Training and combat readiness is one of the most important contents decisive to the overall quality and combat strength of agencies, units, and the whole Army. The Party Committee and High Command of Military Region 2 (MR2) also identify this as a breakthrough and have focused on leading, directing, and implementing by taking synchronous and effective measures.

MR2’s armed forces are tasked with stationing and performing tasks in the 9 provinces in the Northwest of the country, playing an important strategic role in the defence posture of the country in general and the North in particular. This area mainly consists of midlands and mountains and is mostly populated by ethnic groups with uneven educational levels. Moreover, hostile forces have sabotaged by taking advantage of “national”, “religious”, “democratic”, and “human rights” issues, especially illegal missionary activities, etc., which has had significant negative impact on training, combat readiness, and the building of MR2’s armed forces.

Being well aware of that, over the years, MR2’s Party Committee and High Command have always thoroughly grasped and effectively implemented the resolutions, conclusions, strategies, and projects of the Party, the Central Military Commission, the Ministry of National Defence, focusing on leading, directing and strictly implementing Conclusion No. 60-KL/QUTW issued on 18^th January 2019 by the Central Military Commission on continuing to implement Resolution No. 765-NQ/QUTW, which has brought about comprehensive results. The awareness and responsibility of all-level party committees and commanders of training and combat readiness have been gradually improved; the direction, management, administration, and assurance of training and education have seen positive changes, thus being rigorous, scientific, and suitable to the subjects, the developments of the Covid-19 pandemic, and practical requirements. Exercises and drills held at all levels have become progressively innovative and creative, achieving relatively consistent and steady results.

These aforementioned achievements are of great importance, especially in the context of MR2 simultaneously performing the task of training and combat readiness and the prevention and control of the Covid-19 pandemic as well as other irregular tasks, thus contributing to the improvement of the overall quality and combat strength of the armed forces, meeting the requirements and tasks under any circumstances. However, in the face of the increasing requirements of the cause of national defence and the development of MR2’s tasks, there still exist shortcomings of reserved resources for military and national defence tasks, especially facilities used in training and drills. Therefore, in order to improve the combat strength and firmly defend their areas, MR’s armed forces need to actively overcome difficulties and make breakthroughs in improving the quality of training and combat readiness, in which importance is attached to a number of fundamental contents and measures as follows:

First, strengthening the leadership and direction of all-level party committees and commanders on training and combat readiness. MR2’s Party Committee and High Command identify this as a central political task, the most important factor decisive to the overall quality and combat strength of the MR’s armed forces. Therefore,  MR2 directs agencies and units to continue to thoroughly grasp the Party’s military and national defence viewpoints and guidelines, which are demonstrated in the resolutions, conclusions, and directives of the Party, the Central Military Commission, the Ministry of National Defence on training and combat readiness. Effectively implementing the Project entitled “Renovation of political education in the units in the new period” to change the awareness and responsibility of officers and soldiers for training and combat readiness. Consolidating the party committees and commanders in accordance with the new organisational structure as well as improving in-depth leadership capacity on training and combat readiness for party committees at all levels, with a focus on detachment level. Strongly renovating leadership content, methods, and measures; strictly following the steps from issuance, implementation, inspection, and supervision to review and summary to draw lessons from experience; focusing on improving the capacity to concretise thematic resolutions as well as the ability to turn the proposed goals, requirements, and measures into practical results.

On the basis of drawing lessons from limitations pointed out in the summary of 10-year implementation of Resolution No. 765-NQ/QUTW of the Central Military Commission, party committees and commanders at all levels continue to adjust, supplement the contents, guidelines, and measures in their thematic resolutions on leading training and combat readiness, being scientific, suitable, practical and on implementation as well. Actively renovating and improving the effectiveness of party and political work; well implementing the Emulation Movement, associating the building of “model” units in training with the building of comprehensively strong, “exemplary and typical” units, building “clean and strong” party organisations.

Second, continuing to make breakthroughs in renovating and improving the quality of training and combat readiness of MR2’s armed forces. To adapt flexibly and successfully fulfil assigned tasks, MR2 continues to strongly and comprehensively renovate in terms of training content, programmes, forms, and methods in the direction of “practical, effective, and steady”, suitable for the subjects, local characteristics, and the units’ tasks. Providing comprehensive training content, including political, military, logistics, and technical ones, with importance attached to increasing the length of practical training, night training, manoeuvre training, situational training, weapon and equipment mastery training, search and rescue training. Organising sufficient training for all the subjects, especially detachment-level officers. Creatively and effectively applying viewpoints, mottos, principles, and safety regulations in training. Additionally, strengthening the direction, management, and administration of training in the direction of “concentration, unity, synchronisation, efficiency, and no overlap”, renovating the organisation of contests, sports festivals, testing, reviewing, result evaluation, and training assurance. Strictly combining operational training with tactical training, military training with political education, military training with educational training, military training with regularity construction and discipline management. Continuing to well organise drills, general tactical drills, operation mechanisms in defence and civil defence areas, etc.; determining the appropriate contents and situations suitable for the characteristics and tasks of border provinces and inland provinces; strictly maintaining the order and combat readiness mode so as to improve combat ability and level responsive to accidents and natural disasters for the armed forces, thus firmly protecting the area. Adjusting determination, combat plans, civil defence plans at all levels, and preventing illegal entry and exit, etc. to meet requirements and tasks via drills. Coordinating with other forces, especially the police in fulfilling the task of protecting territorial sovereignty, political security, social order and safety in the area.

Third, closely combining training with regularity construction, discipline management, and the building a strong and comprehensively strong, “exemplary and typical” unit. In order to well implement this, agencies, units and colleges should well implement the combined work from the stage of grasping, turning military and national defence higher echelons’ orders and directives on regularity construction, discipline management into annual resolutions, plans, contents programmes, thus unifying goals, requirements, tasks and measures. Regularly grasping, seriously drawing lessons from disciplinary violations in the whole army, especially violations and unsafe incidents in training, which serves as a basis for determining appropriate policies and measures to step up ideological and discipline management, thus building safe units in accordance with the standards of Resolution No. 79/CT-BQP issued on 22^nd July 2022 by the Minister of Defence on building comprehensively strong, “exemplary and typical” units.

The content is comprehensive, but importance should be attached to overcoming deep-rooted weaknesses in agencies, units, and standby forces in order to make fundamental and comprehensive changes to the discipline observance of soldiers. Soldiers should be trained so that they can grasp and effectively apply the soldier management regulations and the military orders as well as newly issued documents, directives, instructions on the observance of Military discipline and the State law while performing their tasks; focusing on improving regularity in training and combat readiness; well managing personnel, weapons and technical equipment. Closely combining military training with political education, legal dissemination, and discipline observance, striving to reduce the annual rate of normal disciplinary violations to below 0.2 percent; minimising serious violations and unsafe incidents in training.

Fourth, ensuring sufficient and timely logistics and technical supply for training and combat readiness. Focusing on renovating logistics assurance in the direction of “synchronous, timely, and comprehensive”, in which, priority is given to units in key areas, units responsible for training and combat readiness, disaster recovery, search and rescue as well as newly merged units. On the basis of the summary of 10-year implementation of Resolution 623-NQ/QUTW issued on 29^th October 2012 by the Central Military Commission on logistics work in the new situation, MR2 continues to concretise and effectively implement the Ministry of National Defence’s programmes and projects. Coordinating with localities to exploit and ensure on-spot logistic resources; promoting restructuring of rearing and planting, bringing into full play models of gardening, production, and food processing; maintaining stability and improving soldiers’ lives along with preventing and controlling Covid-19 pandemic, ensuring at least 98.8% of soldier participation.

MR2’s Technical Agency proactively coordinates with units’ agencies to build plans for technical assurance at operational level and technical assurance for defence areas; mobilise weapons and technical equipment to ensure reserves in the operational deployment directions and defensive combat plans. Exploiting and timely ensuring weapons, technical equipment, ammunition in terms of quantity, quality, type, and weapon synchronisation for training, combat readiness, and drills. Improving the quality of management, maintenance, repair and storage of weapons and technical equipment, well ensuring safety. Stepping up training and the mastery weapons and technical equipment; promoting research and application of projects and initiatives on training and combat readiness.

Major General NGUYEN DANG KHAI, Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of Military Region 2