Upholding the tradition of "Infinite loyalty, coordination solidarity, initiative and creativity, combat manoeuvre, diehard and defeating the enemy in all situations", Air Defence Division 365 Party Committee and commanders have been promoting the implementation of "three breakthroughs" to build a comprehensively strong unit with high overall quality and combat power to be capable of fulfilling all assigned tasks.

Air Defence Division 365 was established in the time when the U.S. imperialists stepped up their bombardments in the North. Immediately after its establishment, the Division Party Committee and commanders quickly consolidated its organisation and staffing to train and build the unit, participate in combat to firmly protect the airspace around Hanoi, as well as important political, economic, and military hubs and transportation systems; actively studied to master the operational rules and tricks of the enemy’s air raids, and coordinated with other forces to fight bravely and resolutely to defeat the enemy's air raids in the North. Due to the high requirements of the resistance war against the US, the Division was tasked to participate in combat in the combined-force formation with other units on the battlefields of Region 4, Region 5, and Tri Thien Military Region to protect the North-South arterial traffic route on which human and material resources were transported to the southern battlefields, making an important contribution to the victory of historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign.

After 55 years of establishment, combat, and development, under the leadership and direction of the Central Military Commission, Ministry of National Defence, and directly the Air Defence - Air Force Party Committee and High Command and the assistance of the Party committees, authorities, and people of the localities where they are stationed, the Division’s cadres and soldiers have always actively overcome difficulties to strive to achieve outstanding results that have been recognised and praised by the Party, State, and Ministry of National Defence with multiple noble rewards. Since 2016, the Division's Party Committee has continuously been rated clean and strong, and the Division has been recognised as a comprehensively strong unit. In 2020, the Division was awarded the Emulation Flag by the Government.

One of the division's missile detachments conducts training

In recent years, the Division Party Committee and Commanders have focused on leading, directing, and implementing synchronously multiple solutions to build a comprehensively strong unit, particularly measures to improve the overall quality and combat power to firmly manage and protect the assigned airspace. Deeply grasping the breakthroughs as specified in the Resolutions of the 11^th Military Party Congress and the Air Defence - Air Force Party Congress for the 2020-2025 period, the Division's Party Committee has focused on the breakthroughs in improving the combat readiness level and airspace management capacity; improving the quality of training and mastering of existing weapons and equipment and new and innovated weapons; and improving the regularity building and management and education of law and discipline observance  to create a premise for building a comprehensively strong, "exemplary and typical" Division with overall quality and high mobility to firmly protect the assigned airspace. To well implement the "three breakthroughs", the Division Party Committee has issued a thematic leadership resolution, concretised it into action plans, and implemented since the first year of the 2020-2025 tenure. The main solutions include:

Firstly, to focus on leading the performance of the task of combat readiness, airspace management, and flight management. This is a central and permanent political task that the good performance of which may improve the overall quality and combat power of the Division. The Division Party Committee and commanders have directed its subordinate agencies and units to master and strictly implement the superiors’ directives, commands, orders, and instructions on combat readiness, airspace management, and flight management, especially Command No.14/CL-BQP issued on March 28^th, 2017 by the Minister of Defence, the Command on military and defence work of the Chief of General Staff, and orders and directives of the Force Commander, thereby, raising awareness and sense of responsibility of cadres and soldiers in their task performance.

The Division has directed the guard force to actively research, grasp, and accurately forecast the enemy's situation, especially acts of infringing upon the country’s airspace; promote the core role of observatories and radar stations and improve the ability to detect targets to give out warnings, alarm, and coordinate with other units in settlement in accordance with Command No.27/CT-TM issued on December 3^rd, 2012 by the Chief of General Staff; strictly maintain the regimes of commanding duty and combat readiness guard from Division Headquarter to detachments to protect assigned targets at all time, especially on holidays and major events of the country and the Army; and continue implementing the "4-know" content in airspace management and effectively exploiting and using various types of weapons, specialised equipment, and communication, notification, and alarm systems. In addition, the Division has also directed subordinate agencies and units to review, adjust, and supplement documents, plans, and combat options and organise training to be ready to handle promptly and effectively situations without being passive and unexpected.

Secondly, to improve the quality of training, mastery of existing, new, and innovated weapons and equipment. To well implement Conclusion No.60-KL/QUTW issued on January 18^th, 2019 by the Central Military Commission on continuing implementing Resolution No.765-NQ/QUTW, Resolution No.558-NQ/ĐU issued on February 27^th, 2013 by the Force Party Committee on improving the quality of training for the 2013 - 2020 period  and beyond, and Decision No.872/QĐ-TM issued on May 28^th, 2010 of the Chief of General Staff on promulgating regulations on safety assurance in Air Defence - Air Force training, the Division Party Committee has issued a thematic resolution on "Strengthening training, strictly managing the airspace, and participating in flight management" with a breakthrough in "good training and mastery of new weapons and equipment".

Besides, the Division has also focused on renovating training forms and methods, closely combining traditional training methods with the application of science and technology, and paying special attention to imparting combat experience and abilities to observe and detect targets for cadres and soldiers; strengthening the inspection, supervision, and evaluation of training results to ensure objectivity and honesty without credit-driven practices; and associating training results with the completion of tasks of heads of agencies and units to strive to cover 100% of the training contents and time as planned with 100% satisfactory units and 80% of good and excellent ones.

Finally, to focus on improving the quality of regularity building and management and education of law and discipline observance. Determining it as a central and cross-cutting task to create a solid change in the construction of the unit and contribute to completing all tasks, the Division has directed agencies and units to educate cadres and soldiers master the contents of the superiors’ documents, directives, and regulations on regularity building and discipline management to bring about positive changes in awareness and sense of observance of the State's law and military disciplines to ensuring absolute safety in training, production, and traffic.

Along with that, the Division has attached great importance to improving the quality of regularity building from implementing plans to managing and training soldiers and the unit's activities; strictly maintaining the daily and weekly  orders and regimes, strengthening the inspection and grasp of units, family circumstances, thoughts, health conditions, and social relationships of soldiers, especially those with difficult circumstances, under the motto of taking "prevention" as the key, and handling collectives and individuals who have signs of concealing their shortcomings and delaying in reporting incidents; and strictly managing the number of troops and activities of the soldiers at anytime, anywhere, even during breaks and days off, to prevent violations of law, disciplines, and traffic safety regulations, to strive to have, annually 20% of agencies and units being recognised as comprehensively strong, "exemplary and typical", 30% meeting the "Cultural Unit" standard, and ordinary disciplinary violations less than 0.2%, and without serious disciplinary violations. In addition, the Division has continued promoting the reform of military administrative procedures and strictly observed the regulations on military security and cyberspace.

Good implementation of the "three breakthroughs" is the basic and core solution to build a comprehensively strong, "exemplary and typical" Division with high overall quality and combat power to be capable of firmly protecting the assigned airspace to contribute to glorifying the tradition of the Mobile Air Defence Division - the Heroic Unit of the People's Armed Forces.

Senior Colonel VU XUAN YEN, Division Commissar