In the resistance war against America, with the necessary demands for the Southern field, on 20/02/1973, the Tank and Armoured Brigade 574 (formerly known as Tank and Armoured Regiment 574) was established. The establishment of the Brigade marked the considerable development and growth in both the force organisation and the operational art of combined forces of the Region No.5 armed forces in the final period of the resistance war against America. Since then, the Region No.5 armed forces has owned one of the main tank and armoured forces with fast mobility and powerful fire, which makes the core attacking capability in the combined operation in the large scale being able to destroy the enemy and gain the decisive victory in the battlefield.

Bringing into play the Tank and Armoured soldiers’ tradition of “surely winning once deployed”, with the bravery, ingenuity, creativity, the will of “while there’s a person, there’s a vehicle”; “still struggling and destroying the enemy even one vehicle left”, the Brigade is considered an “iron fist”, directly struggling to open the large operations and making many resounding feats of arms in the Region No.5’s battlefield, especially in the General offensive and uprising of spring 1975, also known as the 1975 Spring Offensive, contributing with the army and people in the whole country to the successful completion of the cause of national liberation and unity of the country.

In the period of 1975 – 1978, the Brigade was assigned the defence and combat mission to protect the Southwest border of the country, and participated in the task of overcoming the war consequences. From the end of 1978 to 1989, the Brigade simultaneously carried out two missions on both safeguarding the Homeland and doing the international duties in the Cambodian Northeast battlefield. On having finished its missions, the Brigade returned to the task of training and combat readiness in the location of Military Region No. 5.

Over 50 years of building, combatting and growth, and on doing many different missions with higher requirements and changing organisation, etc., the Brigade has heightened its unity of will and actions; combatted bravely, ingeniously and creatively, bringing into play the attacking strength, covering fire in order to win; been self-relient and self-improved to overcome difficulties, been industrious and economic in building the unit, successfully accomplished the assigned missions. With these achievements, the Brigade and one group and one individual were awarded the title of Hero of the People’s Armed Forces; many groups and individuals were awarded noble awards.

Commandant of Military Region 5 checks the brigade

From the reality of building, combatting and growth, the Brigade’s Party Committee and Command have learnt from experience and considered the policies and solutions to bring into play its heroic traditions in building the comprehensively strong and “exemplary and typical” unit and successfully accomplished all missions in the next time.

Firstly, focus on building offices, units which are strong in politics, thought and organisation, making the basis to improve the Brigade’s general quality and combat strength. Offices and units need to closely follow the mission requirements, actively reform and improve the quality of the education on politics and though; enhance the education for all cadres and soldiers to clearly aware of advantages and disadvantages for the units in their doing the missions and their combat readiness; build the “steel will and spirit”, not flinching from difficulties and challenges; strengthen the belief in the weapons, technical equipment, operation art and combatting methods of Tank and Armoured soldiers. It needs to actively grasp, orient and timely solve soldiers’ problems, avoid the sudden changes in their thought, improve the leading skills and combat capability for all-level party committees, party cells, cadres and all party members, especially the grass-root executive committees, companies’ party cells; connect the construction of party cells perfectly accomplishing their missions to the one of comprehensively strong and “exemplary and typical” units; build the executive committees with all-level key cadres; often build, check, complete and seriousy implement the working regulations and the leadership regulations for executive committees, especially on the main working factors. It is necessary to seriously keep the principles of democratic concentration, the unit leading, individuals being in charge; strengthen the disciplines and regulations connected to widening and bringing into play the democracy in the party activities; firmly prevent all occurrences of bureaucracy and arbitrary, maintain the effectiveness of all the emulation movements, completely overcome weaknesses, new tasks and difficult work; improve the learning and following Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality and style connected to the implementation of the Conclusion No. 21-KL/TW, dated 25/10/2021 by the Party Central Committee on “enhancing the construction and reorganisation of the Party and the political system; firmly prevent, drive back and strictly punish cadres, party members having degraded their political thought, morality, lifestyle, having had the expression of “self-evolution”, “self-transformation”; continuously build up the revolutional quality and morality, making the strong changes in the awareness, consciousness and responsibility for cadres, party members and people in doing their tasks; improve the quality and action way of public organisations and military councils in all units, bring into play the democracy and collective intelligence, mobilise the general strength in order to successfully accomplish all assigned missions.

Secondly, frequently strengthen the organisation and staff, improve the quality of training and combat readiness. On the basis of thoroughly grasping and seriously implementing all decisions by the seniors on the organisation, especially the Decision No. 703/QĐ-TM, dated 08/5/2019 by the General Staff on issuing the schedule of organisation and staff of a Tank and Armoured brigade, the Brigade has actively adjusted its organisation, arranged the troops towards the “elite, compact, strong” way, which is suitable with functions and missions of each office and unit, especially the units doing the missions of training and combat readiness, in which, making focus on the specialised officers in different sections, assuring the structure, quantity, quality, knowledge, capability, good working style for the mission requirements.

Well grasping and implementing the specific contents on training according to the resolutions of all-level executive committees, the Brigade has focused on reforming and improving the quality of 4 main contents including the awareness of training missions; the mechanism of directing and managing trainings; the training contents, organisation and methods; the training supports. On that, offices and units need to strictly follow the “basic, practical, and solid” motto in all stages of the training process; treasure the synchronous and professional training for specific participants, considering practice as the core; focus on training and improving knowledge, capability of administrative leadership, training management for all-level cadres; organise the further trainings on practical contents for cadres due to their ranks; train soldiers to skilfully handle the available weapons, equipment and vehicles, clearly understand the combatting theories and principles applied for Tank and Armoured soldiers, the tactics of one-vehicle level to battalion one with more focus on the platoon and company levels.

It also needs to improve the night trainings on every lesson for each training participant; organise the training on the basic programs connected to the training for missions, especially the lessons on firing or driving, enhance the training on firing while stopping or moving; skillfully use the weapons equipped on the vehicles; be proficient in operations in the combat formation of combined forces. It is necessary to closely coordinate between the military training and political education, logistic and technical training; the technical training and tatics, regulations and physical health; improve the quality of mobile training, training on situations, at the same time, build, check and timely complete the documents, regulations, programs, plans and training schedules; enhance the evaluation of the training, making it practical and close to the plans; well implement the cooperation with the areas in organising the reserved soldiers according to the rules, making it sufficient figures and quality; training correctly and enough contents due to the set time. Thanks to that, annually, the Brigade can make sure the good results and absolute safety. Together, offices and units have frequently checked and completed their morale, documents on combat readiness and operationa plans; practiced the combatting methods and improved the ability of dealing with situations for cadres and soldiers.

Thirdly, grasp and seriously implement the regularity building, making the firm changes in discipline practice and safety ensurance. This is the important solution to create a good environment and enhance the management of soldiers, which has the decisive meaning to the mission accomplishment of the unit. The Brigade’s Party committee and command need to renovate the working methods and manners for all-level cadres; especially the leading ones who take responsibility and example in implementing the assigned missions; heightened the spirit of daring to think and work and daring to take responsibility for all activities of the units; being exemplary on words and actions. Offices and units strictly keep the regulations on learning and working; enhance the leaders’ inspection on the implementation of regularity, disciplines and regulations on safety in all activities. Each office and unit, based on their real conditions, have plans and solutions for managing soldiers at weekends, day-off or working outside the barrack, etc. actively preventing the danger of discipline and safety violations; timely learn from experience to create throughbreaking solutions on improving the effectiveness of buiding regularity, discipline management, correcting the weaknesses, the expression of simplification and formalism in implementing the regulations.

Fourthly, well implement the logistics and techniques support for missions. Being aware of the importance of these supports, in the past few years, the Brigade has attentively implemented the Campaign of “managing and exploiting weapons, technical equipment effectively, sustainably, safely, economically, and ensuring traffic safety”, focused on building the regularity in supporting techniques, especially the regulations of storing, maintenance, register and statistics, making sure 100% weapons, equipment and technical means have been ready for training, combat readiness and other sudden missions when having oders. Additionally, offices and units have enhanced the emulation movement on “The military logistics following Uncle Ho’s sayings” with detailed contents and figures which have been practical and close to each type of offices and units aiming to improve the quality, effectiveness of the logistics and finance support for missions especially the ones on training and combat readiness; built the regulations and rules on strictly managing the finance and materials; completely practiced thrift and prevented the wastes, at the same time, invested into the construction of the “regular, green, clean and beautiful” barracks; enhanced the production and the improvement of soldiers’ material and spiritual life.

Bringing into play the tradition of “solidarity, faithfulness, self-reliance, and surely winning once deployed”, cadres and soldiers of the Tank-Armour Brigade 574 will continue to overcome all difficulties, be determined to build a comprehensively strong and “exemplary and typical” unit successfully accomplishing all assigned missions.

Senior Colonel NGUYEN THANH DUNG, The Brigade Political Commissar