Tank Brigade 215  of the Tank and Armour Corps – whose predecessor was Tank Regiment 215 – was established in the final phase of the anti-US war for national salvation to meet the demands for strengthening the soldiers’ combat power in the Southern battlefield. Hence, right after its establishment, the Brigade has quickly stabilised its organisation and staff; received tanks and essential weapons; conducted training and practice, researched the combined fighting tactics, and urgently moved and combatted in the Southeastern battlefield, Ho Chi Minh Campaign and Cambodian battlefield. Whether fighting in the Southern battlefield or doing the international tasks, all cadres and soldiers of the Brigade have been frequently united to overcome difficulties and hardships; fought resiliently, ingeniously and bravely; confirmed and improved the attacking power of tanks and won many resounding victories, making contribution to building the tradition of “surely winning, once deployed” of the tank and armour forces.

Leader of the brigade speaks at the review of regularity building in 2023

Having successfully accomplished their tasks not only in the cause of struggling for the national revolution, country unity and the international tasks, but also in the period of building and safeguarding the Fatherland, especially in recent years, with many difficulties regarding training grounds, nonsynchronous facilities, vehicles, etc., the Brigade Party Committee and Command have attentively led and directed the comprehensive implementation of tasks; of which the tasks of regularity building and discipline management have gained important results. More noticeably, the regulation training, and education of law and discipline have been focused; the awareness and responsibility of cadres and soldiers towards the tasks have been improved; the barracks and environment have been regularly kept green, clean and beautiful; the regular discipline has been strictly and effectively maintained; the management of ideology and discipline has been renovated, creating drastic and equal changes in both offices and units, making important contribution to building the comprehensively strong, “exemplary, typical” Brigade which well accomplishes all assigned tasks.

With its outstanding achievements in combat, building and development, the Brigade has been honourably awarded many noble awards by the State, Army, the Corps and local governments, deserving to be the leading-flag unit in the Determined-to-win Emulation Movement of the Corps. The above results were attributed to the fact that the Brigade Party Committee and Command have synchronously and drastically implemented solutions on all fields, of which the ones for improving the quality of regularity building and discipline management have been creatively reformed, becoming the precious experience for the Brigade.

Firstly, strengthening the leadership and management of all-level party committees and commands in regularity building and discipline management. The Brigade’s Party Committee and Command have concluded that if there are still any serious discipline violations and unsafety, the excellent training, high combat readiness and good accomplishment of all assigned tasks will not comprehensively meet the defined targets. Keeping this in mind, annually, together with building the regular resolutions, the Brigade Party Committee issues the specific resolutions on leading the task of building the all-strong, “exemplary, typical” unit; paying more attention to the regularity building, discipline management and directing offices and units to make and implement resolutions effectively and suitably with features, tasks, managing subjects and stationed areas; on this basis, giving focus on grasping, concretising and building plans to conduct the standards, especially the one of “regularity building and discipline management” in the Direction No. 79/CT-BQP, dated 22 July 2022 by the Defence Minister on building the all-strong, “exemplary, typical” units, and contents, standards in directions and instructions by the Corps. To improve the effectiveness in the leadership and management of this task, the Brigade has combined the training, improving the comprehensively leading competence for all-level party committees and commands, and mobilising 100% party cells to register and commit to successfully accomplish the task of regularity building and discipline management; brought into play the pioneering and exemplary roles of cadres and party members combined with reforming the working methods, manners and styles according to Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality and style. In its leadership and direction, the Brigade has focused on the inspection and supervision of emulation criteria, partial and total reviews, taking the regularity building and discipline management as an important factor to evaluate the annual building of all-strong units and the task completion by the party committees and commands, the all-level presiding cadres in particular.

Leader of the brigade congratulates tank crews participating in a contest

Secondly, attentively propagandising and educating to improve the awareness and responsibility for cadres and soldiers towards this important task. To create the unity of awareness and actions in regularity building and discipline management, the Brigade has directed offices and units to well conduct the propaganda and education of law and discipline, making soldiers understand the tasks and area features, and the need to enhance the regularity building and discipline management in completing the political tasks of each office and unit. As the training and combat readiness tasks of tank and armour soldiers include intense activities over complex terrains, etc. in the conditions of limited support and outdated vehicles, the brigade has directed its units to attentively educate soldiers raise the awareness to overcome difficulties and become united, combined, disciplinary, responsible and determined to well accomplish all tasks; actively reformed the contents and programmes, diversified the education forms and solutions; combined the education of annually basic programmes with the ones of law, and held talks, exchanges, theatrical activities, etc. at all levels. Therefore, in recent years, the Brigade has always completed 100% programmes and plans of law education and dissemination for all participants; the results of political and law examinations have been 100% of passing, 80% of which have been rated good and excellent; all cadres and soldiers have felt secure, stable, responsible and connected to build the units, maintain the internal solidarity, and successfully accomplish all assigned tasks.

Thirdly, focusing on the quality improvement of regulation training and regularity building. Being a unit which has been selected by the Corps to “build the exemplary unit of line-up regulation training, regularity building and discipline management”, the Brigade has considered it both the honour and responsibility that require high political determination and great effort. To make this happen, the Brigade has paid attention to directing its offices and units to fully prepare the staff, training grounds, materials, lessons plans and teaching aids; attentively given training and refresher courses on skills and methods of line-up regulation training for cadres who are directly doing the training; proactively built the training plans, contents and programmes, reformed the methods and improved the quality of line-up regulation training (individuals’ with and without guns, units from sections to battalions, and motorised vehicle formations), regulations on soldier management, stationing and watching, especially the documents and directions on regularity building and discipline management. In the implementation, the Brigade has highly appreciated the basic training combined with competitions, contests and assessments to improve the application of regulations into learning, working and task execution. To improve the regularity building, the Brigade has combined the training of regulations with building the role models and “exemplary” units such as “exemplary and typical crews”, “modeling clubs”; strictly and effectively maintained the rules of learning, working and activities on the daily and weekly basis, combat readiness, room arrangement, weapons, equipment, materials, etc.; actively built the “bright, green, clean and scenic” barracks, and made the systems of wires, shelves, notice boards, etc. synchronous and regular according to the Instruction No. 4610/HD-TM, dated 29 October 2021 by the Corps’ Staff Department. The Brigade has enhanced the regular and sudden emulation in regulation training and regularity building; made partial and total summaries, drawn experience and repaired weaknesses and shortcomings; timely commended and rewarded individuals and collectives, creating motivations for the development of the units. Accordingly, 100% cadres and soldiers have fully understood and rightly followed the regulations on combat readiness, soldiers’ behaviours and manners, greetings, watching, military patrol and rituals; the quality, orders and standards of regulations have been clearly changed and improved, which has been recognised and learnt by units within the Corps, deserving to be the “exemplary” unit of regulation training and regularity building.

Fourthly, promoting methods of managing disciplines and building safe units. Clearly understanding that “Discipline makes the Military’s strength”, the Brigade has promoted solutions for improving the quality of soldiers’ ideological management and discipline compliance, keeping the stable units. Of which, the Brigade has directed offices and units to make synchronous solutions, firmly hold soldiers’ psychology; combined the prevention with strict and public punishment of any violations according to Circular No. 16/2020/TT-BQP, dated 21 February 2020 by the Defence Minister on Regulations of applying forms of punishment, etc. within the Defence Ministry. The Brigade has steadily held the soldiers’ relationships, security features of the areas; coordinated with the local party committees and governments, especially the police in the locality to make solutions for managing soldiers; enhanced the building of a healthy military cultural environment, combined raising the responsibility of cadres and commanders at all levels with bringing into play the roles of organisations, individuals (including the legal consultant teams, comrade clubs, public relations soldiers, etc.) in managing soldiers; regularly informed and timely drawn experience from the violations and unsafety in the whole army in order to orient the soldiers’ opinion and ideology; asked soldiers to write commitment to comply with the law, discipline, keep safe when joining traffic, taking leave or going out; periodically check the vehicles of units and individuals, etc. Therefore, in recent years, the discipline has been firmly maintained with the rate of violations being under 0.05%.

Together, the Brigade has directed offices and units to seriously grasp and follow the safety rules and precautions in training, combat readiness, learning, working and doing other tasks combined with implementing the Campaign 50 “For the efficient, durable, safe and cost-effective management and utilisation of weapons and technical equipment and traffic safety”, making contribution to building the comprehensively strong, “exemplary, typical” Brigade which could successfully accomplish all assigned tasks and deserve the tradition of “surely winning, once deployed” of the Tank and Armour Soldiers.

Colonel TRAN HOAI LINH, Vice Commander and Chief of Staff of the Brigade