Training is a task of utmost importance and acts as a determinant to improving the combat power for the Homeland defence. Comprehending the significance of the training work, the Military Region 1’s Party Committee and Command have continued to grasp and execute the Resolution 765-NQ/QUTW, dated December 20th, 2012 by the Central Military Commission via synchronous, creative measures for raising the quality of training to meet the task requirements in the new situation.
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| Maj. Gen. Nguyen Hong Thai encouraging cadres and soldiers of the Division 3 in a military exercise |
Located in the strategic area of Northern and Northeastern Vietnam, the Military Region 1 holds a position of importance to the country’s general defensive posture. Hence, to meet the new requirements set by the Homeland protection and the defence of its area, the Military Region has decided that “training must be a central routine political task and a prerequisite for the fulfilment of all missions.” The Military Region 1’s Party Committee and Command have grasped the Resolution 765 and issued their own Resolution 703-NQ/ĐU on “improving the quality of training in the period of 2013-2020 and beyond,” while directing affiliated party organisations to release specialised resolutions at their level on leadership over the training work. On a yearly basis, grounded on the Directive on the defence-military work by the Chief of the General Staff, commanders of offices and units within the Military Region 1 issue training directives, commands, and plans in accordance with the practical situation. After 6 years of implementation of the Resolution 765, the synergy and combat readiness quality of the Military Region 1’s armed forces have been considerable improved. It is worth noting that cadres and soldiers within the Military Region 1 have clearly understood the importance of training in the new situation and grasped the training viewpoints, goals, motto, and requirements. The mechanism for training management, operation, programme, and method and the work of logistics support for training have been frequently renewed. The Military Region 1 has organised full-time training courses for new graduate officers and cadres before deploying them to its units. As a result, 100% of the Military Region 1’s detachment-level cadres have been capable of providing training for their troops; 74.5% of its battalion-level cadres have been rated highly in the training work; many of its units have been given the title of “good training unit” at the Military Region and Ministerial levels; all of its exercises have ended with good results and absolute safety.
However, in the training process, the Military Region 1 has just focused on improving its cadres’ command method and style. It has not attached great value to enhancing its cadres’ knowledge of military art yet, while the training of its detachment-level units has yet to be relevant to modern warfare. Moreover, the “achievement disease” has still occurred in some units.
In the upcoming time, the Military Region 1’s armed forces will continue to be made “compact and strong.” There will be new developments in the task of defending the Homeland and the areas. The hostile forces will accelerate their sabotage scheme with various cunning artifices, particularly against the all-level party congresses. To meet the task requirements, party committees and commands of offices and units across the Military Region 1 should adopt measures drastically and comprehensively, while actively renewing and improving their training work to achieve a breakthrough in the synergy and combat power, with emphasis placed on the following.
First, enhancing the all-level party committees and commands’ leadership and direction over the training work. This is a principle and a measure of crucial importance to the Military Region 1’s quality of training in the upcoming time. Party committees and commands of offices and units should continue to thoroughly grasp the Party’s defence-military guidelines, particularly the Central Military Commission’s Conclusion 60-KL/TW, dated January 18th, 2019 on executing the Resolution 765. Grounded on the Resolution 703, offices and units should adjust and supplement the training targets and requirements as well as the measures for leadership over the training task relevant to the particularities and specific tasks of each group of units in a flexible, creative manner. Besides, the Military Region 1 will ask its affiliates to overcome their weaknesses in the training work and focus on improving the training quality of units stationed in the key areas of defence and security and the border areas. Units within the Military Region 1 will be required to combine military and physical training with political and ideological education, build up their troops’ faith in weapons, technical equipment, and combat method, and resolutely deal with the scare over hardships and the “achievement disease” in the training process.
To that end, the Military Region 1’s Party Committee and Command will direct its affiliates to consolidate their party committees and commands both qualitatively and quantitatively at all levels and at the same time improve their capacity to lead and direct the training task at both operational and tactical levels. Party committees and commands of offices and units should frequently review and supplement their work regulations to facilitate the task performance and integrate the goals and targets of the Determination to Win Emulation Movement and the campaigns, particularly on studying and emulating Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, ethics, and lifestyle into the training task.
Second, continuing to renew the content, programme, organisation, and method of training and exercises to meet the task requirements. This is a measure of central importance and serves as a breakthrough to raise the quality of training each group of troops. In the training process, the Military Region 1 will direct its offices and units to adhere to the motto of “basics, practicality, and thorough grasp” for the main force, “basics, practicality, and quality” for the militia and self-defence force, and “practicality and effectiveness” for the reserve force as well as the direction from the General Staff and the Military Region 1’s Command in order to develop and standardise the training programme. To fulfil the goal of being expert in independent combat and keeping raising the capability in joint operations and combat within defensive zones, the Military Region 1 will attach significance to making the training work synchronous, intensive, and relevant to the combat situations and projects, organisational structure, and operating areas. At the operational level, while improving cadres’ theories of types of operations, the Military Region 1 will attach greater importance to organising assumed exercises in its areas and enhancing its cadres’ capacity to apply theories of military art to combat reality. In tactical training, the Military Region 1 will increase practical, night-time, field, and manoeuvre training to meet the requirements set by modern, hi-tech warfare. It will train its troops to master new weapons and technical equipment, while closely combining military and physical training with political, legal education and discipline management. Besides, it will align specialised training with practice of projects on natural disaster control and combat and search and rescue so as to comprehensively improve the Military Region 1’s strength. The Military Region 1 advocates that all new soldiers must be equipped with comprehensive and basic military skills. Hence, 2020 will be set as a year of breakthrough in improving the quality of training these soldiers in infantry units. Doing so will enable them to acquire comprehensive and specialised military skills to meet the high requirements set by their units’ combat readiness task and help ensure the quality of the reserve force in localities after they are discharged from the Military.
On a yearly basis, the Military Region 1 will closely hold refresher courses for commanding cadres of its platoons, brigades, divisions, and offices and those in charge of training new soldiers and the militia and self-defence force as a determinant to the improved quality of training. At the same time, it will closely organise and enhance the all-level military competitions, while bringing into play cadres’ responsibility to the utmost and frequently improve their training skills.
Third, proactively, actively renewing the mechanisms for training management, direction, and logistics support in a focalised, synchronous, and effective fashion. To do so, the Military Region 1 will improve the training management and operation capacity of commanding officers and politico-training and operational training offices at all levels, particularly officers of the Military Region 1’s offices, divisions, brigades, and provincial military commands. It will continue to decentralise the management of training, clearly allocate responsibility of the all-level commands and offices, and maintain close coordination between offices and units in the training management and operation. Offices and units at all levels will have to formulate sufficient documents, such as training commands, directives, plans, guidance, and timetables in a synchronous, uniformed manner. In addition, the Military Region 1 will actively renew the method of examinations and re-examinations. Due attention will be paid to intensifying unexpected inspections in order to correctly assess the results of training and completely settle the “achievement disease” and dishonest reports.
With reference to the work of logistics support for training, in fact, budgets for this work has yet to really meet the requirements, there is a lack of training grounds and shooting ranges, and many of the training grounds have yet to reach the standards. Hence, in 2020, the Military Region 1 will be determined to renew and make the mechanism of logistics support for training uniformed and effective and bring into play the self-reliance and creativity of its offices and units in consolidating their training grounds and materials. More specifically, the training budgets, materials, and equipment will be allocated and used effectively under the regulations. Units and offices will closely cooperate with localities in mobilising resources for the training work. The Military Region 1 will cooperate with the TB1 Shooting Range in organising live-fire exercises for its specialised units, accelerate the construction of standard training grounds, with a focus on battalion-level ones, and actively promote initiatives and renovations of training materials and equipment. Moreover, the Military Region 1 will ensure its troops’ mental and material life and use its weapons and technical equipment “effectively, sustainably, safely and economically” to meet the requirements set by the training work.
Adhering to the viewpoints and directions by the Central Military Commission on raising the quality of training, the Military Region 1 will continue to flexibly adopt measures for achieving a stable, comprehensive positive change in its training task so as to improve its strength and defend its areas in all situations.
Maj. Gen. Nguyen Hong Thai, Commander of the Military Region 1