The 382nd Artillery Brigade, 1st Military Region, is a unit in charge of combat training and readiness in a strategic direction and safeguarding the Fatherland in any situations. On clearly perceiving its requirements and missions, the complex, unforeseeable international, regional situation, hostile forces’ and reactionaries’ increased acts of sabotage against Vietnamese revolution, and new developments of the task of defending the Fatherland, the Brigade Party Committee and commanders have constantly attached importance to building and enhancement of overall quality and combat power and brought into play the tradition of “copper foot, iron shoulder, good fighting, accurate hit” of the heroic Artillery Soldiers in the new condition.

Leader of the Brigade speaks at the Review of 10 years implementing Resolution No. 689-NQ/QUTW of the Central Military Commission

To achieve that goal, the Brigade concentrates on strengthening itself with the aim of building a politically, ideologically, organisationally strong unit. The Brigade regards this as the most important measure to promote its overall quality and combat power. On the basis of deeply grasping resolutions and directives of the Central Military Commission (CMC), Ministry of National Defence (MND), and 1st Military Region, most notably Resolution No. 15-NQ/DU, dated 30 May 2022, of the Military Region Party Committee and Plan No. 1687/KH-QK of the Military Region Command on implementing the Resolution of the MND on the organisation of Vietnam People’s Army in the 2021 – 2030 period and beyond, the Brigade Party Committee and commanders have released a themed resolution on leading the reorganisation, plans of action, and programmes, ensuring closeness, synchronocity, scientificness, and suitability for characteristics, functions, and missions of the Brigade. Of note, the Brigade successfully merged and reorganised the Logistical-Technical Department as stipulated by the new staffing table, strengthened party committees and party organisations at all echelons, and formulated and adjusted leadership regulations. Furthermore, it improved operational effectiveness of party work and political work, promoted party committees’ and commanders’ leadership of combat training and readiness, stepped up political education, ideological management, and internal political protection. The political education focused on making soldiers have a good understanding of the Party’s viewpoints on military, national defence, and protection of the Fatherland, especially the Resolution of the 8th Plenum of the Party Central Committee (13th tenure) on the “Strategy to Safeguard the Fatherland in the New Situation,” requirements, and missions of the unit. The education also aimed to provide soldiers with information to enable them to be well aware of situations, objects of struggle, partners of cooperation, and hostile forces’ sabotage schemes, thereby timely guiding ideology and foster cadres’ and soldiers’ political steadfastness, unanimity of willpower and actions, vigilance, and willingness to undertake and complete all assigned missions successfully. More importantly, the Brigade accelerated building of party cells with “four goods, three nos” and “three intensifications, five objections,” considering this the key measure to build a politically strong unit. By employing synchronous solutions, the Brigade strengthened and brought about great progress in the leadership and combat power of party committees and party organisations, especially those in the grassroots units. Quality of the corps of party members was promoted. Since 2020, all Brigade-affiliated party organisations have accomplished their missions well and excellently. Over 92 percent of the party members have been graded good and excellent. There have been not any bad party organisations and party members. The Brigade Party Committee was awarded the Certificate of Merit by the Military Region Party Committee for three consecutive years.

Training is a central political task and  vital measure to directly enhance soldiers’ combat skills and unit’s combat power. The Brigade concentrate on making a breakthrough in enhancing combat training quality to fulfil its role as the primary fire support for units of the Military Region. On grasping and implementing Resolution No. 1659-NQ/QUTW, dated 20 December 2022, of the CMC and Resolution No. 19-NQ-DU, dated 16 March 2023, of the Military Region Party Committee on “Enhancing training quality in the 2023 – 2030 period and beyond, the Brigade concentrates efforts on renewing content and methods to conduct training and exercises to ensure their suitability for development of situations and missions. Of note, it makes a breakthough in basic training and mastery of weapon systems and technical equipment, especially the new generation ones. On realising the basic, practical, firm motto,” the Brigade actively reform training content and methods, ensuring in-depth, synchronous training. It also attaches importance to scenario-based, close-to-reality training and takes tactical training as the core, training in arms techniques as the basis, and cadre training as the key. Accordingly, commanding officers and staffs focus on studying enemy’s plots and operational art, our art of employing artillery, methods to conduct training in arms techniques, command and staff tabletop exercises, command and staff field exercises, and comprehesive tactical exercises as well as methods to formulate lesson plans, adopt lesson plans, and carry out peer teaching. The Brigade requests its affiliated units to stick to standards of a good training artillery unit, consider this the training goal, and specify the standards for gunners, scouts, signalmen, and so on. More importantly, the Brigade instructs its affiliated units to closely combine military training with political education and discipline compliance, intensify field training and nighttime training, and improve their maneuverability, skills in reconnaissance, targeting, and fire control, and ability to use new equipment such as Vector 21 and 23 laser rangefinders, Viva Uno 10 and 15 GNSS sensors, and JIM-LR thermal cameras.

To meet the requirement of artillery fire support in the war to safeguard the Fatherland and modern wars, the Brigade actively instructs its affiliated units to carry out training in camouflage, deception, and prevention and response to enemy’s reconnaissance, electronic warfare, high-tech weapons, and unmanned aerial vehicles. The units are also requested to improve their collaboration when they are part of the higher echelon’s formation and combined arms formation.

The Brigade attaches importance to good preparation for training, including materials, plans, lesson plans, and infrastructure to achieve high effectiveness. Recently, the Brigade has raised hundreds of millions VND and mobilised thousands of workdays for reparing and modernising the training grounds, ensuring their capacity for conducting tactical training and specialised training. Additionally, it maintains training preparation competitions and steps up the movement for technical research and innovation in support of training. Departments and units are requested to seriously abide by approved training plans, adopt lesson plans through peer teaching in the field, promote the use of model teams for training in specialties and artillery tactics, and closely combine training with combat readiness. They are to attach importance to research on recent military conflicts in the world to apply to training and exercises, thus enhancing soldiers’ combat skills and readiness. Moreover, the Brigade intensifies inspection, re-examination, and review of training, maintains competitions at all levels, and so forth. Therefore, results of training activities and exercises are dramatically improved. The Brigade always gains high prizes when participating in competitions organised by the higher echelons and ensure absolute safety in live firing.

Maintaining materiel after training

Due to mission requirements, units of the Brigade must be deployed in many areas where there is a high rate of urbanisation and risk of disciplinary violation, having considerable influence on combat readiness and management of soldiers. On perceiving the situation, recently, the Brigade has strictly maintained regulations on combat readiness, adjusted and completed combat plans according to scenario A, A2, and A4, improved plans for responding to catastrophes, incidents, and natural disasters and for conducting search and rescue to ensure their alignment with evolving situations and concept of operations of the Military Region, hardened shelters, trenches, battle positions, and roads for manauver, and carried out training and exercises in accordance with regulations. Furthermore, staffs and units have seriously implemented daily, weekly activities, managed soldiers closely, especially during off-hours and days off, and punished violations strictly. Consequently, over the past few years, there have been not any serious discipline violations in the Brigade. The rate of violations of ordinary discipline has been below 0.2%. The Brigade has been graded absolutely safe.

The Brigade is a unit of a combat arm and possesses many modern, specialised technical equipment. Thus, it pays attention to good implementation of technical support work, maintains regulations on technical work, especially those relating to training of technical cadres and employees according to their majors as well as skills for addressing technical incidents during maneuver. Additionally, it steps up implementation of the campaign on managing and using weapon systems and technical equipment in a good, durable, safe, economical manner and traffic safety. Therefore, the technical coefficients of weapon systems and equipment always reach and exceed targets. Of note, the coefficient of weapons and equipment used for combat readiness equals 1, which means that they are ready for use and accomplishing all assigned tasks.

In addition to the above-mentioned measures, the 382nd Artillery Brigade actively etablishes a regular, bright, green, clean, beautiful environment, does logistical work well, and improves the material, spiritual life of cadres and soldiers, contributing to enhanced training quality, combat readiness, and combat power as well as fulfilment of all assigned missions.

Colonel NGUYEN PHUC QUYET, Deputy Commander and Chief Staff of the Brigade