After the Geneva Accords were signed in 1954, the Vietnamese revolution entered a new stage of development with two strategic tasks: socialist revolution in the North and people's national democratic revolution in the South towards national reunification. Amid that backdrop and in response to the requirements of building the Army in the new stage, on 25 October 1954, Artillery Regiment 86 - the predecessor of Artillery Brigade 164, under Army Corps 12 was established. Immediately after its establishment, despite shortages, the officers and soldiers of the Brigade managed to overcome difficulties, quickly stabilised the organisation and staffing; built and consolidated barracks; conducted training to master weapons, equipment, and facilities, and improve technical and tactical skills, especially the level of coordination with main and local forces to meet the requirements of combat readiness and support for the battlefield.

From 1964 to 1975, the Brigade was deployed to all battlefields from the Central to the South, fought in hundreds of battles and campaigns, achieving many resounding victories. For its exceptional feats of arms and achievements, the Brigade was honoured to be awarded the title of Heroic Unit of the People's Armed Forces in 1972 by the Party and State along with many other noble awards. Recently, in response to the requirements of the cause of building the Army and Homeland protection in the new period, promoting the heroic tradition, the Party Committee and Command of the Brigade have synchronously and drastically implemented many solutions to improve its overall quality and combat strength, and gained several outstanding results and achievements. Among those, the most important one is that its officers and soldiers always show strong political stances, solidarity, unity, and high determination. They have constantly improved training levels and combat readiness; implemented logistics and technical work synchronously and creatively, meeting both regular and ad hoc requirements and tasks.

Those results were attributed to synchronous measures. First and foremost, the Brigade focused on adjusting its organisation and making itself politically strong which is considered as a measure of primary importance, the basis for improving its overall quality and combat strength. Thoroughly grasping and implementing Resolution No. 05-NQ/TW, dated 17 January 2022 of the Politburo and Resolution No. 230-NQ/QUTW, dated 2 April 2022 of the Central Military Commission on leading the Military organisation for the period 2021 - 2030 and the following years, the Brigade Party Committee has elaborated a thematic resolution on leading the task of restructuring its organisation towards lean, compact, and strong directions; built implementation plans and action programmes in a strict, synchronous, and scientific manner basing on its characteristics, functions, and tasks. In particular, it attaches importance to ensuring sufficient troops, weapons, and equipment according to the new payrolls for units performing training and combat readiness tasks. To build a politically strong unit, its Party committees and commanders at all levels focus on thoroughly disseminating and educating soldiers to firmly grasp the Party's military and defence viewpoints and guideline, the Homeland protection task in the new situation, the traditions of the Military, the Corps and the Brigade, the plots and tricks of "peaceful evolution" of hostile forces, the situations of political security, social order and safety in the stationed areas, etc. Besides concentrated education according to programmes and plans, its Party committees and commanders at all levels have also actively updated knowledge of information technology, leveraging the network environment to manage, educate, and orient officers and soldiers’ mindset. Thereby, they have promptly orientated ideology, developed a strong political stance and high determination for its officers and soldiers to make them highly vigilant, always ready to receive and complete all assigned tasks.

Conducting live-firing in an exercise

Moreover, the Brigade regularly improves and enhances the leadership capacity and overall strength of its Party committees and organisations; builds clean and strong Party committees and Party cells at all levels, associated with building strong and comprehensive "exemplary and typical" agencies and units; promptly detects, prevents and resolutely fights against negative manifestations, distorted perceptions or lack of responsibility in performing tasks; timely commends and rewards typical collectives and individuals with outstanding achievements, creating motivation for other ones to strive, cultivate, train and improve their working quality. As a result, in recent years, the Brigade Party has always excellently completed its tasks, the results of annual political awareness test show that 100% is satisfactory, over 82% good and excellent; 100% of its officers and soldiers happy with their work with clear perception of their tasks and dedication to their units.

Improving the quality of combat training is identified by the Brigade’s Party Committee and Commandant as a central task and an important measure, directly improving its overall quality and combat strength. On thoroughly grasping and seriously implementing Resolution No. 1659-NQ/QUTW, dated 20 December 2022 of the Central Military Commission, Resolution No. 33-NQ/DU, dated 15 January 2024 of the Party Committee of Army Corps 12 on "Improving the quality of training in the period 2023 - 2030 and the following years", the Military and Defence Work Order of the Corps Commander and the instructions of the superior, the Brigade focuses on improving the quality of combat training at all stages to meet the new situations and tasks. Before each training season, it sends cadres to attend training courses held by the Corps and conducts internal training to improve the qualifications and training methods for its officers, especially the newly graduated ones and the company and battalion-level officers who directly participate in training. At the same time, it proactively requires its junior levels to make thorough training plans and schedules at all levels, prepare sufficient lesson plans, teaching aids, and training grounds, etc. During training, closely adhering to the motto of "Basic, practical, solid", the Brigade directs its agencies and units to focus on improving the quality of content, programmes, management, operation, administration, inspections, competitions, and evaluation of training. In particular, it pays special attention to improving the quality of practical training on guns, artillery, mastering new weapons, equipment, night training, combat coordination with infantry in tactical forms, high-tech warfare and electronic warfare, and training in complex weather conditions and short preparation time. What’s more, it strengthens competitions and sports in training at all levels, holds and participates in round exercises with live troops for units, squads, etc. As a result, 100% of annual training results are rated satisfactory, in which 86% are good or excellent. Moreover, it has won high places in the competitions and sports events held by the Corps. For many years in a row, it has been awarded the "Excellent Training Unit" Flag by the Ministry of National Defence.

Together with improving the quality of combat training, it strictly maintains the order and regime of combat readiness at all levels; deploys the right and sufficient number of servicemen to stay on guard, patrol and on-duty during holidays, Tet, and to protect important events of the country. On a yearly basis, it regularly inspects, supplements, and perfects the system of combat readiness documents at all levels and coordinates closely with the Military Command of Luc Nam district (Bac Giang province), Bac Ninh city (Bac Ninh province) to develop and supplement plans for natural disaster prevention, control, search and rescue. In addition, it coordinates closely with local Party committees, authorities, and forces in the area to grasp the situations of political security, social order and safety, not to be made passive or surprised in any situation.

As a combat unit, operating different types of weapons, equipment, vehicles which are both old and new, the Brigade’s Party Committee and the Commandant always pay attention to performing the logistics and technical work to fully and promptly serve its tasks. In particular, it focuses on both exploiting, operating, preserving, maintaining, and storing new generation materiel, and researching, improving, repairing, upgrading, and prolonging the lifespan of the old one; seriously and effectively implements the regimes of registration, management, and statistics in technical work as per regulations. At the same time, it promotes the implementation of the Campaign on Good, Durable, Safe and Economical Management, Exploitation, and Use of Weapons and Technical Equipment and Traffic Safety. As a result, the technical coefficient of its weapons, equipment, vehicles and artillery always meets and exceeds the requirements, ready for deployment and complete all assigned tasks. As for logistics support, it directs agencies and units to regularly maintain and manage the amount of operational-ready materials, focusing on building complete logistics documents and plans according to combat readiness plans. Its agencies and units have thoroughly managed and taken good care of soldiers' health and ensured food hygiene and safety, environmental sanitation, and disease prevention. Thanks to these measures, the amount of combat-ready logistics reserves is always fully and promptly ensured; the system of logistics support documents and plans is regularly adjusted and supplemented; its number of healthy soldiers always reaches 98.5% and above.

Promoting the tradition of “Resilience, self-reliance, good fighting, accurate firing” over the past 70 years, officers and soldiers of the 164th Artillery Brigade have stayed united, made many breakthroughs to improve its overall quality and combat strength, and strived to build an all-strong, “exemplary and typical” Unit, excellently completing all assigned tasks, and being worthy of the title of Heroic Unit of the People's Armed Forces.

Senior Colonel NGUYEN VAN THU, The Brigade Commander