and Command have always paid due regard to raising this staff’s awareness, competence, and responsibility to meet the task requirements. Importance has been attached to selecting cadres with comprehensive knowledge, good teaching method, and scientific working style as well as those who have set good examples in study, work, and training within the units. Annually, prior to the training season, the Brigade organizes refresher courses for all party committee members and political cadres within itself on the content and method of political education; it has required superiors to train inferiors and experienced cadres to train young ones. Focuses of training have been placed on the methods of making lesson plans, studying documents, updating information, practising delivering lectures, and selecting images and documentaries. Moreover, the Brigade has held the Contest of Cadres in charge of political education and the teaching contest under the Regulations on Political Education in line with the Project on “renewing political education at military units in the new period”, thereby raising the awareness and knowledge of cadres in charge of political education at all levels and contributing to effectively carrying out the work of political education in combat training².

To enhance the effectiveness of political education in combat training, units have closely combined emulation movement in combat training with campaigns and emulation movements launched by higher echelons. Prior to each training period, on the occasion of major events, units launch emulation movements in order to encourage troops to achieve a breakthrough in raising the training quality. Typical examples include: “Training cadres and soldiers, being determined to gain the victory”, “Celebrating the Party’s founding anniversary and Tet, kicking off the training season successfully”, and “Naval youth play the vanguard role in defending the Homeland’s seas and islands”. Units have carried out the “three-diligent” and “five-exemplary”³ movements and followed the Navy’s models of “party members helping the masses in self-improvement” and “more than one”⁴. Units have also well conducted the work of support on the training ground, organized games and provided newspapers for soldiers during the break on the training ground, thereby encouraging them to overcome hardships and gain good results in combat training. Units have opportunely commended and rewarded those who have obtained outstanding achievements in shooting, combat training, and exercises. Doing so has encouraged cadres and soldiers to strive for the best achievements in combat training. In order to promote the synergy to enhance the training quality, the Brigade has directed units to include the content and targets of emulation in combat training with the Campaign entitled “promoting tradition, devoting talent, deserving to be Uncle Ho’s Soldiers - Naval Soldiers” and the 12^th Politburo’s Directive 05-CT/TW on studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, ethics, and lifestyle. Units have been required to improve their cadres and soldiers’ material and mental life and settle their issues and aspirations, thereby making them keep their mind on their work. At the same time, units have been asked to frequently conduct reviews, draw lessons, and commend collectives and individuals with the outstanding achievements in combat training as well as point out their weaknesses in this work. Consequently, over the past years, the Brigade has achieved good results⁵ in combat training that have contributed to improving its combat readiness capacity and task performance and building a politically strong Brigade as the basis for enhancing its synergy and combat strength and successfully fulfilling all assigned tasks.

Captain Tran Van Nghia, Commissar of the Brigade

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1 - Good at swimming and diving, martial arts, shooting, operation, and endurance.

2 - Up to now, the Brigade has consolidated a contingent of political cadres and teachers at all levels both qualitatively and quantitatively to meet the requirements set by the reform in political education (2 teams of teachers at the Brigade level and 2 teams of teachers at the battalion level).

3 - 3-dilligent: 1. Combat training and readiness; 2. Study, work, and scientific research; 3. Labour and animal and crop husbandry. 5-exemplary: 1. Ethics and lifestyle of revolutionary soldiers; 2. Standard lifestyle; 3. Unity within the units and military-civilian unity. 4. Discipline; 5. Successful performance of the assigned task.

4 - One person must be capable of others’ tasks and good at their work, know how to perform their higher echelons and comrades’ tasks, and readily take charge of others’ work when necessary.

5 - In 2018, the Brigade was given 6 Certificates of Merit by the Ministry of National Defence and the General Department of Politics; it was presented the Certificate of Merit, the Emulation Flag, and the title of Good Training Unit by the Navy’s High Command; the Commando Corps conferred the Certificate of Merit on the Brigade; 3 individuals from the Brigade were given the title of best soldier of the Navy.