Improving its combat power in order to “fulfil any task, overcome any difficulty, and defeat any enemy”, has been n­­­­ot only the tradition but also the target and political task of each unit and the whole Military. For the Tank Brigade 215 under the High Command of the Tank and Armoured Corps (hereafter the Brigade), it is regarded as a milestone in the action plan for the Directive 05-CT/TW by the Politburo as a continuation of the tradition “To deploy is to win”.

The Tank Brigade 215 is the Defense Ministry's strategic mobile reserve force tasked with training, combat readiness, natural disaster prevention, search and rescue, and other unexpected missions. Being deeply aware of the assigned tasks and imbued with President Ho Chi Minh's thought of prioritizing "human over weapons", “politics over military” on the construction of a revolutionary army, over the past years, the Brigade Party Committee and Command have paid attention to its leadership on building a strong unit in politics, ideology and organization as a basis and a paramount solution for improving overall quality and combat power. Strictly following the instructions and resolutions, the Brigade regularly consolidates and enhances its Party Committee and Party organizations’ leadership and fighting capacity, builds strong party organizations and comprehensively strong units, Party committees and the contingent of key cadres and party members, and raises the quality of officers. In particular, the Brigade attaches great importance to establishing a structure of high-qualified officers in all agencies and units, ensuring their morality and working capacity. It has been implementing the 4^th Central Resolution (12^th tenure); promptly planning staff at all levels in the period of 2020 - 2025 in line with its practical situation. At the same time, it has promoted the studying and following of Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality, and lifestyle, such as "Each day, each Uncle Ho’s saying", "Each unit with a model set in Politburo’s Directive 05"; model "Determined to Win Crew of Dinh Van Hoe", etc. To this end, in the process, the Brigade Party Committee has regularly reinforced inspection and supervision of moral training and lifestyle, while promoting the examples of "matching words with action" and "superiors set typical examples for subordinates to follow" set by cadres, party members, especially the key ones during its task implementation.

Sr. Col. Nguyen Van Huong assigning the task to the units in the exercise

The unit is stationed in the area of severe climate with burning heat, prolonged drought, frequent floods and storms. Furthermore, the scenario of political security, religion and social evils is quite complicated. These have had an adverse impact on the soldiers’ thoughts, feeling and health, etc. To deal with the situation, the Brigade strengthens its ideological and political education, achieves a consensus on cadres and soldiers’ awareness, will, and action, and builds up their determination so that they are willing to receive and successfully fulfil all assignments. To that end, the Brigade’s Party Committee and Command educate soldiers to grasp military and national defense viewpoints of the Party and the orders, rules, regimes and regulations on combat readiness. Simultaneously, it directs agencies and units to promote innovation of forms and methods, improve the quality of ideological and political education in grassroots-level units, well perform propaganda work so as for soldiers to be aware of the situation, sabotage conspiracy of hostile forces and combat objects as well as the tradition, the art of war of the Armored soldiers in the resistance war, etc. This helps imbue cadres and soldiers with strong political will, high awareness, fighting spirit, belief in combat and weapons, and the “determination to fight and to win”, thereby, completing all assignments. Furthermore, the Brigade directs agencies and units to strengthen measures of grasping, managing and orienting ideology of soldiers, especially new recruits and those in difficult circumstances; to strictly exercise Democracy at grassroots level, promptly detect and completely resolve rising issues to avoid being passive or surprised. At the same time, it regularly collaborates with local Party committee and authorities to manage and educate soldiers; pay attention to well performing mass mobilization, policy, etc. As a result, the Brigade always maintains high solidarity and stability. In the period of 2013-2018, 100% of party cells were clean and strong; over 85% of party members successfully completed their duties, without a weak party cell and member. The Brigade Party Committee was recognized as a typically clean and strong one.

Uncle Ho once taught commanders that: “Keep in mind that politics reveals itself in combat. The policy must be put into practice. If you learn tactics but don’t know how to fight the enemy, it turns out useless. Therefore, you must study tactics and strategies, learn how to teach soldiers to fight, and master how to fight as well”.  Following Uncle Ho’s advice, alongside the building of political and spiritual factors, the Brigade promotes innovation, improves training quality and combat readiness. This is recognized as a breakthrough in heightening the overall strength and combat power of the unit. To thoroughly grasp and implement Resolution 765-NQ/QUTW by the Central Military Commission, Resolution 438-NQ/ĐU by the Corps’ Party Committee, and Resolution 235-NQ/ĐU by the Brigade Party Committee on “Improving the training quality in the period of 2013-2020 and the following years”, the Brigade strengthens its leadership over the management of training and the reform in content, organization and method of training and rehearsal in accordance with the development of the situation and tasks. In the process, the Brigade centers on “providing basic training, mastering weapons and technical equipment, especially new-generation ones; attaching importance to training based on plans, areas, combat objects; taking tactical training as a center, arms techniques as a basis, and cadres training as a key step”. Accordingly, commanders and agencies focus on clarifying the enemy’s tactics and conspiracies, teaching the art of using tanks and armored vehicles; the level of consultancy on tactics and training, especially the method of directing, revising, and developing the training and rehearsal documents, etc. Detachments focus on synchronous and intensive training; improving the ability to prevent and fight the enemy with high-tech weapons; practising disguise, camouflage, diversion, movement to protect forces  and to be ready to receive combat missions, organize preparation and combat, etc. The tank commanders, drivers, gunners focus on issues directly related to the task and the shortcomings such as: driving in rugged and complicated terrains, driving transport vehicles up and down, shooting guns at a far distance, etc. Supporting teams including: sapper, reconnaissance, chemical, signal, etc. concentrate on improving their professional qualifications and especially their capacity of ensuring communications and mobility, crossing rivers, sterilizing, repairing the equipment, and performing the work of emergency and frontline casualty transfer, etc.

Tank formation during the exercise

In order to achieve high efficiency, the Brigade directs agencies and units to provide full and proper contents, programs for objects as prescribed and organize additional classes on a weekly and monthly basis. The training process follows proper procedures, from specialized techniques to tactical teams, from one-vehicle tactics up to rehearsals at company, battalion and higher levels. Besides, the Brigade attaches great importance to  maintaining the order for the contests of cadres at all levels, especially those responsible for direct training, with the goal of “Being good at each level”. Simultaneously, it also invests more in building the drill grounds and shooting ranges so as to meet high training requirement. Alongside the above-mentioned measures, the Brigade strictly maintains combat readiness; regularly consolidates and supplements types of combat readiness documents, plans for natural disaster prevention, search and rescue, etc. Meanwhile, it maintains close cooperation with agencies, units and localities in organizing training, rehearsals and improving the capability of coping with all possible situations. Thanks to this, the result of the Brigade’s training and combat readiness has improved. Since 2015, 100% of faculties pass the training tests, with over 80% quite good. Exercises at platoon, company and battalion levels have increased, with 100% achieving good and excellent combat shooting. In 2016 and 2019, the Brigade successfully organized 2 commanding drills on the map and on the battlefield, combined with receiving and practising real shooting. Particularly in 2018, the Brigade managed to carry out the Rehearsal against the plot of isolating the Central Coast and practise troop movement by trains and Max, which was highly appreciated by the Ministry of Defense and the Corps’ Command.

The combat power of the Tank soldiers greatly depends on the mobility and firepower of the tanks. Being aware of this, the Brigade concentrates on well performing the technical assurance work. On the basis of thoroughly grasping and implementing Resolution 382-NQ/ĐUQSTW by the Central Military Commission on leading technical work in the new situation, in the past few years, the Brigade has directed agencies and units to well conduct technical work, especially improve the qualifications and skills of the professional and technical personnel according to the specialties, and make them capable of mastering new weapons and equipment as well as handling technical situations in combat operations. Meanwhile, it has actively mobilized investment resources to upgrade facilities in workshops; maintained operation of these places in a formal direction, in proper technological processes and industrial hygiene. Also, it has strengthened the movement of promoting technical innovation aimed at improving productivity and quality of repairing weapons and equipment at units. Over the past 5 years, the Brigade has undertaken small and medium-scale repair and upgradation for more than 3,500 turns of tanks, armored vehicles, and cars, etc. As a result, the technical ratios of weapons and technical equipment always meet and exceed the set targets; in which, ready-to-fight weapons and technical equipment have a coefficient of Kt =1.

Together with the above-mentioned measures, the Brigade attaches importance to discipline management; actively builds regular, “green, clean and beautiful” landscape, promotes the campaign entitled “Military Logistics follows Uncle Ho’s teachings”, improves material and spiritual life of cadres and soldiers, thereby making a great contribution to enhancing its overall quality and combat power, meeting the requirements of national defense.

Senior Colonel Nguyen Van Huong, the Brigade Commander