On September 1^st, 1979 the National Center for Aerial Search and Rescue Training was established on the ground of the Paratrooper Team of the Air Defense - Air Forces’ Staff. Over 40 years of establishment and development, generations of officers and staffs of the Center have always upheld their solidarity, proactiveness in surmounting difficulties to build the Center strong and successfully accomplish the assigned tasks. Up to date, the Center has conducted training for over 600 cadres and staffs of the National Committee for Search and Rescue; over 1,200 technical staffs in parachute and aerial search and rescue for units of the Air Defense - Air Forces; jointly conducted training for thousands of paratroopers for units of the Military and aerial clubs, etc. In addition, it has coordinated with units of the Air Defense - Air Forces to carry out hundreds of search and rescue sorties during stormy time; conducted search and rescue for troubled pilots in action. For all of its achievements, the Center has been granted with several noble awards by the National Committee for Search and Rescue, the Ministry of National Defense, the Air Defense - Air Forces.

Search and rescue training at multi-function pool

The achievements that the Center has gained are attributed to the following reasons:

First and foremost, it has focused on political and ideological education, and considered this a factor of paramount importance, deciding the quality and outcome of its task performance. Aerial search and rescue and parachuting training is complicated, dangerous, and risky, hence having very high requirements. Fully aware of its mission, the Center has always paid attention to and thoroughly conducted political and ideological education for its cadres and soldiers, particularly those who directly involve in the training. Emphasis is placed on the significance, importance, the urgent need, and the complicated nature of the search and rescue mission. Thereby, cadres, teachers, technical staffs, soldiers of the Center develop their political stance, strong determination, solidarity, and self-reliance in surmounting the difficulties during their task performance. To be highly effective, the Center strengthens mission briefing; combined political education with tradition education, and education with disciplining.

Together with political and ideological education, the Center has also focused on promoting the exemplary and pioneering role of its cadres and party members; strengthening the belief, bravery, solidarity, will and mind of its staff in implementing their tasks. Its Party Committee strictly adheres to the principles of democratic centralism, and collective leadership associated with individual accountability. Besides, checking and supervision are also enhanced to opportunely detect and prevent the wrongdoings. Thereby, over the past 40 years, generations of cadres, instructors, and staffs of the Center have always upheld their enthusiasm for work, self-disciplining, and strong determination. Annually, the Center’s Party is rated pure and strong with over 90% of its members accomplishing well their tasks. This is a prerequisite for the Center to successfully fulfill its assigned tasks.

Second, it has focused on improving the quality of education and training. Aerial search and rescue and parachute training requires very close coordination and high accuracy. Bearing this in mind, for the past time, the Center has seriously grasped and implemented the guidelines and orientations of upper echelon on the training of aerial search and rescue. Basing on the Resolution No. 765-NQ/QUTW of the Central Military Commission, the Resolution No. 558-NQ/ĐU of the Party Committee of the Air Defense - Air Forces on “Improving the training quality in the 2013 - 2020 period and beyond”, and the directives, plans, and instructions on training of the Service’s Staff, every year, the Center’s Party Committee issues specialized resolution leading the tasks of training, clearly setting out guidelines, targets, methods of leadership and breakthroughs. The Center’s Headquarters direct its junior offices to build plans, contents and programs; actively have renewals in training. In addition, it has strengthened on-the-job training for its cadres, instructors, and staffs; enhanced their level of expertise, knowledge and skills. During training, they have always stuck to the motto of “basic, practical, steady, safe, economical”; placed emphasis on synchronous and intensive training; lesson evaluation and training review are also conducted regularly to improve the quality of training, meeting the increasingly higher requirements and mission. In the 2014 - 2018 period, 100% of the trainees satisfied the requirements, including over 80% being rated good and excellent.

Parachute training

Together with regular training, the Center also participated in the combat drills (with parachuting) held by the General Staff and the Service; the search and rescue exercises held by the National Committee for search and rescue; the ASEAN Regional Disaster Emergency Response Simulation Exercise (ARDEX). These activities enabled its staff to interact and operate in different environments, thereby enriching their knowledge and experience, and updating them new emerging issues. In recent years, it has also sent its staffs to overseas training courses held by Russia, China, Holland, the Pacific Command (the U.S), which help improving their level of organizing, commanding and skills.

Third, pay attention to logistics and technical supplying. Annually, trainees come to the Center from different sources, both Military and civilian. Its training is conducted in cruel conditions and high intensity. To meet the requirements, the Center has actively built plans for technical and logistics supply for each kind of trainee, and each task, including reserve plans for emergencies. Given the fact that its vehicles and technical equipment are modern with high requirements for operation, the Center has sustained and seriously adhered to the maintenance regime; registered, managed and exerted close supervision over the deployment of its weapons and technical equipment, particularly those with high demands for technical maintenance and safety precautions. To improve the effectiveness in exploiting, it pays attention to building regularity in technical maintenance; promotes the implementation of the Drive of “Effective, sustainable, efficient management and exploitation of weapon and equipment and Traffic Safety”; strengthens checking work; assigns the responsibility for weapon and equipment exploitation and management to each individual. As a result, in recent years, there hasn’t been any incident recorded in training and in search and rescue practices. As for logistics work, the Center facilitates the movement of “Military Logistics Sector following Uncle Ho’s teaching” with concrete measures. In particular, it has paid attention to improving the meals of troops and ensure food safety; encouraged troops to involve in food production and self - sufficiency to improve their meals. In addition, it has also attached importance to building regularity; sustained a green - clean - scenic environment; maintained strict disciplining and built the Center comprehensively strong, successfully accomplish regular and unscheduled tasks.

Colonel Nguyen Thanh Hien, Junior Commissar of the Center