The 8th Infantry Regiment, Division 395, Military Region 3, was established on February 12th, 1971, with the task of recruiting and training to reinforce the southern battlefield in the resistance war against the U.S to save the country. After the reunification of the country (1975), the Regiment was tasked with participating in production, opening roads, building bridges, and afforesting in combination with strengthening national defence and security and building the people's war posture. Since 1999, the Regiment has been tasked with training, manoeuvre, and combat readiness to contribute to maintaining political stability in the assigned area, and, in association with the local authorities and people, defeating hostile forces’ sabotage plots and tricks and participating in the prevention of floods, storms, and natural disasters, search and rescue, and explosion prevention.

Lt. Col. Tran Kim Trong, political commissar of the regiment speaks at its 16th party congress

During nearly 50 years of building, fighting and growth, under the leadership and direction of the Military Region 3 Party Committee and High Command, directly the 395th Division Party Committee and commanders with the help of the local Party committee, authorities and people, generations of Regiment's cadres, employees, and soldiers have strived to overcome all difficulties and challenges to fulfill their assigned tasks and build up the tradition “Unity, good construction, excellent mobility, and winning”. Recognising these achievements, the Regiment was awarded the First Class Victory Medal (in 1977) and two Second Class Victory Medals (in 1979 and 1983). The Regiment was also awarded several noble awards by the Prime Minister, the Ministry of National Defence, the Military Region 3 High Command, and the local Party committees and authorities.

 

To achieve the above results, first of all, the Regiment Party Committee has been united and unified to focus on the leadership to perform well the tasks of combat readiness, training, and regularity building and discipline training. The Regiment Party Committee and Commanders as well as Party committees and commanders at all levels have always thoroughly grasped and strictly complied with the superiors’ combat readiness commands and strictly maintained the watch and duty regimes, especially during holidays, New Year, and the time of important political events of the Party, the country, and the Army; regularly consolidated, fully supplemented, and synchronised combat readiness plans and documents; closely coordinated with other units to adjust their plans for natural disaster prevention and control and search and rescue to make it relevant to the reality; and organised the practice of combat readiness plans so that officers and soldiers can grasp their tasks, master combat plans, be ready to maneuver to perform tasks when situations occur, not to be passive and expected in all situations. In training, the Party committees at all levels have thoroughly grasped the superiors’ resolutions, directives, and orders, especially the Central Military Commission’s Resolution No.765 on “Improving the training quality in the 2013 – 2020 period and beyond”, proposed effective leadership guidelines and measures, and implemented the motto od “basic, practice, and solidity” and applied three perspectives, eight principles, and six combinations suitably with functions, tasks, staff organisation, and combat reality; well-organised drills with real firing at battalion, company, and platoon levels to be close to combat practice; and participated in defensive zone maneuvers of Thai Binh province, etc. Thereby, 100% of the Regiment's officers have been trained according to decentralisation; 100% of non-commanding officers have been proficient in weapons and equipment. For annual training results, 100% of the soldiers have met the requirements with more than 85% of good and very good results.

 

In regularity building, discipline training, it has strictly implemented payroll staffing, organised force building, and timely adjusted its strength with priority being given to combat readiness duty units. It has also strictly maintained the daily and weekly living and working regimes to ensure the observance of military regulations on soldiers’ dressing and style, particularly in regularity building and discipline training. The working methods and styles of commanders at all levels have been actively renovated under the motto of “Enhancing sense of responsibility, adhering the grassroots, firmly grasping the situations, providing correct and appropriate advice, and making sound decisions”. Therefore, the cadres and soldiers have always strictly observed the State law and the Army discipline with no serious violations of discipline and traffic accidents, which has actively contributed to building the comprehensively strong, “exemplary and typical” Regiment.

 

In leading the work of political and ideological education and improvement of the quality of Party building work, Party committees at all levels have focused on leading the implementation of the scheme entitled “Renovating political education work in the units in the new period” and strengthened the work of ideological education and orientation to raise awareness and sense of responsibility for cadres and soldiers on the Party's lines and undertakings, the State's policies and laws, and the Army’s tasks. They have promoted the implementation of Directive No.05-CT/TW of the Politburo (the 12th Tenure) on learning and following Ho Chi Minh thoughts, ethics, and style and the Movement of Promoting tradition, dedicating talent, deserving “Uncle Ho's Soldiers” in the new period. Annually, they have effectively carried out the Determination-to-Win Emulation movement, peak emulations periods, and the drive of “Building a good, healthy and rich cultural environment in the Army” in association with the movement of “All people unite to build a cultural environment”, which has created an exciting movement of action to attract cadres and soldiers’ efforts to fulfill all assigned tasks.

 

In the Party Committee building work, thoroughly grasping and strictly implementing the superiors’ resolutions, directives, regulations, and guidance, especially the 4th Central Resolution (12th Tenure) on building and rectifying the Party, all Party committees and cells at all levels have maintained the order of Party activities, clearly defined the tasks and measures to completely address the weaknesses and limitations of the units, and assigned the implementation of resolutions to be close to the responsibilities and duties of each commissioner; strictly observed the leadership principles and working regulations, especially the leadership regulations on important working aspects; strengthened inspection, supervision, management, education, and training of Party members, especially the leading cadres, to have qualities, capacities, and prestige, maintaining principles and methods of scientific and meticulous working style that is close to the units’ practice, towards the motto “words come together with actions” and strict observance of the State law, the Army discipline and  Regulations on prohibitions of Party members; and resolutely struggled to prevent and repel manifestations of degradation in political thoughts, ethics, and lifestyle, “self-evolution”, and “self-transformation”. Accordingly, the cadres and Party members among the Regiment Party Committee have always maintained their qualities, ethics, and lifestyle, clearly demonstrated their pioneering, exemplary role, upheld their sense of political responsibility in performing tasks, and strived to overcome difficulties and fulfill assigned tasks. In annual assessment of the quality of Party members, 100% of the Party members successfully and excellently completed the tasks, of which over 85% of them have excellently completed the tasks.

 

In leading the logistic assurance work, the Regiment Party Committee has thoroughly grasped and strictly implemented Resolution No. 623-NQ/QUTW of the Central Military Commission on “Military Logistics to 2020 and beyond” to well conduct logistic supply for the tasks, especially combat readiness, training, and drills; promoted emulation movements: “Military logistics branch follows Uncle Ho’s teachings”, “Building and managing regular, green, clean, scenic barracks”, and “Good nourishing and  supply management unit”; brought into full play the models of production and farming and concentrated processing stations; strictly observed the Regulations on financial leadership and regulations on management of unit facilities and assets and supplied sufficient fuel demand for the units’ activities, ensuring appropriate and reasonable use and saving; and paid attention to the soldiers’ health, organised periodic health checks, proactively prevented pandemics, especially the Covid-19, and provided first aid under the decentralisation, ensuring regular healthy rate of over 98.8%.
In leading technical assurance work, it has thoroughly grasped and strictly complied with the superiors’ resolutions, directives, and regulations on technical work, especially regulations on the management and use of automobiles, motorcycles, and helmets to ensure absolute safety for people and vehicles; regularly supplied adequate, synchronous, and timely weapons, technical equipment, and means for regular and extraordinary tasks, especially in training and drills with live-firing; paid attention to fostering professional staff and organising professional and technical staff level promotion examinations and driver skill tests; and well implemented the Drive entitled “Managing and exploiting weapons and technical equipment effectively, sustainably, safely and economically, and traffic safety”.

 

Promoting the tradition of nearly 50 years of building, fighting, and growth and its achievements, the 8th Infantry Regiment's cadres and soldiers will continue striving to achieve good results to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of its foundation and fulfilling all assigned tasks.