Improving and the overall quality and combat strength is an essential and regular duty of the whole army in general and each office and unit in particular. This is also an important duty which has been led and directed by Party Committee and Command of Division 9 with many synchronous and suitable guidelines and solutions.

For the past few years, together with the whole army, cadres and soldiers of Division 9 (Corps 4) have been united, highly determined and ceaselessly strived to overcome difficulties and successfully accomplish the assigned tasks. In the implementation process, the Division has comprehensively carry out all aspects of work, attentively improved the overall quality, combat strength, making sure the combat mobility in all areas to firmly protect the Homeland in all situations, which has been highly appreciated by the Ministry of National Defence and the Corps. The most obvious result is that the Division’s Party Committee and Command have focused on leading and directing the construction of comprehensively strong units, making the basis to improve the overall quality and combat strength. The training, combat readiness, construction of regularity and discipline observance and other supporting work have been carried out decently, in high quality and with stable changes. These are the key factors making the Division’s combat strength, deserving the tradition and trust by the Party, State, Army and people. However, the Division’s Party Committee and Command has come to know that the construction of comprehensively strong units has contained many shortcomings and limitations which have affected its overall quality and combat strength.

Commander of the Division chairs the Review Conference on 10 year implementing the 8th Central Resolution (11th tenure)

Presently, the duty of protecting the Homeland, building the Army and Division has set high requirements. Hostile forces have speeded up their fierce sabotage of the Party, State and Army. The political security and social order in the area, natural disasters and diseases have become more complicated. The Army and Corps have enhanced the implementation of resolutions and plans on restructuring the staff towards the “elite, compact and strong” way; the Division’s duties have defined new and higher requirements, etc. As a result, in order to successfully accomplish the tasks in the coming time, the Division’s Party Committee and Command have defined to continuously lead and direct the synchronous implementation of guidelines and solutions for improving the overall quality, combat strength including the basic contents as follows:

First of all, focus on building the high determination for soldiers. This is an important and thorough solution in carrying out the tasks, making the motivation for cadres and soldiers to successfully accomplish their working fields and improve the general strength. Hence, together with building the politically strong units and the typically pure and strong party cells, the Division needs to focus on educating the soldiers to clearly aware of adversaries and partners of Vietnamese revolution, especially the combatting objects of the Army and the Division when the war happens. At the same time, it is necessary to focus on propaganda and education; through the real training and combat readiness activities to build the soldiers’ determination, the winning belief of the weapons, equipment and the justice in the resistance wars protecting the Homeland. The education contents should clarify the viewpoints and guidelines of protecting the Homeland in the new situation according to the Resolution of the 13^th National Party Congress; experience, the tradition of undaunted struggles by the nation, Army, Division and units in the wars of national revolution, saving the Homeland, and the development of the military art at present. In order to gain high effectiveness, the Division needs to lead and direct the serious implementation of the plans on educating politics and laws for all learners; continue the learning and following of Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality and style, the Campaign of Promoting traditions, devoting talents, deserving to be “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers” in the new era, combined with the maintenance and implementation of the Determined-to-win Emulation movement, which contributes to improving the awareness and responsibility for cadres and soldiers in their implementing the tasks, their activeness and self-awareness of training and combat readiness. Concurrently, it is also necessary to proactively grasp, orient and solve the cadres’ and soldiers’ thought before the complex development of the political security, social order and safety; well execute Democratic Regulations at grass-roots level, build the internal unity; seriously comply with the State’s laws, the Army’s disciplines and the unit’s rules, thereby building for cadres and soldiers the revolutionary vigilance, high struggling determination, belief and stability in carrying out the tasks, ardent participation in trainings, being ready to combat and win all invading enemies.

River crossing practice

In order to timely and effectively solve all coming situations, the Division has attentively strengthened the staff, built plans and seriously maintained the rule of combat readiness and regularity building. Accordingly, the Division has drastically carried out the reorganisation towards the “elite, compact and strong” way, mobility and flexibility; prioritised the troop strength, and selected the cadres having good quality and skills for the units doing their combat duties. On grasping the ready-to-combat orders, directions and plans by the Ministry and Corps, the Division has closely maintained the combat readiness duties, especially on the occasion of holidays and Tet; directed offices and units to thoroughly hold the tasks, rightly evaluate the situation, compose and complete the combat document systems at all levels; coordinated with the senior offices, localities in the area to do the recce, build the additional evacuation areas, rendezvous, timely adjust the A4 plan; actively researched the terrains of the A task of the Division and units, making the basis for building the suitable combat plans for the units and fields; actively invested, repaired, renewed the materials, tools and equipment for the task of combat readiness. On that basis, the Division has proactively trained the defined plans for combat readiness, solved the situations which are possible and suitable with the combat objects, close to the combat reality and the undertaken areas; focused on practising the change in the state of combat readiness at all levels, the mobility and the combats against the enemies attacking by air strikes; deployed the attacking formations to the supposed targets, avoided the suddenness and passiveness. Offices and units have strictly maintained the regulations of patrol and guard duties, ensuring the safety in the stationed and operating areas. Besides, the Division has asked its units to enhance the regularity building, making the stable changes in responsibility and regulations and avoiding the violations of the Army’s discipline and the State’s laws.

Grasping and seriously implementing Resolution No. 1659-NQ/QUTW, dated 20/12/2022 by the Central Military Commission on improving the training quality in the period of 2023 – 2030 and the following years, the Division’s Party Committee and Command have considered the training as one of the central political duties, the prerequisite condition for the duty accomplishment. Hence, together with well preparing for the training and exercises, the Division has required offices and units to closely follow the “basic, practical and solid” motto, highly appreciate the synchronous and professional training, taking practice as the main factor; closely combined the military training, political education, logistic and technical training to make them suitable with the duties, objects, areas and practical with the combat plans; paid more attention to training to master the weapons and equipment on the payroll; night training, swimming practice, search and rescue, training for forces doing the A2 mission; attentively trained to improve the mobility, trained in the outdoor condition in long time; generally exercised the combined military marching and stationing; exercised the troops with live firings at all levels. In order to improve the capability of mobility and the combat effectiveness for soldiers, offices and units have actively made preparation for human resources, weapons, equipment, reserves for combat readiness; enhanced the training for soldiers to master the infantry fighting techniques, personal and detachment skills in all forms of tactics, combine with the physical training, be able to move on foot or by vehicles in all situations. For training the infantry fighting techniques, the Division has asked all units to organise the basic trainings to professional ones so that soldiers can proficiently use weapons in payroll; paid more attention to training cadres and soldiers to destroy the mobile targets (over days and nights), shoot the guns while moving. The units have highly appreciated the basic training, strengthened the tactical teams from the team level to platoon level and practised the company and battalion level; at the same time, maintained the soldiers’ practising the plans on combat firings at section level and tactical exercises with live firings at platoon, company and battalion level; attentively organised the camouflage, close, secret and practical diversion. The Division has asked the infantry regiments to fully carry out all stages and steps in training the changes of the combat readiness states, in 1-side 1-level and 1-side 2-level exercises on maps and in reality with 1 battalion firing live, take cadres and soldiers to the wartime and fighting scenarios in order to improve their vigilance, fighting determination, flexible and effective solving capability in all situations, at the same time, directed the offices and units to seriously plans of organising the training marches or long-way marches with heavy load to improve the strength, endurance and mobility for soldiers in all conditions of terrain and weather. Its units have closely combined between the training and the regularity in training grounds and discipline maintenance, making sure the absolute safety in executing the training tasks.

Moreover, the Division has well implemented the work of logistic and technical supply. Due to the high requirements of the duties of training and combat readiness, the Division has continued to well make the estimates, carry out the plans on implementing and decentralising the administration of budget and gas for duties in accordance with the regulations, at the same time, continued to combine between the budgets from the seniors and the savings from their own production in order to repair and maintain the barracks, purchase the materials to make sure the learning and activities for cadres and soldiers. All units have enhanced the epidemic-prevention hygiene and food safety, given reception, first-aid and timely treatment, managing to have over 98% of healthy soldiers. The Division has attentively assured enough materials, newly built, regularly repaired and effectively used the training grounds, buildings for combat training. The Division has also directed the Technical Department to maintain the regulations of managing, maintaining and using weapons and facilities in the payroll; supply enough weapons and equipment for training, combat readiness, all-level tactical exercises with live firing and regular activities, etc. in order to create the unity and synchronicity in improving the overall quality, combat strength and mobility readiness in all situations and successfully accomplish the duties in the new situation.

Senior Colonel NGO NGOC AN, Division Commander