Brigade 170, under Naval Region 1, is among the main units responsible for managing and protecting the sovereignty of the Northern seas and islands of Vietnam. This task is of paramount importance given the wide scope of the Brigade’s duties, the complex developments in security and crime at sea, and the presence of strategic frontline islands and archipelagos crucial for the country’s economic, political, and national defence and security. In recent years, the Brigade’s Party Committee and Command have synchronously implemented comprehensive leadership and directive measures. Among these, improving the effectiveness of legal dissemination and education is critical. This aims to cultivate legal awareness and behaviour in compliance with state laws and military discipline among officers and soldiers, serving as a foundation for effectively fulfilling military duties and the rights and obligations of citizens. This effort contributes to building a comprehensively strong, “exemplary and typical” unit that excellently accomplishes its assigned tasks.

Exchange on legal compliance and regularity building

Recognising the crucial role of legal dissemination and education and adhering to the specific characteristics and tasks of the unit, the Brigade’s Party Committee and Command have attached importance to leading and directing this work. As the nature of legal content is often “dry” and “difficult”, it requires strong determination and decisive leadership to ensure effectiveness and prevent superficial or perfunctory implementation. Based on higher echelons’ directives and guidance, specifically those from the Party Committee and Command of the Naval Region 1 regarding propaganda and legal education, the Brigade’s Party Committee and its subordinate party cells have issued thematic resolutions. Besides, agencies and units have developed plans and implemented them according to their respective levels. These plans clearly define the direction, tasks, content, forms, timing, and target audience for propaganda and education, ensuring practicality. There is also a close integration of legal dissemination and education with political education. The outcomes of legal dissemination and education work are evaluated in the monthly, semi-annual, and annual leadership resolutions of party committees and party cells. These evaluations clearly delineate the collective and individual responsibilities for implementing this work according to assigned duties. Hence, this serves as a criterion for assessing the quality of party members and officers and for commendations and awards. Based on practical conditions, the Brigade regularly supplements and enhances the skills of its propagandists and lecturers. It also strictly maintains the approval of lesson plans, ensuring each lesson is of high quality, tailored to the audience, and easy to understand, remember, and implement. Additionally, they conduct preliminary reviews, summaries, assessments, and lesson-drawing meetings at all levels to replicate exemplary models and methods and to identify measures to address shortcomings and limitations.

Given the conditions where the Brigade’s forces must operate independently and dispersedly for extended periods at sea, with uneven awareness among troops, the Brigade directs that the content and forms of propaganda and education should be flexible enough to suit the characteristics and tasks of each unit. To instil legal content into the awareness and activities of personnel, the Brigade effectively leverages the role of organisations and forces, especially the pioneering role of youth union members, through youth forums and discussions among young officers. Moreover, the Brigade enhances the exploitation, management, and effective use of legal bookcases in agencies and units, as well as legal book compartments on ships, stations, and companies. Legal books, newspapers, new legal documents, and materials are regularly supplemented and circulated among units to support the learning and research needs of officers and soldiers. On “Law Day”, in addition to fully organising the required content and forms, the Brigade emphasises theatrical activities that address “pressing” issues with a high potential impact on the troops. These activities include discussions on topics like “The dangers of drugs and the responsibility of soldiers” and competitions such as “Youth with law and military discipline”. Through these activities, soldiers engage democratically, exchanging and discussing viewpoints, expressing attitudes, and drawing lessons from legal stories and situations to apply in their practical duties. This helps them enhance their awareness of the harms and dangers of drugs and other social evils, hence clearly identifying their responsibilities. They are encouraged to regularly cultivate their ethics, lifestyles, and political bravery and develop their skills to resist temptations that could negatively affect their families, society, and the noble qualities of military personnel.

The Brigade has integrated legal dissemination and education with strengthening disciplinary measures and ensuring safety to foster a significant transformation in the legal awareness and actions of officers and soldiers. The focus is on improving the effectiveness of education and fostering motivation, determination, and self-discipline among officers and soldiers in adhering to military regulations, directives, and rules. This integration combines political and legal education with administrative measures and holds officers at all levels accountable. Regular assessments of the unit's regulatory compliance and disciplinary adherence are conducted to draw lessons for leadership and command, promptly correcting and addressing violations to maintain strict discipline and order. The Brigade strictly maintains routines and schedules for activities, learning, and work while enhancing measures to manage the social relationships of military personnel, proactively grasping and predicting the troops' situations and minds. Additionally, efforts are made to build a healthy military environment, actively combating negative influences and anti-cultural behaviours within the unit. The Brigade emphasises effectively implementing the “Four exemplary”, “Three definitive”, and “Exemplary ship youth union in legal and disciplinary compliance” models, creating a solid transformation in legal and disciplinary adherence.

Studying and dícussing law at the library

In response to the intense opposition from hostile forces and the increasing cybercrime, the Brigade consistently focuses on educating all officers and soldiers about the basic regulations for activities in cyberspace. The party committees and commanders of agencies and units place a strong emphasis on educating and thoroughly instilling the importance of strict compliance with the Law on Cybersecurity and related documents among all military personnel. Officers and soldiers are made aware of the risks and consequences of improper use of social media and are required to strictly adhere to regulations on protecting state and military secrets. Political and ideological education is strengthened to heighten revolutionary vigilance among officers and soldiers. Regular internal political protection work is carried out, closely monitoring and managing military personnel's access to and use of the Internet and social media. Military personnel are prohibited from using websites and social media to post, disseminate, comment on, or share information that contradicts the Party's viewpoints and state policies, involves state or military secrets, or contains fabricated or defamatory content that could harm the reputation of individuals, organisations, or the image of "Uncle Ho's Soldiers and Naval Soldiers". The Brigade effectively utilises Force 47 to combat cyber threats. Additionally, officers and soldiers are encouraged to use social media to share positive information, highlight good examples, and promote Vietnam's beautiful image, people, and culture. Recognising the impact and complexity of online fraud, the Brigade closely collaborates with the Quang Ninh Provincial Public Security to organise legal propaganda with practical content relevant to social life, such as “Types of online fraud and preventive measures.” This initiative helps officers and soldiers enhance their awareness and learn to avoid and prevent participation in such activities.

One of the vibrant expressions of the Brigade's work in legal dissemination and education, combined with mass mobilisation, is aimed at enhancing the legal awareness and understanding of the local people. This effort concretises the Project "Promoting the role of the people's army in participating in legal dissemination, education, and mobilising people to comply with the law at the grassroots level for the 2021 - 2027 period". The Brigade works closely with local coastal authorities and other functional forces at sea, such as Border Guards, Fisheries Surveillance, and the Coast Guard, to organise various effective and practical forms of propaganda for fishermen about Vietnam's seas and islands. The propaganda content focuses on the Vietnamese Law of the Sea and regulations on fisheries management and exploitation, the political security situation in maritime regions, historical evidence of Vietnam's maritime sovereignty, and the Party's views and state policies on protecting maritime sovereignty. Additionally, efforts are intensified to educate fishermen and fishing vessel owners on the basic contents of the Fisheries Law and its implementing regulations, especially the Prime Minister's Directive on "Some urgent tasks and solutions to overcome the European Commission's warning on combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing". Programmes such as "Vietnamese Navy as a support for fishermen at sea" and "The Navy sponsors fishermen's children" are actively promoted and implemented. Through these activities, timely information and guidance on maritime developments are provided, clarifying the Party's guidelines and state policies in addressing current maritime issues. This contributes to raising awareness, fostering a love for the sea and islands among the people, and strengthening the close ties between the military and the people, enhancing the image of "Uncle Ho's Soldiers and Naval Soldiers".

Through various appropriate, creative, and effective measures, the quality of legal propaganda, dissemination, education, and the legal and disciplinary compliance of the Brigade have significantly improved. The rate of officers and soldiers violating ordinary discipline is below 0.2%, with no serious disciplinary violations. This serves as an essential foundation for the Brigade to excellently fulfil its assigned tasks. As a result, the Brigade’s Party Committee is recognised as a transparent, comprehensively strong, “exemplary and typical” unit. Besides, the mass organisations within the Brigade are recognised as outstandingly robust. These achievements contribute to building a revolutionary, regular, elite, and modern Brigade, firmly protecting the sovereignty of the northern seas and islands of the Fatherland.

Senior Colonel LE TIEN HAU, Commander of Brigade 170