Grasping resolutions, directives, and guidance on training and combat readiness, particularly Resolution 1659-NQ/QUTW, dated 20 December 2022, by the Central Military Commission, and Resolution 19-NQ/ĐU, dated 16 March 2023, by Military Region 1’s Party Committee, on “raising the quality of training in the period of 2023 - 2030 and beyond”, over the years, Division 346 (Military Region 1) has adopted synchronised measures to improve the quality of training and combat readiness, considering this as a breakthrough and foundation for raising its synergy and combat power.

The Division’s Command inspects preparatory work for the training season of 2025

First of all, the Division has enhanced all-level party committees and commands’ leadership and direction over training and combat readiness. Adhering to training viewpoints, goals, and requirements in the period of 2023 - 2030 and beyond set by Military Region 1’s Party Committee, the Division Party Committee has issued a specialised resolution on training work, with specific goals and targets for each group of troops, each year, and each period as well as measures of all-round leadership and direction, and a focus on completely overcoming weaknesses in this work. Based on that Resolution, offices and units of the Division have also formulated their own specialised resolutions and yearly training plans/programs to achieve uniformity across the Division. In the process, the Division has required its offices and units, particularly all-level party committees and commands to comply with the motto of being “focalised, uniform, synchronised, effective, without any overlaps” in training management, direction, and operation. It has stepped up decentralisation of training work and clearly delegated tasks to each office and party committee member to avoid overlaps or evasion of responsibilities. Besides, it has renewed content, forms, and methods of testing and assessment in training work, opportunely detecting and rectifying drawbacks, taking the results of training and combat readiness as the basis for evaluating the capacity and task performance of party committees and commands of its offices and units.

Furthermore, the Division has focused on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of party and political work, enhancing propagation and education relating to training and combat readiness tasks, closely combining direct, visual education with propagation via web portals and social networks (Zalo, Facebook). As a result, party committees, commands, cadres, and soldiers across the Division have really considered training and combat readiness as a routine, central political mission in peacetime.

To raise the quality of training and achieve an all-round, solid change in training work in accordance with its particularities, the Division has required its offices and units to actively make sufficient preparations in both personnel and training facilities. While reviewing, adjusting, and consolidating its units’ organisational structure, providing sufficient troops and weapons for full-strength units tasked with training and combat readiness, the Division has proactively closely cooperated with localities in assigning targets of call-up work and deploying cadres for reviews and re-inspections under the motto of “coming to every house, checking every address, keeping careful records, giving timely encouragements” to grasp the quantity and quality of target individuals as the basis for organising its units and facilitating training steps. Fully aware that cadres, particularly those at platoon and company levels, act as the deciding factor in raising the quality of training, the Division has proactively selected and classified its cadres, holding refresher courses for those cadres according to the training of newly-conscripted soldiers, first-year soldiers, second-year soldiers, and reservists. Importance has been attached to providing new information about tasks, armaments, combat art, forms and methods of training and exercises at all levels, and methods and skills of grasping and settling ideological issues, especially among newly-conscripted soldiers and reservists. At the same time, the Division has strictly maintained regulations on approval of lesson plans and organised teaching rehearsals and cadre training in the field in order to improve all-level cadres’ pedagogical skills and experience. Thanks to those efforts, all cadres of the Division have been able to be in charge of training work at their level; 80% of battalion-level cadres and 75% of company-level, platoon-level cadres have been rated good or excellent in training work; all squad and battery commanders have mastered methods of operating training work.

Commander of the Division inspects the results of live-fire test for new soldiers

In parallel with personnel planning, the Division has directed its offices and units to proactively sufficiently prepare training facilities and materials under regulations; it has mobilised resources and thousands of working days to construct and upgrade training models and grounds. Notably, it has seriously maintained contests on preparatory work for training at all levels, enhancing the movement on technical initiatives and innovations, applying information technology to designing lesson plans, materials, and models for training. Since 2023, 159 initiatives have been put into practice; many of them have achieved awards at Military Region and Ministry of National Defence levels; typical examples include multi-functional mobile shooting platform, smoke-generating device, multi-functional decoy, and equipment for controlling targets during live fire and tactical training powered by solar energy and remotely operated via mobile phones.

In the training process, the Division has adhered to the motto of “basics, practicality, solidity”, organising comprehensive but focalised training courses, taking infantryman training as the centre, combat training on the ground as the core, and cadre training as the key, focusing on improving troops’ tactics, skills, creativity, assertiveness, and rapid, resolute, effective response to situations. It has concentrated on training cadres and office commands to improve their capacity to give advice on operations and training, their methods of holding and operating all-level exercises, and their command of foreign languages and information technology. In the training of detachment-level units, emphasis has been placed on raising their manoeuvrability and rapid deployment in any circumstances, their independent and joint operations, and their mastery of the existing and reinforced weapons and equipment; due attention has been paid to increasing night-time, camouflage, diversionary, and field training and combining situations-based training with physical training to ensure troops’ fitness and resilience. Reservists have been trained to master infantry and specialised tactics and skills in combat coordination. Great weight has been added to training cadres of frame B to be capable of training programs under regulations and engaging detachment-level units in all-level exercises. To achieve effectiveness in the process, the Division has directed its offices and units to stringently maintain all-level training contests and regularly renew content and methods of training relevant to each group of troops. Offices and units have been required to actively apply information technology in designing electronic lectures and videos, flexibly employ situations-based training methods, and closely combine theoretical training with visual introduction based on training models. The Division has increased exercises, such as general exercises, mobilisation exercises, and field exercises, and participated in defensive zone exercises, thereby bringing its cadres and soldiers closer to combat realities, improving its troops’ command capacity, coordination, and courage, raising its own synergy. Since 2019, 8 collectives of the Division have been recognised as Good Training Unit by the Ministry of National Defence and Military Region 1; 10 collectives have been given the title of Good Training Unit at divisional level.

With resolve to undertake all assigned tasks and avoid falling into passivity in all situations, the Division has taken synchronised measures to improve its combat readiness capacity. It has regularly conducted education work to increase its troops’ vigilance. It has strictly maintained regulations on combat readiness, organising duty forces and teams at all levels, ensuring sufficient personnel, weaponry, and logistics and technical materials. It has frequently inspected, supplemented, and completed combat documents and plans for natural disaster mitigation and search and rescue in accordance with situational developments and the Military Region’s combat intent; on a weekly and monthly basis, it has practised combat readiness, natural disaster response, and search and rescue projects. Besides, offices and units have cooperated with local party committees, authorities, and armed forces in grasping political security and social order and safety as well as closely managing reservists and technical means for mobilisation in the event.

A part from those above-mentioned measures, the Division has regularly ensured sufficient, timely logistics and technical materials for all tasks, particularly for training and combat readiness. It has closely combined training and combat readiness with regularity building and discipline management, frequently inspecting the practice of obeying regulations, opportunely rectifying drawbacks, resolutely fighting all signs of loosened management, aligning regularity building and discipline management with the building of cultural environment and “regular, bright, green, clean, beautiful” barracks to encourage its troops to keep their mind in their work. Thanks to those efforts, the Division’s training and combat readiness quality has unceasingly improved; the Division has always excellently accomplished its combat readiness and contingency missions. It has successfully fulfilled the task of natural disaster prevention and control, which has been highly appreciated by the Ministry of National Defence, Military Region 1, and localities.

Bringing into play its recorded experiences and results, Division 346 will continue adopting synchronised measures to raise the quality of training and combat readiness, successfully accomplish all assigned missions, and bolster its tradition of “unity, self-reliance, resilience, determination to win”.

Sr. Col. NGUYEN VAN HOA

Commander of the Division