All for the mission, all for the "timely, accurate, confidential, safe" communications flow as taught by Uncle Ho is not only the sacred oath of generations of officers and soldiers of Signal Brigade 575 (Military Region 5) over the past 50 years, but also the motivation and determination for the Unit to successfully complete the task of ensuring communications in the new situation.

On 3 February 1975, the 575th Signal Regiment (now the 575th Signal Brigade) was established to meet the requirements of leadership, command and coordination for major battles, and increasingly high coordination of troops and services of the armed forces of Military Region 5 in the decisive stage of the resistance war against the invading American imperialists. After 50 years of establishment, struggle and development, with iron will and high determination, generations of officers and soldiers of the Brigade have always been united, proactively overcoming difficulties, crossing high mountains and deep forests, maintaining the information bloodline under the enemy's bombs and bullets so that information signals are still transmitted continuously in each battle and campaign, contributing to the liberation of the South, national reunification, fulfilling international duties in Cambodia and successfully completing tasks in the cause of building and defending the Fatherland, making the tradition of "Proactive, creative; self-reliant, self-sufficient, overcoming difficulties; solidarity, collective achievements; intelligence, courage, holding the machine, holding the wire, maintaining communications in all situations". With outstanding achievements, the Brigade and its 03 units and 01 individual, were awarded by the State the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces; Third-class Military Exploit Order; Second-class and Third-class Fatherland Defence Orders and many other noble awards.

In the process of modernising the Military Signal sector, in recent years, the Brigade has been supplied and acquired new, modern equipment with electronic integration, high technology application, and a high software ratio to meet the requirements and tasks of ensuring communications in the new situation. Imbued with Uncle Ho's teaching "Communications is the most important thing in revolutionary work, because it determines the unity of command, the distribution of forces and thus ensures victory", the Party Committee and the Brigade's commanders have focused on leading and directing the innovation of organisational methods to ensure communications, constantly improving the quality of technology, ensuring "timely, accurate, confidential, and safe" communications in all situations. With the goal of "Being good at traditional signal, being elite in mobile signal, mastering high-tech signal", the Party committees and commanders of agencies and units thoroughly grasp the directives and orders from higher echelons, and set out policies and measures to lead, direct, manage, and exploit a smooth and solid communication system. Regularly combine the renovation of the military information system with the construction of new communication lines; receive, exploit, and effectively operate digital electronic switchboards and new generation technical equipment. Actively coordinate with Da Nang city to continue to basically bury the local cable network; gradually synchronise and improve the information system to meet increasingly high requirements and tasks. Strictly maintain the system of command, on-duty, combat duty, information exploitation and combat-ready units in accordance with regulations; Prepare forces, means and ensure smooth operation for drills, disaster prevention and mitigation - search and rescue and other emergency tasks. At the same time, strengthen the ability to ensure information in important directions, units, key areas, and ensure smooth communications.

Troops of Signal Brigade 575 conduct equipment training (Photo: baoquangnam.vn)

Studying and following Uncle Ho through specific and practical actions, the Brigade promotes the Determined to Win Emulation movement with contents and targets close to the requirements and tasks of each agency, unit, organisation and force; associated with promoting the study and following of Ho Chi Minh's thought, morality and style, creating motivation and a vibrant competitive atmosphere in performing tasks. Besides, the Brigade always focuses on information security, especially highly secure communication networks. Its agencies and units always strengthen the strict maintenance of communication discipline, order, regimes and regulations in the management, use and transportation of official documents; promptly overcome loopholes and shortcomings, and absolutely ensure military secrets.

Following Uncle Ho's advice that: "Having strived, we must always try harder. We must constantly improve our political and ideological level; strive to learn more professional and technical skills, ensure timely, accurate, confidential and safe communication work, and make more progress, and achieve many new achievements", the Brigade always attaches importance to and directs the effective and practical implementation of training work; taking cadre training as the key, training soldiers to master the available weapons and equipment, new and modern equipment as the focus to continuously improve the quality of communications flow. Every year, the Brigade Party Committee and its subordinate party committees and commanders at all levels thoroughly grasp and strictly implement the Military Region's directives and orders on training tasks, ensuring combat-ready communications; at the same time, develop combat training plans and communication assurance plans that are close to the actual situation and conditions of the Brigade. Comprehensive and periodic leadership resolutions clearly define specific leadership policies and measures for each training content and object, determine and assign responsibilities for serious implementation; maximise the role of Party Committees and responsibilities of commanders, mobilise maximum resources, and create a comprehensive strength for training tasks. At the same time, do a good job of preparing all aspects for training; consolidate, repair, and renew training grounds, facilities, and teaching aids; innovate the work of developing training plans and schedules.

As the specialties and objects of training are diverse, and the information and communication security forces often work in shifts, the organisation and administration of the Brigade's training encountered many difficulties. Therefore, along with promoting innovation in the mechanism of directing, managing, and operating training in a strict, unified and consistent manner according to hierarchy, the Brigade directs its agencies and units to proactively research and adjust the content and training programmes to suit each subject, organisation, and equipment. During the training process, they closely follow the motto of "basic, practical, solid", thoroughly grasp and effectively apply viewpoints, principles, and combinations; strictly maintain the training regime and order; strengthen inspection, re-examination, evaluation, and review; link training with formal construction, management, and discipline training. Moreover, they focus on training troops according to tasks, mastering new equipment and weapons, proficiently using mobile communication vehicles, mastering tactical forms according to information specialties, high mobility, moving and deploying to ensure flexible communication in all terrains and weather, good at ensuring independent, continuous long-term communication close to combat reality, preventing interference, and effectively suppressing electronic interference.

Bearing in mind Uncle Ho's teaching that "To improve yourselves, you must have a bold spirit, dare to think and dare to do. In whatever work, cadres, party members, and union members must be pioneering...", to overcome difficulties in managing, exploiting, and operating equipment and means of communication, the Brigade upholds the spirit of self-reliance, self-sufficiency, promotes technical initiatives, seriously adheres to the preservation and maintenance regimes, "good maintenance, durable, safe, economical operation"; make the most use of the existing equipment, while gradually replacing the old materiel with the new one. Focus on investing, researching and applying information technology in management, command, drills, administrative reform, digital transformation, striving that 100% of the units from company level and higher have their computers connected to internal data transmission networks; apply digital signatures; and become a pioneer unit in administrative reform and digital transformation in the armed forces of the Military Region.

What’s more, scientific research,  technical initiatives, improvement of equipment, weapons, and training models have been promoted by its agencies and units. Many researches and initiatives have won high prizes in competitions of the Defence Ministry and the Military Region, and have been effectively applied in practice of work. With synchronous solutions and efforts and determination to ensure "timely, accurate, confidential, and safe" communications according to Uncle Ho's teachings, the Brigade's combat readiness and mobility to ensure communications have been constantly improved; stable quality of radio communications; regular wire communications have been consolidated, increasing capacity and transmission quality; military postal communications have exceeded the prescribed time, contributing to ensuring timely service for the leadership, command, and operation of the Military Region's armed forces in their task performance. That is an important foundation for the officers and soldiers of the 575th Signal Brigade to further study and follow Uncle Ho's teachings, strive, cultivate, study and practice, ensure solid communications in all situations, successfully complete all assigned tasks, and continue to enrich the glorious history of the Heroic Brigade in the new era.

Senior Colonel HOANG VAN THANH, Political Commissar of the Brigade