Training and combat readiness are regular and central tasks, directly determining the improvement of the overall quality and combat strength of the Military. For the 950^th Brigade - a force tasked with the defence and protection of key targets in the Southwest water of the Homeland, performing this mission effectively is of great significance, requiring the implementation of coordinated and appropriate solutions.

The 950^th Brigade (9^th Military Region) is a composite unit consisting of several elements under the 5^th Naval Region and units (formerly) under the Phu Quoc Island District Military Command, tasked with training and maintaining combat readiness to defend Phu Quoc Island. It also coordinates with garrison forces on the island to maintain political security, order, social safety, and firmly protect the sovereignty of the Southwest maritime region of the Homeland. Besides, it is also ready to participate in disaster prevention and control, maritime search and rescue, etc. To successfully fulfill its assigned missions, in recent years, the Brigade has consistently implemented resolutions, directives, orders, plans, and guidance on training and combat readiness. It has established comprehensive leadership principles and measures with focuses and direction established on the specific situation, mission, and objectives, achieving high results.

In practice, the Brigade has proactively built units following the “elite, compact, and strong” principle with innovations in training content, forms, and methods to ensure alignment with the mission requirements and local situation. Cadre training is carried out seriously, with discipline, achieving good quality; the management, operation, and support work of training are regularly emphasised. The organisation of competitions, events, inspections and evaluations regarding training and combat readiness are conducted rigorously, with many innovative and creative ideas. Annual inspections consistently show that 100% of the mission categories meet requirements, with 75% to 80% being rated as good or excellent, and the unit has been awarded the title of excellent training unit for multiple years. Furthermore, the Brigade always maintains strict combat readiness discipline and regime; it stays well-informed on all aspects, regularly providing advice to the local Party committee authorities, and closely coordinating with local forces to successfully handle situations related to defence and security, and maintaining the firm protection of Phu Quoc Island, Tho Chu Island, and islands in the Southwest maritime region, and has never been caught off guard in any situations. With these outstanding achievements, the Brigade has been awarded numerous commendation banners and prestigious rewards by the Ministry of National Defence and the Military Region Command, upholding its tradition: “Unity in coordination - Overcoming difficulties - Resilient perseverance - Determination to protect the islands.”

Leader of the Staff of Military Region 9 checks training tools of the Brigade

Currently, the task of building the Military to protect the Homeland, especially safeguarding maritime sovereignty, places very high demands on the Brigade. Meanwhile, the Southwest maritime region always harbours complex and unpredictable factors; the organisation and structure of the Brigade are being adjusted in accordance to the “elite, compact, and strong” principle; its weapons and technical equipment have been in use for many years, some have deteriorated and lack uniformity; the competence of its officers is uneven; it is also a unit that independently stationed on an island, and its officers and soldiers basically have to live and work far from their families which sometimes have to face various difficulties at home, etc. To successfully fulfill the assigned political mission, alongside prioritising the establishment of strong foundations in politics, ideology, and organisation, the Brigade focuses on pushing ahead the innovation and improvement of training quality and combat readiness. This involves employing the following rational and appropriate solutions:

Practical experiences have shown that the results of training and combat readiness depend significantly on the leadership policies and solutions of party committees, party organisations, and the awareness and responsibilities of officers and soldiers. Therefore, the Brigade continues to enhance the leadership, guidance, and management of its Party committees and commands at all levels for training and combat readiness tasks. The Brigade requires its agencies and units, especially party committees and commanding officers, to deeply grasp and strictly implement resolutions, directives, and orders related to training and combat readiness. The focal point is Resolution No. 1659-NQ/QUTW, dated 20 December 2022, of the Central Military Commission, Resolution No. 797-NQ/ĐU, dated 29 March 2023, of the 9^th Military Region Party Committee, and Resolution No. 816-NQ/ĐU, dated 28 April 2023, of the 950^th Brigade Party Committee on “Improving the quality of training in the period 2023 - 2030 and the following years.” Based on this, resolutions and plans are developed with content, targets, and measures tailored to the characteristics of each branch and region. Party and political work activities are intensified, with a strong emphasis on mission briefing, political education, ideological development, motivation and determination nurturing for officers and soldiers in the execution of training and combat readiness tasks. To achieve high efficiency, the Brigade directs its subordinate agencies and units to apply flexible and diverse forms and methods of education and comprehensively carry out assigned tasks but with a focus on critical points. In addition, there is a strong emphasis on educating and highlighting resolutions, directives, orders, and commands related to training and combat readiness; training objectives and training targets determined in the resolutions of party committees and party organisations at all levels; and the significance of training and combat readiness for the mission of protecting maritime and island sovereignty. This approach helps officers and soldiers clearly understand the important role and position of this work in enhancing the overall quality and combat strength of the unit, instilling confidence in equipment, military tactics, and the fighting method of each branch. It also helps identify challenges to overcome, set clear training and combat readiness goals, and understand the strategies and tactics of adversaries. Furthermore, it allows officers and soldiers to develop motivation, responsibility, and high determination in implementing training plans, adhering to disciplinary rules and regulations, actively participating in duties, patrols, surveillance, and effectively handling situations as they arise.

To achieve the goals and objectives of the training work set by the Resolution of the 950^th Brigade Party Congress, it focuses on enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of training guidance, management, and execution, as well as the effectiveness of coordination and collaboration among different branches. It also rigorously implements responsibility delegation in planning, directing, and managing training. In particular, the Brigade continues to drive innovation in training programmes, content, organisation, and methods, considering this as a fundamental and crucial solution to successfully implement the breakthrough stage of “Enhancing the comprehensive quality of training,” as outlined in the spirit of the Resolution of the 950^th Brigade Party Congress for the term 2020-2025.

Accordingly, the Brigade places importance on training preparation, especially in organising a complete team of officers directly involved in training; and intensifies training and development to enhance the competence in managing, commanding, and conducting training for officers at all levels. Also, it directs the development of training programmes, plans, and schedules aligned with the training orders of the Military Region, tailored to each target group, ensuring uniformity, coherence, and rationality. Simultaneously, the 950^th Brigade meticulously prepares all necessary elements for training, particularly training grounds, exercise areas, weapons, equipment, models, and educational materials. Adhering to the principle of “basic, practical, and robust,” the Brigade continues to review and remove unnecessary training content, emphasising field training, night training, and training in harsh weather and hydrological conditions to improve mobility and endurance for prolonged combat. In addition, it integrates technical training and tactical training for infantry and various branches (artillery, engineering, armoured, air defence, chemical, etc.), increasing the duration of tactics training regarding the defence of the island under the conditions of the enemy employing advanced technological weapons. At the same time, the Brigade intensifies innovation in organising training methods to make them closely aligned with actual combat scenarios, operational areas, enemy’s characteristics and compatible with current organisational structure and equipment, aiming for practicality and effectiveness. Also, the Brigade implements comprehensive training but with focused and specialised training, ensuring the unit excels in defensive, independent, and combined arms combat across branches. Furthermore, it continues to emphasise the effective organisation of exercises and live-fire practices, considering the secure defence of maritime and island sovereignty as the highest priority in training and exercises, to enhance its leadership and command capabilities, as well as the ability to coordinate effectively between forces and respond efficiently to unforeseen situations.

Alongside training, the Brigade implements uniformed measures to enhance the unit’s level of readiness and combat capabilities. To ensure high combat readiness and swift responses to situations, it strongly emphasises political education to ensure that the troops fully understand the schemes and tactics of hostile forces at sea, as well as the requirements for combat readiness missions. This helps instill in officers and soldiers a sense of vigilance, combat readiness, and responsibility in protecting the Homeland’s maritime and island territories. Based on a thorough understanding of directives, orders, and plans from the Military Region regarding combat readiness, the Brigade attaches importance to coordinating with other garrison forces on Phu Quoc island to effectively carry out tasks such as surveillance, communication, and information exchange. This facilitates accurate assessment, timely reporting, and advising to the Military Region Party Committee and Command and local authorities and Party committees, enabling flexible and principled handling of situations to prevent any surprises. Simultaneously, it directs agencies and units, especially combat elements, to regularly review, adjust, supplement, and streamline documentation systems, plans, and tactics regarding defensive combat and search and rescue missions to align with the specific situation, tasks of each unit, and each enemy’s characteristics. They are also required to practice regularly to ensure proficiency in implementing combat plans and enhance their mobility in combat. Additionally, the Brigade maintains strict combat readiness regimes at all levels, ensuring coherence in personnel, weaponry, equipment, mobile assets, and all other aspects of readiness to effectively handle situations. Additionally, it continues to coordinate with Phu Quoc authority in constructing the defence zone, prepare combat disposition, mobile routes, fortifications, particularly in key areas and directions. The Brigade also maintains close coordination with the airspace management authority, ready to repel airborne threats and respond to emergencies at Phu Quoc International Airport. Furthermore, it creates a manpower and resource pool to participate in forest fire-fighting efforts, assist communities in natural disasters, and complete maritime search and rescue missions, etc.

In addition, the Brigade places importance on leadership and direction efforts to effectively carry out logistics and technical support for training and combat readiness tasks, directly contributing to the improvement of the quality of this crucial work. This lays the groundwork for building a comprehensively strong, “exemplary, distinguished”, coordinating with other forces to ensure the firm defence of the waters and islands of the Southwest region of the Homeland.

Senior Colonel VO VAN NAM, 950^th Brigade Commander