The 543rd Engineer Brigade is one of the arm units of Military Region 2, with the task of training, combat readiness, construction of defence works, clearance of mines, explosives, preventing natural disasters, searching and rescuing, and being ready to perform other tasks. Promoting the tradition of "Opening the way to victory" of the heroic Engineer Corps, in recent years, the Brigade’s officers and soldiers have always been united to overcome difficulties, successfully completed all tasks, and been the leading unit in the ‘Emulation Movement to Win’ of Military Region.

To achieve that result, along with comprehensive implementation of all aspects of work, the Brigade has always attached importance to leadership and direction to improve the quality and effectiveness of dissemination and education of law associated with strict discipline management that is identified as the breakthrough and the decisive factor in tasks’ completion of the Unit. Thanks to that, the Brigade’s officers and soldiers have always uphold their responsibility and self-control, strictly complied with the State law, military discipline, been ready to take and successfully complete assigned tasks, contributing significantly to building a clean and strong Party organisation, a comprehensively strong "exemplary, typical" unit.

The Brigade regularly holds legal seminar

First of all, the Brigade’s Party Committee and Command regularly strengthen leadership and direction; promote the role and responsibility of Party committees and cadres at all levels in disseminating and educating the law. On the basis of thoroughly grasping the directives and resolutions on the work of disseminating and educating the law as well as regularity building and discipline management, the Brigade Party Committee issued Conclusion No. 309-KL/DU, dated 11 November 2021 "On continuing to implement Resolution No. 851-NQ/DU, dated 3 February 2020 of the Brigade Party Committee on leading the task of managing, educating on law enforcement, discipline, and ensuring safety in the Brigade". In particular, in their regular leadership resolutions and conclusions, Party committees and Party organisations at all levels must correctly assess the current situation of law enforcement and discipline of their agencies and units; clearly point out limitations, shortcomings, causes, and responsibilities; and forecast potential risks that may lead to violations. At the same time, clearly define the content and measures for leading education and strict compliance with State law and military discipline in line with reality; Focus on resolving and overcoming weaknesses and weak points in the work of disseminating and educating the law, and enforcing discipline and the law. On that basis, specify it through programmes and plans, assign responsibilities to Party committees and cadres at all levels to direct, guide, and implement in a serious and consistent manner. Regularly improve, strictly maintain the activities and promote the role and responsibility of the Coordinating Council for Dissemination and Education of the Law, the team of instructors and propagandists in performing the task of disseminating and educating the law in agencies and units. Periodically review and evaluate the results, promptly supplement the content and measures of leadership and direction in accordance with reality. Thereby, its officers and soldiers have made comprehensive changes in both awareness and action to voluntarily and strictly comply with the laws of the State and military discipline, creating the synergy for the Unit to successfully complete the assigned political tasks.

The Brigade has encountered many difficulties in terms of supplies because it is a mixed engineering unit with a wide range of tasks, always operating dispersedly, mainly stationed in the wild in mountainous terrain, remote areas, border areas, and ethnic minority areas. In addition, more than 70% of the Brigade's officers and soldiers are ethnic minorities, with uneven levels of awareness and differences in culture, lifestyle, customs and practices, etc. Being aware of that characteristic, the Brigade Party Committee and commanders have actively directed innovation in contents, programmes, forms and methods of dissemination and education of law. Accordingly, along with completing 100% of the general content and programmes of legal dissemination and education, the Brigade has directed agencies and units to supplement other contents that are essential to the unit’s requirements and tasks. The focuses of the Brigade’s dissemination and education of law are: newly issued laws and legal documents directly related to the military, national defence, and traffic safety fields; military regulations, directives and instructions on regularity building, discipline management, law enforcement and safety, especially in construction works, mine clearance, search, rescue, and helping people overcome the consequences of natural disasters, etc. Strengthen propaganda and education so that officers and soldiers are aware of and strictly comply with regulations and principles in performing tasks, protecting state secrets, military secrets and military-civilian relations. Actively exploit and effectively use documents on the electronic legal bookcase issued by member agencies of the Military Region's Law Dissemination and Education Coordination Council and the supplementary document "enrich awareness and build up necessary skills for soldiers". Every month, based on military documents of law enforcement and discipline, the Brigade directs agencies and units to compile them into lessons to promptly propagate, educate, draw experiences and orient soldiers in the field of ideology and discipline.

Regarding the forms and methods of implementation, agencies and units have attached importance to improving the quality and effectiveness of direct teaching to disseminate and educate on lessons. The Brigade has proactively invited instructors who were officers of the Military Court of Region 21 and the Procuracy of Military Region 2 to introduce and propagate contents such as: Legal regulations on gambling and organised gambling, and some preventive measures in the Army; Legal regulations and solutions to ensure road traffic safety, etc. Video clips and audio files have been proactively used to propagate, disseminate and educate in the Brigade. At the same time, soldiers are provided with video discs and video clips on law education published by the Political Department of the Military Region with diversified and interesting topics, such as: "Armed forces of Military Region 2 promote tradition, maintain strict discipline, worthy of the name of Uncle Ho's soldiers", "Uncle Ho's soldiers - people’s soldiers, glory and responsibility", "Appropriate verdict and belated repentance", "Culture - the foundation for building military personality". Along with that, the Brigade has promoted dissemination and education through meetings, consultations, political bulletin and news, club activities and regular activities, propaganda on the internal radio system, fanpage "Crossing the River 17", seminars, forums, and legal research competitions. The Brigade has also maintained and promoted the effectiveness of the activities of the legal bookcase, the Day of Politics and Spiritual Culture at the grassroots level, the Day of Law and cultural institutions in the unit; the implementation of dramatisation in the dissemination and education of law. During the implementation, numerous fruitful movements and models have been promoted by agencies and units, such as: "The whole Brigade acts according to the command", "Exemplary youth with regularity building", "Work diligently, practice enthusiastically", "To train enthusiastically in spite of the sun or rain", "One law every week", "One legal story every month", "Soldiers' psychological and legal counselling team", "Team of three people progressing together", etc. The Brigade’s units have closely combined the work of law dissemination and education with promoting the study and following of Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality and style; implemented the Emulation movement to win, the Grassroots Democracy Regulations and campaigns, especially the Campaign to promote tradition, contribute talent, worthy of the title "Uncle Ho's Soldiers" in the new period; “Building a positive, healthy, and rich cultural environment in the Army”, etc. As a result, its legal dissemination and education work has been innovated constantly with diverse contents and forms, contributing to improving the quality of the Unit's task performance.

As performing tasks in the condition of dealing with complexity, difficulties, dangers, potential risks, the negative impacts of the market economy, social networks, and social evils that are supposed to have negative influences on the thoughts and feelings of soldiers, the Brigade regularly leads and directs the close combination of legal dissemination and education with regularity building and of discipline management. In order to ensure the consistency during the implementation, the Brigade requires each agency and unit to review and propose specific regulations, in accordance with the requirements of training soldiers; strictly maintain discipline, regular regimes, daily and weekly living, studying, and working regimes, creating habits and self-awareness for soldiers in strictly complying with the law, discipline, and regulations of the unit. In the work of managing soldiers, the Brigade requires Party committees, commanders of agencies, units, and cadres at all levels to: maintain and strictly implement regulations on managing soldiers; Regularly grasp, analyse, evaluate, and accurately forecast the situation of all aspects of the agency and unit at each specific time, task, and person. Closely manage soldiers during breaks, holidays, on leave, and pay special attention to grasping and comprehensively managing the social relationships of soldiers. At the same time, regularly coordinate with localities and families in educating, managing the ideology, and enforcing discipline of soldiers, especially those with complicated relationships, abnormal psychological manifestations, difficult family circumstances, etc. Strengthen the inspection work of cadres at all levels, not allowing soldiers to violate the law and discipline due to laxity or lack of management. In case of violations, the Brigade requires commanders at all levels to promptly report according to the hierarchy, seek opinions from specialised agencies to direct the handling of the case, not to cover up or conceal; hold reviews, determine the causes and responsibility of the collective and individuals, and promptly stabilise the situations of the agencies and units. Therefore, since 2021 to date, the situation of compliance with military discipline and state law of the Brigade has clearly improved, with no serious incidents, common disciplinary violations have decreased, and the units are absolutely safe. This is an important premise, a source of encouragement and motivation for officers and soldiers of the 543rd Engineer Brigade to uphold the spirit of solidarity, overcome difficulties, and continue the tradition: "Loyalty, Solidarity, Proactiveness, Creativity, Victory" in the new period.

Senior Colonel NGUYEN XUAN VIET, Political Commissar of the Brigade