Fully aware of the importance of building itself into an “exemplarily, typically” comprehensively strong unit, Infantry Division 9 has been synchronously, comprehensively taking various measures to effectively carry out this crucial task, thereby continuously improving its overall quality and combat strength.

Infantry Division 9 is a main-force unit of Army Corps 34, tasked with training, combat readiness, taking part in disaster prevention and control and search and rescue, and standing ready to undertake other missions.

Army Corps 34 Command during a working visit to the Division

When performing its tasks, besides fundamental advantages such as its well-established regular order, strong sense of discipline, and unity, the Division has encountered numerous difficulties due to the dispersion of its affiliates. Under the policy of building an “adept, compact, strong” Vietnam People’s Army (VPA), the Division was reassigned to Army Corps 34, while difficulties faced by the families of officers and soldiers have also had certain impacts on troop morale. In response to this situation and the new requirements of VPA building, the Division has adopted numerous measures, with a focus on building “exemplarily, typically” comprehensively strong agencies and units, and has continued to achieve positive results.

Thoroughly grasping Directive 79/CT-BQP, dated 22 July 2022, by the Minister of National Defence, on building “exemplarily, typically” comprehensively strong units across the VPA, the Division has placed primary emphasis on building politically strong units as a fundamental and core task. Accordingly, it has intensified political and ideological education through various creative forms, methods, and approaches, ensuring comprehensive education with clear focuses and priorities at grass-roots level. It has implemented measures synchronously to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of party and political work in activities, particularly in training, combat readiness, regularity building, discipline management, and safety assurance, vigorously promoting grass-roots democracy regulations and considering them a key to resolving all difficulties within itself, creating an atmosphere of democracy, trust, and unity between soldiers and commanders at all levels. Party committees and commands at all levels have effectively adopted measures for resolving ideological issues according to the motto of staying close to troops, understanding troops, and trusting troops, thereby proactively grasping, managing, and promptly solving ideological issues at their root without allowing negative thoughts to arise. The Division has stepped up the study and following of Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, morality, and lifestyle, the Campaign entitled “promoting tradition, devoting talent, deserving to be Uncle Ho’s Soldiers in the new era”, and the Determined to Win Emulation Movement. Through these efforts, officers and soldiers have developed political steadfastness, overcome all difficulties, and successfully fulfilled all assigned tasks.

Clearly recognising the important role of party organisations at all levels in building politically strong units, the Division Party Committee has focused on leading and directing the building of “four-good” party organisations and party cells. Due attention has been paid to educating, managing, and training party members to create “immunity” against negative influences, maintaining the principle of democratic centralism, collective leadership, and individual accountability, promoting criticism and self-criticism, and strengthening inspection and supervision under the motto of “broad supervision, focalised inspection”. As a result, in recent years, more than 95% of subordinate party organisations have successfully or excellently fulfilled their tasks; more than 98% of party cells have fulfilled their tasks or higher; more than 90% of party members have successfully or excellently fulfilled their duties. The leadership capacity and combativeness of party committees and party organisations at all levels have been increasingly enhanced.

Combat readiness exercise by the Division in 2025

In order to achieve breakthroughs in raising the quality of training and combat readiness to meet its task requirements in the new situation, the Division has thoroughly grasped and strictly implemented resolutions, directives, and orders from higher levels regarding this important work. Prior to each training season, it has required party committees at all levels to thoroughly grasp the particularities of their units to develop specialised resolutions on training and combat readiness, completely settling weaknesses, clearly defining the responsibilities of party committees, commands, agencies, and units in leadership, direction, staff work, management, and organisation of training. It has also required all affiliates to make comprehensive, thorough preparations for training and especially organise refresher courses for their cadres, with due regard paid to young officers, new graduates, and those showing weaknesses in training methods for tactical, technical, and line-up regulation subjects. In the training process, it has adhered to the principle of “tactical training as the centre, technical training as the foundation, and unit-level training as the focus”, while managing training work in a “focalised, unified, synchronised, effective” manner “without overlap”. As a result, 100% of its cadres have been capable of training work at their levels; 100% of training subjects have met requirements, with over 80% being rated good or excellent; absolute safety has been guaranteed in the training process.

Furthermore, the Division has attached special importance to exercises, especially general, joint, and field ones; its agencies and units have carefully prepared documents, equipment, and logistics and technical materials. In the process, it has set high requirements for compliance with safety regulations. Consequently, all exercises have achieved their objectives and requirements and ensured absolute safety for both personnel and equipment. In order to successfully handle possible situations, the Division has strictly maintained command, staff, and specialised duty regimes, regularly reviewing, promptly adjusting, and practising operational projects for various missions, particularly those for protecting key targets, agencies, and units. It has proactively coordinated with local agencies, units, and authorities to study and grasp situational developments and safeguard all assigned targets and areas.

Organisational structure consolidation, regularity building, discipline management, administrative reform, and digital transformation are both objectives and measures to maintain the status of an “exemplarily, typically” comprehensively strong unit. Thoroughly grasping resolutions, directives, and projects from higher echelons regarding force building in the new situation, the Division has directed its agencies and units to review and adjust their organisational structure in an adept, compact, strong fashion, ensuring a reasonable balance between components and forces, from agencies to units, with priority given to combat-ready units. It has arranged correct, sufficient positions for its personnel according to the organisational structure prescribed by the Ministry of National Defence.

Infantry combat training session

To create clear improvements in regularity building and discipline management, the Division has vigorously promoted the principle of working according to responsibilities and acting according to military regulations, with superiors setting examples for subordinates, agencies setting examples for units, and officers setting examples for soldiers. Commanders at all levels have stayed close to troops, strictly maintaining daily, study, and work routines, tightly managing manpower and technical equipment, closely combining proactive prevention with strict handling of violations. Agencies and units have invested in flower gardens, bonsai gardens, boards, signs, and slogans in a synchronised, unified manner, regularly maintaining cultural, artistic, physical training, sport, and recreational activities, building various models to serve troops’ cultural and spiritual life, such as “Military Culture Park” and “Collective Birthday Celebration”, guiding troop activities towards a healthy cultural lifestyle, pushing back social evils, minimising disciplinary violations. In addition, the Division has focused on breakthroughs in administrative reform and digital transformation, promoting the use of document management software, adopting digital signatures, processing 100% of documents in the electronic environment. Therefore, in recent years, the Division has had no serious disciplinary violations among officers and soldiers, while the rate of ordinary violations has remained below 0.2%; annually, 90% - 100% of its affiliates (from company level and above) have achieved the status of an “exemplarily, typically” comprehensively strong unit.

Logistics and technical support is an important criterion for building an “exemplarily, typically” comprehensively strong unit. Hence, the Division has regularly directed its agencies and units to effectively manage logistics and technical reserve materials and equipment for various tasks, with priority given to training, exercises, and combat readiness, raising the quality and effectiveness of regular and irregular logistics support, maintaining and improving troops’ living conditions and health. Across the Division, the emulation movement “The Military Logistics Sector follows Uncle Ho’s teachings” has been vigorously promoted; crop and animal husbandry has been maintained to ensure adequate supplies of meat, fish, and vegetables, thus improving the quality of troop rations and contributing to building “Units good at troop feeding and effective quartermaster management”. The Division has exercised its leadership over the implementation of the campaign “Managing and exploiting weapons and technical equipment effectively, durably, safely, economically and ensuring traffic safety”, focusing on four fundamental objectives, namely good management, good and durable exploitation, thrift practice, and absolute safety in weapons, technical equipment, and traffic. Statistical work, management, preservation, maintenance, repair, and storage have been strictly conducted, thereby guaranteeing the technical coefficients and utilisation coefficients of its weapons, vehicles, and technical equipment.

The results achieved in developing “exemplarily, typically” comprehensively strong units in recent years constitute an important foundation and motivation for Infantry Division 9 to effectively carry out the task of building a comprehensive model unit for Army Corps 34 and a model unit of the Ministry of National Defence in terms of traffic safety, contributing to improving the Division’s overall quality and combat strength for successfully accomplishing all assigned missions.

Sr. Col. LE VAN QUYET

Commander of the Division