Grasping and implementing the Party’s direction on building a revolutionary, standardised, elite, progressively modernised military, in recent years, the 1st Army Corps - the strategic mobile corps of the Ministry of National Defence - has been equipped with numerous new, improved and modernised weapons and equipment, as well as updated, revised, and supplemented training contents, thereby increasing the intensity and frequency of weapon and equipment usage. Consequently, the workload of technical work has become more substantial, diverse, and complex. Meanwhile, technical stations, facilities, workshops, and warehouse systems have not yet reached the required standards; prices of technical materials and parts fluctuate rapidly, with various scarce types, difficult and unstable supply sources, and inadequate budget allocation, leading to significant challenges in technical work at the Corps. Faced with this situation, the Technical Department and technical units at all levels have promoted the spirit of self-reliance, self-strengthening to overcoming difficulties, and synchronously implemented organisational and professional measures to comprehensively enhance the quality of technical work, striving to ensure timely, complete, and appropriate equipment provision for training, combat readiness, and emergent tasks.

First and foremost, propose recommendations to the 1^st Army Corps’ Party Committee and Command, and the party committees and commands of all levels to strengthen comprehensive leadership and direction over technical activities, especially the technical work for weapons and equipment. Based on the directives, resolutions, plans, and guidance from the higher-ups, with a focus on Resolution No. 1656-NQ/QUTW dated 20^th December 2022 by the Central Military Commission regarding leadership of technical work by 2030 and the subsequent years, the Technical Department concretises targets and tasks, establishes a roadmap, and assign appropriate levels for the implementation of such tasks and targets. It also directs the Technical branch to review and firmly grasp the existing forces, resources, and capabilities for technical work, provide advice on content and measures to party committees and commands of units and other departments, and incorporate them into regular and specialised resolutions and work plans. Simultaneously, short-term and long-term technical plans are developed for each task to ensure scientific, practical, coordinated, unified, and interconnected efforts between departments and units. Accordingly, the Department proactively advises the Army Corps Command on overall planning and efficient and uniformed implementation of construction and improvement projects for technical depots and stations, and repair facilities; weapon and equipment employment planning; supplementing, replacing, and upgrading weapons and equipment for units with a focus on standardisation, enhancing repair capabilities, storage conditions, and completeness. It also provides guidance and effective management of programs and objectives such as uniformisation of weapons and equipment; reinforcement and upgrade of the depot system; investment in enhancing the capacity of stations and workshops; exploitation and mastery of new technical equipment; and improvement of fire and explosion prevention measures to ensure safety.

Based on this foundation, the 1^st Army Corps’ Technical branch promotes its pivotal role in vigorously carrying out various technical tasks; organising the reception, distribution, retrieval, liquidation, and disposal of hundreds of tons of weapons, equipment, and technical materials in accordance with planned procedures and principles with absolute safety. Furthermore, it maximises the mobilisation of forces within the agencies and units to make breakthroughs in critical areas, addressing fundamental weaknesses and vulnerabilities, and ensuring the excellent provision of technical needs for the troops.

Alongside this, the Branch actively advises the Party committees and commands of all levels to enhance the implementation of the “50 Campaign” and Directive No. 909/CT-BTL of the 1^st Army Corps Command regarding the management and use of cars and motorcycles. It proposes recommendations for creating multiple programs and plans for practising cost-saving in technical work, ensuring the safety of depots and weapon and equipment usage, information security, and particularly road safety. It integrates the “50 Campaign” with the Determined to Win Movement, legal education programs, individual emulation ratings, etc., to maintain the continuous and regular implementation of these activities. Furthermore, the Technical Department actively directs agencies, units, and schools to monitor camp and depot temperature and humidity levels regularly, properly supplement tools, categorise, collect, and store weapons and equipment in accordance with the season, as well as effectively and timely maintain hazardous Level 5 ammunition to ensure absolute safety for weapons, equipment, and technical materials.

Due to the diversity and intensity of training activities with high frequency of weapon and equipment usage, especially within mechanised infantry and supporting arms units, there is a high likelihood of unexpected damage to a wide range of weaponry and equipment items, necessitating maintenance before their intended lifespan. To address this issue, the Technical Branch actively mobilises resources to improve the quality and rate of preservation, maintenance, repairs, and storage and effectively maintain technical coefficiency. Accordingly, daily and weekly maintenance schedules, engine and manoeuvrability checks for equipment’s combat readiness status are diligently carried out. Effective implementation of technical days, enhanced checks and repairs for unexpected damage, proficient management of tools and accessories, weapon systems and equipment synchronisation, as well as scheduled material resupply rotations, are strictly and effectively maintained. The Branch also focuses resources on ensuring equipment readiness for training and combat tasks, developing plans and organising forces and duty schedules to ensure the highest level of training support. Unexpected damages are promptly handled through component replacements or alternate equipment, minimising training disruption due to the lack of equipment. Emphasis is placed on equipment supplementation and ensuring 100% repair for weapons and equipment according to hierarchical levels, particularly for the maintenance of new-generation automobiles. Maintenance and repairs are intensified through hierarchical and cyclical approaches in combination with synchronised maintenance. There is also a focus on proper technical exploitation for modern and new hardware and pre-positioning of materials for contingencies. In addition, the Branch carries out regular checks on the quality of weapons, ammunition, propellants, and explosive substances, especially prior to training or missions. Furthermore, collaboration with educational institutions, research institutes, and technical assurance facilities to produce materials, conduct repairs, storage, and exploit new equipment is reinforced. Additionally, the Branch consistently enhances the existing depot system, improves storage standards for weapons and equipment, and maintains operation regimes and capacities of facilities such as workshops and storage areas to maximise investment efficiency.

Simultaneously, efforts are made to promote technical innovation and improvements, and the application of new technologies in storage. Also, the Branch widely and effectively implements procedures such as registration, assessment, approval, and support for projects and initiatives in combination with effective organisation of innovation and technical improvement contests.

In tandem with investment in constructing technical assurance facilities, the Technical Branch emphasises the establishment and effective utilisation of its technical support personnel. Resolutely adhering to Resolution No. 230-NQ/QUTW dated 2^nd April 2022 of the Central Military Commission concerning leadership and implementation of the restructuring of the Vietnam People’s Army from 2021 to 2030, during the recent period, the Branch actively advises party committees and commands at all levels in implementing Resolution No. 283-NQ/ĐU of the 1^st Army Corps Party Committee, Plan No. 1287/KH-TM of the General Staff on the force organisation of the 1^st Army Corps for 2022-2023. This includes the planning and allocation of technical staff with sufficient strength based on established structures, areas of expertise, individual fortes, and good ethics. This particularly pertains to positions such as head of armouries, maintaining a proper balance between positions and individual backgrounds. Additionally, there is a focus on enhancing party committees along with their cadres. Effective ideological and policy work is carried out to maintain stability, foster high consensus, and avoid disrupting work plans. Furthermore, emphasis is placed on strengthening on-site training for technical personnel, aligning training with target groups in combination with external training and seminars held by higher echelons. Also, the Branch actively reforms training content and methods, prioritising the development of skills concerning technical management and leadership and planning, guidance and implementation of technical works. For technical staff, the training covers management expertise, weapon and equipment inventory, maintenance and repair process, especially repairs for commonly encountered issues during training and combat readiness, ensuring optimal use of existing equipment. Training priorities include safety measures, labour protection, fire and explosion prevention, software management utilisation, the exploitation of new equipment, and preparation for technician promotion tests.

Additionally, the Branch directs units to train recruits in weapon and equipment safety and technical characteristics and operational procedures of weapons and equipment, etc. To achieve optimal results, it combines training with task execution, applying practical experience to enhance skills and accumulate expertise for the technical staff and elevate maintenance and repair standards. Additionally, the Branch encourages technical personnel to engage in voluntary learning and participate in scientific research activities to improve overall proficiency, particularly in weaponry and equipment operation skills and the ability to provide technical forecasts and recommendations for the commander.

Due to the fact that the 1^st Army Corps frequently holds exercises at its own level and participates in those of higher-levels, the Technical Department places significant importance on directing technical contingents at all levels, particularly officers responsible for technical assurance tasks during various types of exercises, to develop their own scenarios for individual actions and technical squads; undertake thorough training before engaging in exercises, and closely follow their assigned units to learn from practical experience and promptly address any emergent mistakes. In addition, the Branch actively participates in technical competitions of the Military and effectively organises technical contests. Since 2020, the Technical Department has conducted training for 855 technical cadres and 1,586 technicians, achieving results with over 74% rated as good or excellent. It has also organised and participated in competitions at different levels, securing a 1^st prize for the Divisional and Brigade-level Technical Commander Competition, as well as a 2^nd prize in the Technical Competition for Armoured Units of the Military. Currently, high-level technicians account for nearly 20% of the Corps’ technical staff and 85% of technical personnel work within their specific field of expertise. Every year, 100% of technical officers and personnel remain confident in their work and consistently fulfil their duties.

In conjunction with the aforementioned content and solutions, the Department consistently refines documentation related to combat readiness status transitions, ensuring technical support for various combat scenarios. It also regularly conducts inspections and repairs of lightning protection and fire prevention and firefighting systems and organises teams, equipment, and training plans for fire prevention and firefighting to ensure the safety of technical facilities. Additionally, the Department makes collaborative efforts with local authorities where units are stationed to maintain a secure perimeter for ammunition storage. Also, the Branch focuses on specifying the implementation of tasks for each technical officer and personnel. It supplements procedures, management regulations, and branch-specific standards while planning all activities and standardising templates and regulations. Furthermore, technological applications and digital transformation are employed in the management of weapons, equipment, materials, and operational tasks. Besides, a meticulous inventory of weapons and equipment is maintained. This ensures seamless and interconnected operations and precise vertical and horizontal data to facilitate inspection and management by commanders to ensure that weapons, equipment, materials, and technical conditions adhere to standards, are sufficiently available, and are ready for all unit activities.

Senior Colonel NGUYEN TUAN HAI, Chief of Technical Department, 1^st Army Corps