Training and combat readiness, the most important content that determines the overall quality and combat power, is one of the two breakthroughs that have been determined by the 16^th Congress of the 2020-2025 term Brigade Party Committee. The content has been communicated and implemented seriously and effectively.

Thoroughly grasping and implementing the superiors’ resolutions and directives on training and combat readiness, particularly Resolution No.765-NQ/QUTW issued on December 20^th, 2012 by the Central Military Commission and Resolution No.438-NQ/ĐU issued on January 6^th, 2013 by the Tank and Armored Corps Party Committee on "Improving the quality of training in the 2013 - 2020 period and beyond", in recent years, the Brigade Party Committee and commanders have focused on leading and directing the comprehensive renovation of training contents, programs, and methods and flexibly and creatively applied the ideas, mottos, principles, and combinations in training to achieve multiple outstanding results.

In the coming time, the Brigade's tasks will continue developing due to complicated developments of natural disasters, storms, floods, and Covid-19 pandemic, difficulties in training assurance, especially training fields exercise, degraded infrastructure and technical equipment, etc. To improve the training quality and combat readiness qualifications and level, the Brigade Party Committee and commanders implements synchronous solutions, especially the following basic contents:

1. To continue educating to raise the cadres and soldiers’ awareness and sense of responsibility for the training task. Agencies and units comprehensively renovate educational contents and methods and communicate the significance and importance of training and combat readiness and the need to renovate and improve the training quality - an objective requirement in protecting the Father in the new era, to the cadres and soldiers. Attention is paid to educating the soldiers to firmly grasp the superiors’ resolutions and directives on training and combat readiness, particularly the goals and requirements to be achieved and directions, mottos, and tasks of training and drills that have been identified by the Ministry of National Defence and the Corps High Command for 2021: "Improving the quality and effectiveness of national, regional, and international drills, competitions, and contests" to raise the sense of responsibility and determinations to overcome difficulties and strive to fulfill assigned tasks. At the same time, the Brigade Party Committee’s leadership resolution in 2021 is concretised into monthly political and ideological education and training plans, contents, and programs, to suit the objects, and tasks, and local characteristics in association with enhancing measures to improve the quality of implementation of the Scheme entitled "Renovating political education at the unit in the new period". Besides, political education to build stuff, motivation, and sense of responsibility is combined with ideological management and orientation to raise the soldiers’ sense of observance of the Amy's disciplines and the State's laws. The Brigade also well organises emulation movements in training in association with implementing Directive No.05-CT/TW of the Politburo (the 12^th Tenure) on promoting learning and following Ho Chi Minh thoughts, ethics, and style and enhance the mass mobilisation work to regularly strengthen the military-civilian solidarity in the garrisoning and training areas and create a favourable environment to fulfill the training and combat readiness task.

Brigade's troops on training field

2. To focus on adequate, thoughtful, and full preparation in all aspects for training and combat readiness and attach importance to improving the quality of the contingent of cadres. To fulfill the training and drill tasks, the Brigade directs the subordinate agencies and units to prepare lesson plans, teaching tools, materials, training fields and grounds and attach importance to promoting the intelligence of cadres and soldiers in researching initiatives and improving the learning tools and models, and training materials not only to reduce costs and effort of the soldiers but also improve the quality of training. Localities are actively coordinated with in revoking and validating legal procedures for defence land to build training and drill fields. So far, the Brigade has basically assured sufficient training fields and grounds for staff members as prescribed the Regulations on armoured and tank technical work.

For manpower preparation, as the Brigade determines that the contingent of cadres at all levels is the key factor to decide the training quality and combat readiness qualifications and level of the unit, it promotes the modeling role and spirit of self-study, self-research, and self-training of the cadres. It closely combines training and retraining for cadres in annual training sessions with fostering through briefings, consultation, and daily and weekly inspections, particularly direct trainers and newly-graduated and young cadres. Attention is also paid to maintaining the lesson plan field approval regime to detect limitations for timely supplementing knowledge and fostering training methods.

3. To actively renovate and improve the training and drill quality, particularly improving the quality and effectiveness of the contests, inspection, evaluation, and experience drawing. The Brigade Party Committee and commanders focus on directing agencies and units to vigorously renovate training contents and methods under the motto of substantial training, learning, and examination and evaluation and organise training of soldiers to be proficient in specialised techniques of tank and armoured vehicles and good at tactics of synergistic combat with infantry and related forces. They also focus on training of weak and insufficient contents and new contents required by practice, such as disaster response, search and rescue, pandemic prevention and control; attach importance to training to improve defensive combat capabilities, force maneuvre, prevention of enemies’ attacks with hi-tech weapons and cyber warfare in combination with combat against early-stage overthrowing riots and training to enhance the use of communication, electronic, and specialised equipment on tanks and armoured vehicles; and organise training of contents for  "Excellent Tank Team" Contest and the International Army Games. At the same time, to strongly renovate the work of competitions, examination, and evaluation of training results and closely combine regular and irregular inspection to honestly, objectively, and transparently evaluate the training results and draw experience to seriously and promptly point out limitations and shortcomings for further improvement of the quality of training and combat readiness in the next stage.

4. To assure adequate and timely technical and logistical work for training and combat readiness. These are two regular and important aspects for the Brigade to fulfill all assigned tasks. Regarding technical assurance in training, subordinate agencies and units closely combine the development of technical assurance documents and plans with improvement of the quality of post-training storage, maintenance, and repair of weapons and equipment with the technical coefficient kt ≥ 0.85. Regarding combat readiness, the subordinate agencies and units assure adequate and timely the quantity, types, and quality of tanks and armoured vehicles to strive for the technical coefficient of combat readiness vehicles = 1. Specifically, priority is given to joint drills, overthrowing riot and terrorism prevention, search and rescue, ... under the motto of synchronisation in commanding, division, technique, and camouflage and diversion work.

Along with technical work, subordinate agencies and units well assure logistic reserves for regular and irregular tasks, especially training and combat readiness and develop plans and supply fuel and transportation, etc. They strengthen the care and management of the soldiers’ health to ensure over 98% of the soldiers participating in training and working and promote farming and husbandry activities under the emulation movement entitled "The Military Logistics follows Uncle Ho's teachings" to contribute to improving the soldiers’ life and ensuring that the unit always has overall quality and high combat qualifications to receive and fulfill all assigned tasks and be worthy of the unit’s tradition of "The Hero of the People's Armed Forces" in the Doi Moi era.

Senior Colonel NGUYEN VAN HUONG, Brigade Commander