II. An army for combat in peacetime

As an element of the revolutionary armed forces, over the past 76 years of building, combat, and development, the 5^th Military Region Armed Forces have been absolutely faithful to the Party and maintained a strong attachment to the people. No matter how hard it is, the Military Region Armed Forces have always raised the spirit of self-reliance, resilience, bravery, creativity, combat, and win whether in peacetime or wartime. Given complex developments of natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic within its area of responsibility, the Military Region has brought into play its leading role and performed its combat mission in peacetime. It seeks to work with local party committees, authorities, departments, branches, unions to adopt many preventive and responsive measures with the aim of stabilising situations and protecting lives and property of the State and people, regarding this as sentiment, responsibility, function, and mission of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers” to party committees, authorities, and locals in the area.

To assist people in overcoming the consequences of natural disasters, epidemics, and environmental catastrophes is a regular task of the Military Region Armed Forces. No matter how challenging situations are, the Military Region is determined to accomplish its tasks. While undertaking these missions, the Military Region Armed Forces are always imbued with Uncle Ho’s teaching: floods and storms are dangerous enemies, which not only devastate the environment but also pose serious threats to people’s lives and property and cause dreadful disasters. Therefore, flood and storm prevention and response require close organisation, robust command, and sufficient equipment. The Farmers’ Union and the Youth Union must volunteer to assist people. Military units must take every opportunity to support compatriots, taking this as foundation for educating soldiers to realise that helping people in overcoming the aftermath of natural disasters and environmental catastrophes is their political responsibility and sentiment on people. This task requires them to have willpower and resolve in order to surmount perils and hardships to complete their assigned tasks.

Cadres and soldiers of the Air Defence Brigade 573 evacuating citizens of Binh Dinh ward, An Nhon town, Binh Dinh province (photo: mod.gov.vn)

In case of heavy rain and storms, the Military Region Command quickly directs units to strictly carry out duties of guarding. Apart from combat guarding pools, they must establish pools of natural disaster prevention and response as well as pools of search and rescue at all levels in order to opportunely deal with situations. It also orders units to postpone training, combat work and capital construction, and unnecessary meetings, to proactively propose employment of forces and equipment for local party committees and authorities to assist people in quickly addressing the aftermath. Prior to and during heavy rain and storms, the Military Region Command forms working delegations to carry out inspection and maintain presence at the scenes to lead prevention and response, while instructing units to adopt safety measures regarding warehouses, barracks, technical areas, vehicles, combat works, equipment, and store materials, medicine, food, and fuel. Units are requested to make preparations in terms of forces and means to support local authorities under the four-on-site motto, readily evacuate their men, vehicles, and equipment to safe areas, collaborate closely with other units deployed in the area to deal with incidents and natural disasters, call on fishing boats to find safe havens, evacuate people and property, employ their men and vehicles in search and rescue operations as well as in disaster relief.

Thanks to good preparations, the Military Region was not confused by storms after storms, floods after floods in 2020 and waves of COVID-19 but is always ready to cope with situations. When mudslides struck some localities and caused great loss of life and property, the Military Region Command quickly assessed situations, developed plans, and mobilised forces to conduct search and rescue operations right in the rain. The search and rescue efforts for missing people due to mudslides, floods, and capsized vessels as well as provision of food for people isolated by floods or mudslides are directed in a drastic, prompt manner. When the 9^th and 10^th storms hit the area in 2020, the Military Region established a forward headquarters at Bac Tra My District Military Command, Quang Nam province. The headquarters was directly led by a Deputy Commander of the Military Region to cooperate with local party committees and authorities in conducting search and rescue operations in Tra Leng commune, Nam Tra My district. In the direction of Phuoc Son district, Quang Nam Provincial Military Command ordered Phuoc Son District Military Command to collaborate with other forces in searching for missing people and providing food and necessities for people isolated by floods in the communes of Phuoc Loc and Phuoc Thanh. As a result of good preparations, within a short period of time, the Military Region deployed tens of thousands of officers, soldiers, and militias as well as hundreds of vehicles and boats to both carry out search and rescue and assist people to rehabilitate.

On upholding fine tradition of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers,” during the 2020 storms and floods, the Military Region Armed Forces worked with local authorities to inform and instruct 26,490 vessels with 150,627 people on board to find safe havens, evacuate 59,568 households with 249,759 people and their property in littoral areas, directly hit by storms, to safe places, evacuate 533 households with 1,917 people from potential landslides to safety, search for 109 people missing from landslides, floods, and capsized vessels. The Military Region also evacuated 211 workers of the Dak Mil 2 Hydropower Plant, Phuoc Son district, Quang Nam province from isolated areas, rescued 38 workers building the Tra Khuc River Downstream Dam, Quang Ngai province, organised two working teams to transport 23.6 tons of food and 250 litrers of oil by road from Phuoc Kim commune to Phuoc Thanh commune and from Phuoc Cong to Phuoc Loc.

Taking part in COVID-19 prevention and control within localities

All the aforementioned activities of the Military Region Armed Forces are closely linked to implementation of the regulations on COVID-19 prevention and response in the spirit of regarding people in pandemic affected areas as our blood brothers, their pains as our pains, which was taught by President Ho Chi Minh. Right at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Viet Nam, the Military Region worked out concrete response plans and collaborated with localities to minimise loss caused by the pandemic. When waves of the pandemic hit the cities of Da Nang and Nha Trang and other provinces, the Military Region Command and its Steering Committee for Pandemic Prevention and Response activated pandemic prevention and response plans at all levels, according to specific degrees suitable for practical situations, while opportunely adjusting plans for realising military, defence missions, ensuring combat training and readiness, and carrying out natural disaster and pandemic prevention and response. The Military Region also reviewed and provided material facilities, medical staff, and equipment for COVID-19 quarantine and treatment areas. Drawing on experience from the previous outbreaks, the spirit of “proactive offense” and rapid, drastic reaction right at the beginning in order to reduce the spread of the pandemic in communities, officers, soldiers, members of the Militia and Self-Defence Force of the Military Region always monitor closely areas, developments of the pandemic, stand side by side with local party committees, authorities, and people to cope with this dangerous pandemic. Given the spirit of “fighting the pandemic like fighting the enemy” and “soldiers proactively come to the  people,” the Military Region Armed Forces have sprayed disinfectant over an area of up to two million square meters; worked with other forces to perform SARS-CoV-2 tests, organised 35 quarantine sites for 24,000 citizens returning to Viet Nam, collaborated with other forces in setting up quarantine checkpoints, participated in contact tracing, etc., making vital contribution to stopping the spread and outbreak of the pandemic.

Right at the onset of the fourth wave of the pandemic, the Military Region Party Committee and Command have focused on thoroughly grasping instructions of the Military Central Commission and Ministry of National Defence as well as directives of higher echelons, requested units to review their plans and make every preparation in terms of personnel, means, and material under the motto of “keeping one step ahead of normal standards”, putting people’s rights to health and life first. Attention has been paid to helping localities to address difficulties, assisting people to settle down, and participating in maintaining political security, social order, and safety, minimising adverse effects of the pandemic. Officers and soldiers have shown their constant ability to understand situations and deal with matters in a correct manner, predicted pandemic developments in order to map out suitable response. Departments and units have mobilised all resources under the “four-on-site motto”, proactively collaborated with relevant local forces to monitor situations and propose pandemic prevention and response for party committees and local governments.

Specifically, when the pandemic was poised to break out in a complex direction in early August 2021, Da Nang City and some provinces continued practising social distancing according to Directive No. 16/CT-TTg of the Prime Minister, adopting stricter measures, taking communes, wards, and small towns as “fortresses,” considering people as “soldiers,” the Military Region Armed Forces were one of the leading forces to propagandise and support people and joined hands with local authorities to halt the pandemic by concrete, practical activities. Apart from their participation at pandemic checkpoints, the Military Region Armed Forces established and strengthened pandemic checkpoints along the border, collected and provided food for people in pandemic-stricken areas in the spirit of “taking care of the people like taking care of themselves,” resolving to ensure the people’s access to adequate food amid the pandemic. Many soldiers actively took part in voluntary blood donation in order to provide thousands of units of blood for treatment in hospitals. The Military Region sent hundreds of medical staff together with tens of ambulances to the South in support of pandemic response. This is both an honour and responsibility of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers” to people amid the pandemic.

Practical deeds of the 5^th Military Region Armed Forces are vivid proof, which affirms that the military is a firm mainstay and source of spiritual strength for party committees, authorities, and people in the fight against COVID-19 and in response to the aftermath of natural disasters and environmental catastrophes. The Military Region Armed Forces always bring into play their core role in supporting local authorities and people to overcome “double challenges,” contributing to strengthening national defence and security and ensuring peaceful life and happiness of the people in the area.

(To be continued)

HONG LAM - THIEN TO - DUC THINH