The training time of new soldiers is an important period and a beginning step to form military skills, qualities and abilities for the revolutionary soldiers. Clearly understanding this, Division 3 (1st Military Region) has paid special attention to leading and directing the implementation of new soldier training with many practical and effective guidelines and solutions. As a result, the Division’s training results of new soldiers have been good and excellent, ensuring absolute safety, without any cases of desertion, unpermitted absence or violations which need to be punished. At present, new soldiers of the Division have been selected from 4 provinces (including Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, Lang Son and Thai Nguyen), most of whom are from ethnic families in remote and mountainous areas with unequal level of perception. Meanwhile, the training materials of the Division have not regularly supported the development of the tasks; the training cadres have had limited experience and skills in holding and managing soldiers’ thinking, etc. From the reality of carrying out this important task, the Division has drawn some experiences which are also considered as solutions for training new soldiers since 2024.
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Conducting firing training for new recruits |
First and foremost, strengthening the leadership and direction by the party committees and commands at all levels over the task of training new soldiers. Grasping and implementing the seniors’ resolutions and instructions on training, especially the training order and decision on assigning the target of receiving the new recruits by the Commander of the Military Region, annually, the Division Party Committee makes specific resolutions on leading the task of receiving and training new soldiers, and directs units to build their leading resolutions and implementation plans, which clearly identify the guidelines and solutions for leading and directing the implementation; specifically assign the tasks and given the detailed responsibility to each committee member to directly supervise, direct, inspect and speed up the units’ implementation. At the same time, it directs its offices and units, especially the ones directly training new soldiers, to strongly educate and train cadres and soldiers to make them fully aware of the position and meanings of the task of training new soldiers; clearly understand the contents, targets and requirements of training, and also the difficulties and challenges in order to make an agreement in awareness and actions, build the right motivation and responsibility for cadres and soldiers, bringing into play the general power of the entire units to accomplish this task.
In recent years, the military recruitment has been completely assigned to localities, to assure the quality, the Division has proactively coordinated and combined with the localities to hold and select the sources and improve the quality of recruits, well received and prepared for the training of new soldiers. Closely following the assigned targets and plans, the Division has selected and appointed experienced cadres to coordinate with the localities to strictly follow the steps of giving and receiving soldiers due to the regulations. On this basis, it classifies the recruits, builds the plans on re-examining their health, and prepares for the receiving and arranging new soldiers, making sure the equality of awareness and the regional balance, avoiding the manifestations of factionalism, sectionalism, etc., and creating the favourable conditions for the following stages of training.
Being proactive in early, comprehensive and thorough preparation is one of the key measure to improve the quality of training new soldiers. Closely following the directions and instructions from the Military Region, the Division has proactively checked the cadres, considered selecting the capable and experienced cadres as the training staff for new soldiers. At the same time, it has directed the building of plans, and organised the training and further training for training cadres in echelon. To achieve good results, the Division has directed the maintenance of training and further training at all levels in the “practical and effective” motto, implementing the motto of “training the weak stages, the seniors training the juniors, experienced cadres training the inexperienced ones”. Regarding the annual training contents for cadres, the Division has required all units to make them renovated, creative and practical. This year, the Division has made a new change in the cadres’ training and further training including the examination of AK-gun shooting, grenade throwing, explosive placing, and knowledge of finding and solving problems in soldiers’ ideology according to the document of “100 ideological situations possibly arising in units and some solving suggestions for cadres at the grassroots level” for 100% training cadres by the General Political Department.
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Leisure time of new recruits |
In training, the Division has directed all units to closely follow the “basic, practical and solid” motto, attentively renovate the training contents and methods; enhance the contests, mixed training, examinations and experience learning. Accordingly, the Division has required all units to keep the regularity in training right on the first days and weeks, focus on practice and modeling the moves, divide into parts, train from easy to more difficult and from simple to more complex moves, patiently and minutely guide and correct for soldiers each content, move, etc., avoid the hastiness and omission of stages which could make soldiers stresses, at the same time, strictly maintain the training discipline and regulations; correct each move and skill for soldiers right on the site so that they could practice unanimously, timely correct any mistakes for each soldier, prevent them from becoming “chronic”, especially contents of Line-up Regulation, techniques of gun shooting, grenade throwing, explosive placing, etc. After each training time, all units have spent time making contests, examinations and evaluation of the results; based on these results, the leaders could classify the learners to have suitable training methods. The Division, after each training day, week or lesson, has also conducted review to learn from training experience in order to conclude the content. Cadres who are good at one content are asked to draw experience of that content. One cadre is not to draw experience of all contents. This is to avoid the common remarks, assuring the reality and practicality, and correctly pointing out the soldiers’ weaknesses and shortcomings in each of their training content.
In recent years, because of the dark side of the internet, social networks, etc., there have been more new soldiers who are living in isolation, rarely exchanging and sharing; their thought and psychology have been easily affected and complicatedly developed, which has caused difficulties in the management of soldiers’ ideology, entailing risks of discipline violations. To deal with this situation, the Division has paid attention to political and ideological education; closely combined between training, discipline training and regularity building. On grasping and implementing Direction No. 01/CT-QK, dated 01 January 2023 by the Commander of Military Region on “Continually strengthening the management and education for soldiers to strictly comply with the State’s law, Military regulation and the safety assurance within the armed forces of the Military Region”, the Division has issued plans, instructions and implemented them synchronously in the entire division. On this basis, offices and units have promoted the grasp and dissemination of their tasks and regulations; closely combined the education of traditions, the qualities of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers” and the propaganda of training results in previous years to build the honour, pride and responsibility for soldiers, at the same time, well solve the relationships, build the unity and closeness between cadres and soldiers, and among soldiers, and avoid the factionalism, sectionalism, separation and disunity. To hold and manage soldier’s ideology and sentiment, right after their arrivals to the units, the Division has made the “Soldiers’ Information Records” fully containing their hobbies, strong points and expectations, and registered their ideology in the daily and monthly basis. In the training, units have brought into play the roles of “3-people groups” and systems of guarding soldiers to grasp soldier’s psychology and ideology; strictly implemented the Democratic Regulation at grassroots levels, maintained the “Political, cultural and spiritual Day”, often listened to new soldiers and held their thinking, timely solved any problems, expectations and difficulties, especially the ones whose families are in difficulty, remote and mountainous areas or in ethnic groups. More noticeably, the Division has actively brought into play the effectiveness of models in political and ideological education such as the exchanges between new and old soldiers in the topic of “Units are our houses, cadres and soldiers are our brothers”; Letters from Golden Star Division 3; “The Zalo group–Together with soldiers”, etc. to create favourable conditions for cadres and soldiers to exchange, share, encourage and help one another in their work and activities; at the same time, considered this as a “channel” for all-level leaders to steadily hold new soldiers’ thoughts and expectations, make management solutions and well conduct the work of ideology in their units. Together, the Division has attentively held entertaining activities, exercises, sports, cultural and art activities in break time and day off to create a cheerful and healthy environment, helping new soldiers feel connected to the units; strengthened the management, discipline training and regularity from the first day and week for new soldiers to form good habits of activities and learning. To achieve high effectiveness, the Division has appreciated the pioneering and exemplary roles of cadres, especially the platoon and section commanders, who are directly working, learning and training with new soldiers; through their detailed actions and work, educated and guided soldiers to comply with the discipline. Besides, the Division has directed units to closely connect to the local party committees and governments, and soldiers’ families to exchange information, encourage and educate their children; maintained the practice to invite the leaders of troop-giving localities, relatives of new soldiers who have gained great achievements to attend the new soldier oath ceremony, through which, to promote the connection between the Division, the localities and soldiers’ families, widening the honour and pride for cadres and soldiers.
Together with the above solutions, the Division has paid special attention to soldiers’ health and life. The units of new soldiers have been best equipped with logistic facilities such as the landscapes, environment, accommodation, etc. before their receiving soldiers. The Division has required the logistic staff to raise their responsibility like “the new soldiers’ sisters and mothers”, actively prepare and change the foods to make sure the good appetite, standards and quantity for soldiers, at the same time, promoted the propaganda and instructions of hygiene to prevent diseases and epidemics, timely check and treat sick soldiers and take care of them, trying to stably maintain the healthy soldiers for training.
These achieved results and experiences are the foundations for Division 3 to continually carry out the task of training new soldiers in 2024 and the following years, which is practically preparing the Division for improving the quality of training and combat readiness, successfully accomplishing all the assigned tasks.
Senior Colonel NGUYEN ANH TUAN, Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff