The achievements that the Technical Department of Artillery Corps has gained for 45 years of establishment and development (13/6/1979 - 13/6/2024) have been connected with implementing and intensely following Uncle Ho’s teachings. This is the motivation for the Department to improve the quality of technical work, contributing to building the “elite, compact, strong” Corps towards modernity.

Being imbued with Uncle Ho’s teachings, i.e. “As science and technique play an essential part, all fields and people should participate in the scientific and technical work”, and clearly understanding the important roles of the technical work in a combatting corps using modern weapons and equipment, over the past 45 years, the Technical Department of Artillery Corps has been raising the proactive, creative, self-reliant and resilient spirit, regularly holding the reality of building and combatting to successfully accomplish the assigned tasks. Especially, in recent years, on grasping and implementing Conclusion No. 01-KL/TW, dated 18/5/2021 by the Politburo (13^th tenure); Resolution No. 847-NQ /QUTW, dated 28/12/2021 by the Central Military Commission (CMC); the action plans and programmes by the Corps’ Party Committee and Command on promoting the learning and following of Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality and style, the Department’s Party Committee and Command have timely built and synchronously implemented the action programmes in all subordinate offices and units with suitable contents, targets and solutions. Accordingly, the “following of Uncle Ho’s teachings” has been widely spread, bringing about practical results which have become an important motivation for the Department to overcome all difficulties and build an all-strong, “exemplary, typical” unit which could well advise and direct the technical work within the Corps and other artillery technical work in the whole army, contributing to the successful completion of all tasks.

Presently, the requirement of building the “elite, compact, strong” Military and Corps towards modernity has defined the artillery technical work with many new and higher tasks and problems to solve. To finish these tasks, the Department’s Party Committee and Command have considered continuously bringing into play the general power, comprehensively implementing all working fields, especially, promoting intensely the following of Uncle Ho’s teachings in conducting the technical work.

Head of the department watches technical innitiatives

Following Uncle Ho’s teachings, i.e. “Right thought decides right actions and the accomplishment of revolutionary tasks”, the Department has intensely directed the education to raise the awareness, responsibility and devotion for cadres and specialised workers at all levels, at the same time, completed the standards of following Uncle Ho’s teachings, making them practical with the functions and tasks of each office, unit and technical field. In the coming time, the Department orients the following of Uncle Ho’s teachings to build the motive and attitude, renovate the working manner, build the all-strong “exemplary, typical” offices, and improve the quality and effectiveness of all technical fields, focusing on well implementing Resolution No. 1656-NQ/TW, dated 20/12/2022 by the CMC, Action plans by the Corps’ Party Committee on “Leading the technical work to 2030 and the following years”, and the Campaign 50.

Under the timeline of building the “elite, compact, strong” Artillery Corps towards modernity, together with new purchases and invested technical equipment, the Corps has continuously managed and exploited the weapons and equipment in large quantity which have been downgraded and used for ages highly requiring the urgent repairs and maintenance while the sources are limited, etc. In this reality, and to follow the Uncle Ho’s thought of “seeing first, caring first”, the Department has promoted the research, proactively made professional consultation and direction. Based on the plan on adjusting the artillery organisation by the Ministry of National Defence (MoD), the Department has coordinated with offices and units to research and make feasible policies and solutions, focusing on the purchasing, rotating and using plans, programmes and projects of improving and modernising the technical equipment; the plans of repairing and upgrading the systems of warehouses, workshops and repair centres; application of scientific and technological advances of the 4^th Industrial Revolution and digital transformation into the technical work; building and consolidating the organisation and staff of the all-level logistic-technical forces in the Corps, etc. Immediately, the Department make advice to prepare for the merging of Logistic Department and Technical Department; stabilise and improve the working effectiveness of the all-level logistic-technical offices in the Corps; continuously make advice and direction in mobilising the general power of all forces to successfully accomplish the target of improving the technical work quality according to the defined plans and roadmap.

Being embedded with Uncle Ho’s teaching, i.e. “it is a must to maintain weapons, equipment, vehicles, and to save ammunition and petrol”, the Department has intensely directed the renovation and quality improvement of equipment and technical support, meeting the requirement of building the “elite, compact, strong” artillery forces towards modernity. Regarding the equipment support, the Department has continuously made research and correctly considered the existing artillery weapons and equipment and their development in recent armed conflicts as the bases for the Corps to propose to the MoD in their plans, new purchases and renovation of artillery technical equipment suitable with the new combat requirements, at the same time, checked and advised the Corps to make plans of using and synchronising the existing weapons and equipment, balancing, adjusting and assigning the technical equipment to units, making them suitable with the strategic posture of artillery site, and to take out of service the 5-level and dangerous weapons and equipment.

Maintaining hardware at Regiment 45

To meet the demand of technical support in the condition of mixed new and old weapons and equipment, on the one hand, the Department has continuously advised and directed the execution of key programmes and targets, plans of maintaining, repairing, synchronising, resynchronising, rotationally using and storing the technical equipment for the tasks. On the other hand, the Department has built and effectively deployed projects and plans of upgrading the depots and technical areas, assuring the safe storing conditions, preventing the fire and explosion, and maintaining the long life for equipment, the new and special ones in particular. At first, the Department has paid attention to investing in and improving the technical areas in brigades and schools according to the medium-term programme to 2025, building and conducting the medium -term programme in the 2026-2030 period; made solution for upgrading Workshop 965 to factory; completed the plan on the depot system under the KA-10 project and taken part in selecting models to build depots of ammunition and explosive materials due to requirements from the MoD, meeting the demands for technical support in echelon.

In the long run, the Department has continuously given priority to investing to improve the capacity of repair centres, focusing on installing more equipment and technological lines to repair technical and technological equipment, produce specially technical materials, gradually meeting the demands for technical support in peacetime and being ready for any tasks in wartime. Concurrently, the Department has continuously enhanced the decentralisation in the technical support. Functional offices have intensely guided, examined and sped up units to strictly follow the regularity of the technical work, the storing and maintaining regulation, and to improve the quality of “Technical day” in the grassroots level, at the same time, comprehensively implemented the contents and targets of the Campaign 50 and maintained the technical factors at high level to timely meet all task requirements; intensely conducted the examination and verification of weapons and equipment, assuring their technical quality, reliability and absolute safety in doing the tasks.

As the technical cadres and technicians are the “root” of the technical work, the Department has paid attention to building strong technical offices and units; building the contingent of “both red and expert” cadres. Bringing into play the experience and results gained from merging the logistic and technical offices at the brigade-level and the equivalent levels, the Department has continuously advised the Corps to build and propose to the MoD new organisation of the Logistic-Technical Department; at the same time, proactively executed the contents and solutions for merging, making them serious and strict, meeting the defined targets and requirements. Together with strengthening the organisation, the Department has coordinated with functional offices to make advice on planning and building the sources of technicians having suitable structure, quantity and quality with the organisation and the modernisation timeline of the Corps. In particular, the Department has paid attention to building the contingent of cadres and technicians of artillery, missiles and special equipment; diversifying the forms of education and training, closely combining the sending of cadres to training abroad with on-site training, prioritising the regular training for cadres who are doing research and using new and modern technical equipment, meanwhile, directed the drastic renovation of contents, programmes, processes and methods of technical training in units; improved the quality of technical contests and competitions at all levels in the Corps, and actively participated in military competitions of the national, regional and international scale, through which, to build the “elite, compact, strong” and professional source of artillery technical personnel, meeting the target of building a modern Artillery-Missile Corps.

“Science originates from production and then serves production”. On implementing this Uncle Ho’s teaching, the Department has continuously promoted the scientific research, applied science and technology into solving the urgent requirements of the artillery technical work. Accordingly, together with bringing into play the internal power, the Department has strengthened the cooperation with research centres, factories and businesses within the army to research and improve some technical equipment regarding the technical- tactical features and expiry date, and apply new technology into storing, maintaining and repairing weapons and equipment; enhanced the movement of scientific research, brought into play the initiatives on technical improvement in the whole Corps, towards solving the urgent problems such as increasing the capability of mobility, firing range and power of weapons; automating the command, firing control and night operation; technical support in modern operation, etc. Together, the Department has enhanced the administrative reform, digital transformation and improved the effectiveness in technical command, direction, operation and management.

Being respectful and bringing into play the gained achievements, the Technical Department of Artillery Corps has continuously promoted the following of Uncle Ho’s teachings, creating motivation to make power and bring into play the traditions of “Being united and creative, overcoming all difficulties to accomplish all tasks”, making sure the Corps could successfully accomplish the tasks in all situations.

Senior Colonel NGUYEN VU DUNG, Head of Corps’ Technical Department