Training is a central, routine political task and a measure of importance to raising troops’ combat capacity. Therefore, over the years, in addition to streamlining the organisational structure and building a politically, ideologically, organisationally strong unit, the Army Corps 3’s Party Committee and Command have been adopting various measures to keep raising the quality of military training and achieved encouraging results as a breakthrough in improving the Corps’ synergy and combat power to successfully fulfil the assigned task and deserve to be a main, mobile force in the strategic area of Central Highlands.

Currently, the situation all over the world and in the region has complex, unpredictable developments. The hostile forces are stepping up their sabotage strategy to threaten our national independence, sovereignty, unification, and territorial integrity. More task requirements are imposed on the military build-up under the Resolutions of the 13th National Party Congress and the 11th Military Party Congress. As for the training work, a part from advantages, the Corps has faced a lot of difficulties in funding. The number of its cadres who had experienced real combat has decreased. Its young cadres have been basically trained but their experience, skills, and training methods have been limited. Training grounds in some affiliates have yet to be good enough. Families of a number of cadres and soldiers have been in difficulty. Weather and epidemics, especially COVID-19 pandemic have complex developments. Those above-mentioned things have profoundly impacted on the Corps’ training results.

Grasping the situation and its function and task, the Corps has determined to continue raising the quality of training and exercises as a breakthrough in improving the performance of its “central, routine” political mission, building a revolutionary, regular, elite unit with a high level of manoeuvrability and combat readiness, and making itself capable of readily winning victories in any circumstance and meeting the requirements set by the military build-up and the Homeland protection.

To that end, the Corps has enhanced the leadership and direction from all-level party committees and commands over the training work as a top priority. The Corps has required all-level party committees and commands to grasp higher echelons’ resolutions and directives on the training work, particularly the Central Military Commission’s Conclusion 60-KL/QUTW, dated January, 18th, 2019 and the Corps Party Committee’s Resolution on continuing to execute the Resolution 765-NQ/QUTW, the Directive on combat training by the Chief of the General Staff, and the Corps Commander’s Directive on combat training. From their experience in the training work, the Corps’ Party Committee and Command have given priority to renewing and improving all-level party committees and commands’ leadership and direction over this work, promoting political education and ideological management to render cadres and soldiers fully aware of the importance of training to raising the Corps’ synergy and combat readiness, making a huge positive change in troops’ responsibility, and building up staff members’ determination in the training process. Right in the end of 2020, the Corps required its affiliates to proactively develop and supplement leadership regulations and resolutions and action plans, with a focus on realising “three-substantive things”, namely substantive teaching, substantive learning, and substantive assessment, building “good training units,” and overcoming weaknesses in training so as to gain better results in 2021.

Regiment 66, Division 10, Army Corps 3 holding an exercise

To create a steady, comprehensive change in training, the Corps has focused on renewing the mechanism for managing and operating the training work in a “focalised, uniformed, synchronous” manner. It has directed its affiliates to formulate and closely execute their training plans and timetables, seriously decentralise the training work, enhance the effectiveness of coordination between offices and units in counselling, directing, operating, and organising the training work, and improve the quality of their staff work and directing documents. At the same time, due regard has been paid to both regularly and irregularly inspecting the training work to draw lessons. Against the complex developments of COVID-19, the Corps has required its military training and staff agencies at all levels to proactively grasp the situation, flexibly direct, operate, and organise training courses in tandem with pandemic prevention and control under regulations set by the Ministry of National Defence.

Furthermore, the Corps has carefully prepared personnel, materials, weapons, equipment, and training grounds, while ensuring logistics-technical support for training courses. Significance has been attached to reviewing and consolidating a contingent of training cares, organising refresher courses for those cadres at all levels, and improving the quality of this contingent, particularly at the Corps’ military training and operation offices, divisions, brigades, and detachments. In 2021, the Corps has renewed the contents and methods of refresher courses for cadres, with a focus on new issues relating to the military work and exercises at all levels, safety regulations in swimming and river crossing, method of training, practice, and examination at night-time, and equipment and materials in training grounds. To guarantee the quality of training, the Corps has enhanced the work of inspection, resolutely asked units with careless preparations to halt their refresher courses, and directed the organisation of such courses for all cadres under regulations. In addition to the training of cadres at each level, the Corps has organised contests for cadres and encouraged them to better their knowledge. Thanks to those practical measures, all cadres’ capability in counselling and organising the training work has been improved.

Up to now, all cadres of the Corps have been able to take charge of training courses at their levels. 78% of cadres at platoon and company levels and over 93% of cadres at battalion level have achieved merit or distinction in the training work. Realising the year of “raising the quality of exercises and contests at domestic, regional, and global levels,” the Corps has organised internal contests practically. In the first half of 2021, it successfully organised contests at grass-roots level, deployed 2 teams to army-wide corps-level and sectoral contests with good results, directed the organisation of contests for division commissars and commanders in preparation for the army-wide ones in 2021.

To well perform the task of a main, mobile unit, the Corps has renewed the contents and methods of training and exercises and considered this as an important measure and a breakthrough aimed at improving the quality of combat training. Bringing into play its good results, the Corps has continued adjusting and supplementing the training programmes for each group of troops in accordance with its structure and materiel and the requirements set by the Homeland protection in the new situation. Besides, the Corps has actively made the organisation and methods of training relevant to each group of units and specialities. Adhering to the training motto of “basics, practicality, thorough grasp,” the Corps has organised synchronous, intensive training courses for its troops in accordance with objects of combat, with the Central Highlands as the main battlefield. It has carried out basic training programmes for troops in the beginning of the training season, combined fundamental training with intensive training, and intensified night-time training and field marches. In this regard, it has taken technical training as the foundation, tactical training as the centre, and detachment and cadre training as the key. Significance has been attached to improving troops’ basic skills and tactics, enhancing exercises according to the Corps’ projects and missions, combining training with military standard order building and discipline management, aligning military training with political education, and building up troops’ faith in our combat method and existing materiel.

To meet the task requirements of a main unit in modern warfare, the Corps has placed emphasis on organising training courses and exercises to improve its raiding capacity, manoeuvrability, and joint operation in enemies’ hi-tech warfare. Consideration has been given to holding more general exercises at platoon, company, and battalion levels, together with live firing. The Corps has continued stringently maintaining regulations on training commands, offices, and detachments, while directing its affiliates to well train their new soldiers, intensify physical training, and organise field training marches. As a result, most of the Corps’ training contents and exercises in the first period of 2021have been rated as merit or distinction, with the absolute safety. In the time to come, the Corps will keep renewing the contents and forms of campaign-level, tactical, and reserve exercises in a practical, effective manner and organising drills aimed at dealing with non-traditional security challenges, particularly natural disasters and epidemics. Additionally, it will review, adjust, and complete combat plans and determination, while closely cooperating with localities in well preparing battlefields as the basis for holding training courses and exercises to improve cadres’ capabilities in command and joint combat as well as soldiers’ combat readiness capacity.

A part from those above-mentioned measures, the Corps has directed its offices and units to encourage their internal strength to ensure sufficient weapons, technical equipment, and training documents, upgrade training grounds, and maintain logistics-technical support, with a view to raising the quality of military training and satisfying the requirements set by combat readiness and combat in the new normality.

Sr. Col. NGUYEN BA LUC, Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the Corps