Emulation and commendation work in general, within the Military in particular always provides a considerable incentive for cadres and soldiers to bring into play their creativity, surmount difficulties and hardships, and successfully fulfil their assigned tasks. Hence, the Party Committee and Command of Naval Brigade 131 have focused their leadership and direction on stepping up the emulation movement, especially in training and combat readiness, via synchronous, effective lines and solutions.

As an engineering unit of the Naval Service, Brigade 131 is tasked with providing support for combat and combat readiness, constructing military and defence works on the mainland, at seaports, and on islands, and clearing bombs, mines, and unexploded ordnance (UXO) for socio-economic development. Grasping and realising higher echelons’ resolutions on training work, the Brigade’s Party Committee and Command have synchronously adopted measures, with the emulation movement in training and combat readiness being seen as the central one. Thanks to the Brigade’s consistent leadership and drastic implementation process, the emulation movement has contributed to raising public awareness and a sense of responsibility for promoting the tradition of heroic naval soldiers, overcoming all difficulties, enthusiastically, actively, proactively, creatively improving the quality and effectiveness of training and combat readiness, building an “exemplarily, typically” comprehensively strong Brigade capable of successfully fulfilling all assigned tasks. With its outstanding achievements, in 2023, the Brigade was given the emulation flag by the Naval Service Command.

Training troops to dispose barricades on the river

In the upcoming years, more demanding requirements will be imposed on the protection of national sovereignty over seas and islands as well as the building of the Army, Service, and Brigade. Bringing into play the recorded results, maintaining and further raising the quality of training and combat readiness in the new situation, the Brigade will continue to step up the emulation movement in the performance of this important task, with a focus on several key points as follows.

First, stepping up the work of propagation and education to raise public awareness and resolve in emulation for training and combat readiness among cadres and soldiers. This is the key factor which will lay a foundation for the Brigade’s emulation movement aimed at good training and high combat readiness. Therefore, the Brigade will enhance propagation and education to raise public awareness and a sense of responsibility among cadres and soldiers, especially commanding officers towards the key role of training and combat readiness. It will further disseminate directives, resolutions, and regulations on training and combat readiness, clarify its functions and tasks, render its cadres and soldiers fully aware of training-related objectives, viewpoints, mottos, and principles, and enable troops to distinguish between partners and opponents. At the same time, it will focus on traditional history education to arouse and promote the pride and noble, sacred duty of Naval soldiers, spread the spirit of “overcoming harsh weather conditions, remaining passionate in training”, “maintaining coordination, achieving collective feats” so that all cadres and soldiers will devote themselves to surmounting difficulties and hardships and successfully fulfilling all targets of emulation in training, exercises, and combat readiness.

Second, orientating the emulation movement towards the successful fulfilment of breakthroughs in training and combat readiness. Grounded on the breakthroughs, namely “Achieving basics, mastery, and specialisation in exploitation of weapons and technical equipment, adhering to safety regulations, raising the quality of cadre training”, “Improving the capacity of combat readiness, the effectiveness of sea management, and the quality of exercises”, the Brigade Party Committee will issue a specialised resolution on training and combat readiness; all-level commands will develop and execute training plans with specific phases and steps. In this regard, sea and island protection and the building of a “revolutionary, regular, elite, modern” Navy with Brigade 131 as an affiliate will be seen as the objectives of training work.

To instil the emulation movement into each target individual and specific task, the Brigade will bring into play the role, capability, and knowledge of organisations and forces, while training all troops to master engineering specialities and effectively exploit its existing and new technical equipment. The emulation movement will be aimed at improving the quality of military works, reinforcing construction resilience, disposing and dealing with barricades during a seaborne landing, searching and clearing bombs, mines, and UXO, preventing and combating terrorism, and developing techniques for military road construction, river crossing, construction camouflage, and fake battlefield setting up. Besides, during the emulation movement, units in charge of engineering support will be trained to master combat projects. Professional service men and women and technical employees will be trained to effectively exploit all features of technical equipment and step by step master new weapons and technical equipment. Due attention will be paid to physical training to improve troops’ stamina and enable all troops to know how to swim. Moreover, the Brigade will strive to ensure absolute safety during training and construction.

Third, preventing the Brigade from falling into passivity in any circumstances. This is both an objective of the emulation movement and an important requirement of the Brigade’s task performance. Thus, in the upcoming time, the Brigade will focus on synchronously maintaining forces and means on combat readiness duty under its projects or when being ordered, particularly for sea and island protection. Due attention will be paid to situational grasp, forecast, and assessment to opportunely, correctly deliver reports, propose effective solutions to situations, and avoid falling into passivity. The Brigade will further practise and master combat readiness and combat projects, while maintaining patrols and guard duty around its offices and units; all companies and higher-level units must develop and practise projects on fire, explosive, forest fire, and natural disaster prevention and control as well as search and rescue. The Brigade and its affiliates will sufficiently, synchronously design combat documents under the Regulations on combat staff work and the Navy’s guidance. It will actively, proactively organise and take part in one-side, two-level command - staff exercises on map and other tactical ones. Besides, it will frequently review, adjust, supplement, and develop the system of combat documents at all levels under higher echelons’ guidance, while closely organising patrols and guard duty to ensure the absolute safety of its garrisoned areas and crucial targets. Additionally, under the Government’s Decree 03/2019/NĐ-CP dated 5 September 2019, it will closely cooperate with the Public Security Force and other relevant forces in proactively, opportunely handling situations, particularly during natural disaster and incident prevention and control and search and rescue.

Fourth, closely combining the emulation movement in training and combat readiness with other movements and campaigns at all levels. The emulation movement in training and combat readiness is part of the Determined to Win Emulation Movement and the implementation of campaigns launched by various sectors. Therefore, the Brigade will require its offices and units to proactively combine and integrate the emulation movement in training and combat readiness with major campaigns. The emulation movement in training and combat readiness will be directed towards the study and following of Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, ethics, and lifestyle, the Campaign titled “promoting tradition, devoting talent, deserving to be Uncle Ho’s Soldiers - Naval Soldiers”, and the Central Military Commission’s Resolution 847-NQ/QUTW dated 28 December 2021 on promoting the virtues of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers”, resolutely combating individualism in the new situation. The Brigade will continue to adopt models, such as “party members provide assistance for the masses and their subordinates”, “the masses give their feedback to party members”, while resolutely combating signs of degradation in political ideology, morality, and lifestyle as well as “self-evolution” and “self-transformation” from within, building “four-good” party cells, developing a contingent of cadres and party members as the nucleus of party organisations and units. At the same time, it will better implement Campaign 50 and other movements, such as “Military Logistics Sector follows Uncle Ho’s teachings”, “units with good catering and ordnance management”, “units with efficient financial management”. Due regard will be paid to promoting the vanguard role of mass organisations via movements of Youth Union, such as “youths of Naval Brigade 131 improve ethical standards and professional knowledge, performing a vanguard, creative role, maintaining unity to achieve more feats and deserve to be Uncle Ho’s Soldiers - Naval Soldiers in the new era” as well as other movements of Women’s Union. Doing so will create a motivation for collectives and individuals to strive to more successfully fulfil their assigned tasks and especially make the emulation movement in training and combat readiness more effective and substantive.

With unity, willpower, and courage of Naval Soldiers and drastic leadership and direction of the Brigade’s Party Committee and Command, hopefully the emulation movement in Naval Brigade 131’s training and combat readiness work will obtain more achievements to more significantly contribute to raising the Brigade’s synergy and combat power for the sake of firm protection of sacred national sovereignty over seas and islands.

Sr. Col. NGO VAN DUC

Political Commissar of the Brigade