The Division 316 under the Military Region 2 was founded on May 1^st, 1951 as one of the first main divisions of the Vietnam People’s Army. In the two resistance wars against the French and the U.S., the Division engaged in combat on most of the battlefields, from the North to the South and Laos. It is worth noting that in the battle of A1 hill during the Dien Bien Phu Campaign, the denotation of an explosive charge of thousand kilogrammes by the Division was the signal for our general offensive across the front against the French colonialists’ last den, greatly contributing to the victory of Dien Bien Phu “resounding across the five continents and shaking the globe.” At present, the Division is tasked with training, combat readiness, search, rescue, and other contingency missions.

Over the past 70 years of construction, combat, and development, under the leadership and direction from the Central Military Commission, the Ministry of National Defence, and especially the Military Region 2’s Party Committee and Command, with the support from local party committees, authorities, and citizens, the Division’s generations of cadres and soldiers have surmounted all difficulties, achieved a lot of brilliant feats of arms, and built up the tradition of “loyalty, self-reliance, unity, courage, creativity, and victory.” With those remarkable achievements, the Division was given the title of Hero of the People’s Armed Forces (1976), one Ho Chi Minh Order, and 85 medals of various types by the State. It was also awarded two Issara Orders by the Lao State. 17 collectives and 23 individuals from the Division were presented with the title of Hero of the People’s Armed Forces and many other noble rewards.

To obtain those good results, first of all, the Division’s Party Committee and Command have focused their leadership and direction on building a comprehensively strong, “exemplary, and typical” Division and especially making it politically strong as the basis. Annually, the Division’s Party Committee and Command effectively execute the Project on “renewing political education at military units in the new period” and the plan for political and legal education. In order to grasp and manage ideological issues, they have taken creative measures, such as the concretisation of ideological situations and the compilation of documents for political education and ideological orientation. Besides, they have promoted the role of the core force in the fight against wrong, hostile viewpoints to orientate cadres and soldiers’ ideology. Due attention has been paid to actively, practically renewing the emulation and commendation work and the Determination to Win Emulation Movement in accordance with troops’ central task and operations. Offices and units within the Division have effectively implemented the 12^th Politburo’s Directive 05-CT/TW and the Central Military Commission Standing Board’s Directive 87-CT/QUTW on accelerating the study and following of Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, ethics and lifestyle in tandem with the Campaign titled “promoting tradition, devoting talent, deserving to be Uncle Ho’s soldiers” in the new period via various creative, effective models and approaches, such as “learn one piece of Uncle Ho’s teachings on a weekly basis” and “club for propagating fine traditional traits of Northwestern ethnic minorities.” Consideration has been given to well conducting the work of internal political protection, preventing the hostile forces from inserting spies into the Division, avoiding disclosing military secrets, and ensuring that all offices and units would be absolutely politically safe. Due regard has been paid to closely cooperating with local party committees, authorities, and unions in carrying out the mass mobilisation work via emulation movements and models, such as “clever mass mobilisation,” “training marches combined with mass mobilisation,” “the Military joins hands to build new-style countryside,” and “the Military joins hands for the poor,” thereby contributing to well implementing the social security policy and cementing the solidarity between the Military and the people.

The Division has built strong party committees and organisations and a contingent of cadres and party members. The Division’s Party Committee and Command have always grasped and seriously executed the Party’s directives and resolutions, especially the 12^th Party Central Committee’s Resolution No.4 on the Party building and rectification and the Directive 53-CT/ĐU by the Military Region 2’s Party Committee Standing Board on “raising the responsibility of all-level key cadres within the Military Region 2’s armed forces” in line with the study and following of Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, ethics and lifestyle. To encourage the role of party organisations, cadres and party members, the Division’s Party Committee has released the Directive 62-CT/ĐU on “continuing improving party committees’ leadership and combativeness as well as the quality of cadres and party members within the Division’s Party Organisation,” while synchronously, drastically taking measures for “self-review” and “self-correction” and heightening the role  model-setting responsibility of cadres and party members, particularly the key ones. Great value has been attached to strictly maintaining party meetings and the work and leadership regulations, closely managing cadres and party members, and cooperating with localities in initiating new members, especially ethnic people into the Party to contribute to making many villages no longer devoid of party members. Concerning the personnel work, emphasis has been placed on maintaining principles and formulating plans on developing commanding and managerial cadres to ensure democracy and openness in the dispatch, appointment and evaluation of cadres. Moreover, the work of inspection, supervision, and Party discipline has been enhanced with greater importance attached to inspecting party members and organisations with the sign of violation of discipline. As a result, the Division has opportunely prevented the signs of degradation in political ideology, ethics and lifestyle as well as the manifestations of “self-evolution” and “self-transformation” from within, while stringently handling violations of its regulations and the Party’s discipline committed by its cadres and party members.

A live-firing exercise by the Division

The Division has proactively reviewed, adjusted and supplemented its combat documents, strictly maintained the combat readiness duty, sufficiently prepared personnel and means, practised combat projects, and settled situations opportunely to avoid passivity and contribute to ensuring political security and social order and safety in its area. During the training process, the Division has grasped and serious executed higher echelons’ resolutions, directives and commands, particularly the Central Military Commission 765-NQ/QUTW and the Resolution 56-NQ/ĐU by the Military Region 2’s Party Committee on “raising the quality of training in the period of 2013-2020 and beyond,” while bettering its cadres’ training capacity and consolidating its training grounds. It has adhered to the training motto of “basics, practicality, and thorough grasp.” Significance has been attached to training troops to master weapons and technical equipment, improving their capacity to deal with situations, combining military training with political education, military standard order building, discipline management and physical training, correctly evaluating troops’ training results, and organising military contests and exercises relevant to combat projects.

In addition, the Division has adopted measures synchronously for military standard order building and discipline management. It has frequently held conferences to practically assess discipline management and work towards solutions to preserve military discipline and the virtues of “Uncle Ho’s soldiers.” Great weight has been added to categorising troops, assigning ethnic cadres and party members to educate and encourage ethnic soldiers, cooperating with localities and families in troop management, and conducting the work of law dissemination and education via models, such as “learn one article of law on a weekly basis” and “team for psychological and legal consultancy.” At the same time, the Division has directed its offices and units to regularly review and complete their work regulations at each level, reduce meetings, and keep a close eye on their affiliates. It has actively applied information technology to designing its guiding and directing documents, raising commanders’ quality of management at all levels, and facilitating its affiliates’ performance of their task.

Also, the Division has frequently adjusted and supplemented reserves of material and logistics equipment for combat readiness, training, exercises, and contingency missions. It has sufficiently provided policies and entitlements for its cadres and soldiers, while enhancing the quality of health services for troops, ensuring hygiene, preventing and controlling epidemic, especially the COVID-19 pandemic. It has stepped up animal and crop husbandry to improve its troops’ life. All affiliates of the Division have reached the criteria for a “unit good at catering and management of military supplies.” The Division has also closely supervised the quality of constructions and provided sufficient petrol, electricity, water, and vehicles for its missions. It has effectively executed the Movement titled “the Military Logistics Brach follows Uncle Ho’s teachings” and it has ensured financial support for its missions and policies for its troops in an open, democratic, transparent manner.

The Division has opportunely, sufficiently provided weapons and technical equipment for its tasks, with priority given to combat readiness, training, and exercises. It has strictly maintained the technical order, received, allocated, decommissioned, and transferred materiel under regulations, closely managed and effectively exploited the existing weapons and equipment. It has also consolidated its technical facilities, encouraged technical initiatives and innovations, and well implemented the Campaign entitled “managing and exploiting weapons and technical equipment sustainably, safely, and economically and ensuring traffic safety.”

Bringing into play the tradition of a heroic unit, the Division 316’s Party Committee and Command will keep directing offices and units to heighten self-reliance and overcome all hardships to build a comprehensively strong, “exemplary, typical” Division capable of fulfilling all assigned missions.

Sr. Col. NGUYEN NGOC NGAN, Commissar of the Division