Being fully aware of the importance of the technical work to Army Corps 2’s strategic manoeuvre, the Corps’ Technical Branch is focusing on improving technical support to meet its task requirements in the new situation.

Bringing into play the tradition of “lightning speed, daring, determination to win,” over the years, the Technical Department’s Party Committee and Command have advised the Corps’ Party Committee and Command on leadership and direction over the performance of the technical work, thereby opportunely, sufficiently providing weapons and technical equipment for combat readiness, training, exercises, and contingency missions. The Technical Department has accomplished all plans on synchronising materiel and dieselising vehicles within the Corps’ units, while maintaining the technical coefficients of weapons and technical equipment, especially vehicles for combat readiness. In 2019, it successfully organised the exercise of KT-19 for campaign-level technical commands, offices, and facilities, being highly appreciated by the Corps Command and the General Technical Department.

The policy set by the Ministry of National Defence (MND) on building a main strategic mobile Corps towards modernity has imposed more task requirements on the technical work. Meanwhile, the Technical Branch’s organisational structure must be streamlined. There is an imbalance between generations of technical cadres. Weapons and technical equipment under the Branch’s management are in a large number with a rich diversity; they were manufactured by many different countries. Many of them have been in use for a long time, thereby posing safety-related risks during manoeuvre. More seriously, the capacity of the Corps’ technical facilities is still limited. Those above-mentioned difficulties, challenges, and shortcomings have been impacting on the Branch’s task performance in general, the Corps’ manoeuvrability in particular. To meet the task requirements, the Corps’ Technical Branch will concentrate on well implementing several main measures as follows.

First, improve all-level technical cadres’ professional competence and task performance. To that end, the Corps’ Party Committee and Command will direct the Technical Branch, offices, and units to make a breakthrough in “raising the technical command and management capability of all-level technical cadres.” Great value will be attached to building a contingent of technical cadres both qualitatively and quantitatively, using them properly, and promoting their strengths. In addition to the personnel work, the Corps will send its technical cadres to academies and schools both inside and outside the Military for further education and improve its staff members’ professional knowledge and capability in technical organisation and command, with significance attached to practical knowledge and experience. The Corps’ Technical Department will require offices and units to build a pool of technical officers with great acumen and capability in grasping their task requirements and their commanders’ intention. Offices and units will be asked to proactively correctly evaluate the quality of technical cadres and employees, weapons, and technical equipment as well as weather condition and the particularities of different routes and technical facilities. Doing so will help increase cadres’ capacity to develop technical support plans, grasp the quality of weapons and technical equipment, deploy and employ forces flexibly in accordance with each route, remain unified from superior to inferior levels, and promote independence and self-reliance of offices and units and coordination between themselves. Consideration will be given to organising contests at all levels as an important way to better technical cadres’ professional knowledge and capability in command and management. At the same time, due regard will be paid to creating a favourable condition and devising a preferential treatment policy to encourage technical cadres to improve their professional competence and working style in a scientific manner as well as to apply technical initiatives and innovations to training, combat readiness, and technical support within offices and units.

Inspecting formation of vehicles during manoeuvre

Second, invest in modern technologies and equipment to increase the capacity of technical facilities and mobile repair forces. To effectively exploit and maintain weapons and technical equipment, reduce labour, and increase productivity, there should be state-of-the-art equipment and technologies. Being fully aware of this, over the years, the Corps’ Technical Department has recommended its higher echelons to acquire and provide modern equipment and technologies for repair battalions, stations, and workshops, ensure sufficient construction vehicles at all levels, actively innovate and supplement modern, versatile equipment for the existing construction vehicles, with a view to enhancing technical facilities’ maintenance and repair capacity and quality.

Mobile repair plays a crucial role in the work of technical support and directly impacts on the Corps’ task performance. Therefore, the Technical Department will direct units, stations, and workshops to assign responsible, dedicated, qualified professional employees and skilled repairmen to specialised mobile repair forces. Due attention will be paid to organising mobile working groups to carry out repairs of weapons and technical equipment for units during training and exercises to improve staff members’ knowledge and skills.

Third, provide comprehensive, intensive technical training courses for all troops so that they will successfully fulfil the task of manoeuvre. To that end, the Technical Department will direct offices and units to “raise the quality of training and exercises to satisfy the requirements set by combat readiness and combat,” with importance attached to designing technical training programmes relevant to each group of troops under the motto of “basics, practicality, and thorough grasp.” As for technical command and staff officers, it will focus on training them to grasp the technical and tactical features of weapons and equipment, especially the modern, highly mobile ones, comprehend the technical requirements of each type of equipment during manoeuvre, and increase their capability in commanding and employing forces and anticipating situations. It will intensify training courses for drivers to improve their driving skills on all types of terrains and roads and in all weather conditions. Due attention will be paid to stepping up night-time training to better drivers’ visibility, performance of independent missions, and skills in ensuring compulsory driving speed and distance between vehicles during manoeuvre. At the same time, great value will be attached to enabling drivers to effectively exploit and master the existing vehicles, identify and handle normal errors, and cooperate with forces in towing their vehicles in case of an accident. With reference to technicians and repairmen, the Technical Department will direct offices and units to concentrate on bettering their capability in maintaining and repairing clusters and systems of equipment on the field, exploiting and smoothly running the existing devices for technical support, and quickly analysing, identifying, and settling breakdowns during manoeuvre. Significance will be attached to training depots and stations to deploy working groups, workshops, and construction vehicles, receive, distribute, and camouflage materials, master combat projects to safeguard their sub-depots and sub-stations, maintain coordination between sections during general exercises or in association with combating to defend technical facilities as well as strictly execute regulations on fire, explosion, and natural disaster prevention and control.

Fourth, maintain technical support coordination with forces within defensive zones and units of services and other corps during manoeuvre. Technical support during manoeuvre much depends on means of transport (lorry, airplane, train, and vessel), methods of manoeuvre (marching, motorised, and combined ones), and tasks of manoeuvre (for combat and performance of missions). Hence, in preparations for manoeuvre, offices and heads of technical bodies shall grasp tasks, plans, methods, and means of transport to develop technical support projects for force manoeuvre. They shall cooperate with technical forces within defensive zones, technical units of services and other corps, and technical facilities of the all-people national defence in giving support to manoeuvre. Focuses of coordination will be placed on designing schedules and routes and anticipating possible errors of equipment and technical situations to maximise the technical support capacity of defensive zones and forces during manoeuvre. Besides, it is essential to strictly implement regulations on timing and venue for handing over and receiving technical equipment as well as on escort and guard forces within the key areas in an accurate, timely fashion. After each manoeuvre mission, it is vital to promptly grasp the situation and technical support capacity, carry out screenings, and maintain and repair technical equipment immediately.

The successful implementation of those above-mentioned measures will provide an important foundation for Army Corps 2’ Technical Branch to raise its task performance and meet the requirements set by the Corps’ task of strategic manoeuvre.

Sr. Col. LE LUAT, Head of the Corps’ Technical Department