As a newly established unit, the Brigade has to perform tasks under difficult conditions, but given the spirit of “Unity, discipline, coordination, determined victory,” its officers and soldiers have consistently upheld their strong will and determination, proactively and creatively implementing measures to promote combat power and firmly protect the Fatherland’s sovereignty over the waters and islands.

The 169th Brigade of the 1st Naval Region is tasked with managing and defending waters, transporting supplies to islands, participating in search and rescue operations, and fulfilling other unplanned missions. At present, the situation at sea and on the islands is becoming increasingly complex. The Brigade is still undergoing basic infrastructure development. The barracks, facilities, training grounds, and exercise areas remain inadequate. The unit is stationed in dispersed locations. Its weapons, equipment, and vessels have been in use for many years while the area of responsibility is vast and the operating environment is harsh and highly specialised. Most of the officers and professional servicemen, particularly young officers, have received fundamental training, but their practical experience remains limited.

In this context, the Brigade Party Committee and Commanders step up realising the motto of “men before arms” to improve overall quality and combat power and successfully complete assigned missions. Accordingly, the Brigade takes the building of an “adept, compact, strong” force as the foundation, the increased quality of training and combat readiness as the core, and the strengthening of order and discipline as well as good support as the basic and ongoing tasks.

Weaponry training

First, the Brigade is to be built into a unit that is “adept, compact” in terms of organisation and politically strong. This is the most important mission and solution, which helps to create a solid foundation for enhancing the unit’s combat power. Given the Brigade’s operational characteristics such as large area of responsibility, independent operations, and dispersed formations, each officer and soldier must maximise the spirit of “unity, proactiveness, and flexibility” in task execution. To meet this requirement, the Brigade Party Committee and Commanders closely follow Decision No. 445/QĐ-TM dated 23 February 2023, of the Chief of the General Staff on the organisational structure of the Patrol and Amphibious Brigade. They focus on reviewing and adjusting the organisation in the “adept, compact” and synchronised direction in terms of personnel, weapons, and technical equipment. Priorities are given to units and forces performing key missions and long-term independent operations at sea. Implementation is carried out in strict compliance with regulations, with organisational streamlining as the core and building of Party committees and grassroots organisations into strong and exemplary bodies as the cornerstone. In line with higher-level directives and practical realities, the Brigade has successfully convened Party congresses at all levels with high unity and solidarity, consolidated Party organisations, committees, and commanders with sufficient numbers and high quality, truly serving as the nucleus for leadership and direction in fulfilling all tasks.

In addition, the Brigade attaches great importance to political and ideological education to facilitate officers’ and soldiers’ strong willpower, determination, and readiness to overcome difficulties. On thoroughly grasping and implementing Directive No. 2423-CT/QUTW dated 9 November 2023, of the Central Military Commission’s Standing Board on renewing and improving the quality of political education in the new era, the Brigade has diversified forms and methods of propagation and education, closely combined regular education with mission-based education. The educational content focuses on disseminating the Party’s viewpoints and guidelines on military and defence tasks, safeguarding sovereignty over waters and islands, especially the responses at sea, updating and publicising information on the maritime areas and islands under the Brigade’s responsibility, and providing knowledge on duty regulations, combat readiness, servicemen’s responsibilities, and requirements for maritime patrol and management. Through practical and effective measures, in 2024, the Brigade Party Committee achieved outstanding performance with 100% of Party organisations completing their tasks well or excellently and political knowledge assessment results exceeding the “good” and “very good” thresholds by 20.17% compared to criteria for building a politically strong unit. This has become an important foundation for the Brigade to enhance combat power to meet mission requirements in the new situation.

Second, breakthrough is made in promoting training quality, combat skills and readiness. On the basis of firmly grasping resolutions, directives, and instructions of higher levels, particularly the Resolution No. 602-NQ/ĐU dated 28 April 2023, of the Naval Region Party Committee on improving training quality in the 2023 - 2030 period and beyond, the Brigade Party Committee directed 100% of Party committees and commanders at all levels to develop themed resolutions and implementation plans, ensuring that these plans are scientific and practical. To overcome limitations, alongside innovating leadership, management, and command in a “centralised, unified, synchronised, effective, and non-overlapping” direction, the Brigade promotes decentralisation, delegation of authority, and responsibility in training, linking the accountability of commanders at all levels with training results. Moreover, it maintains contests, competitions, and exercises at various levels to objectively evaluate training quality, promptly identify weaknesses, and serve as the basis for adjusting training plans, content, and methods to ensure uniformly across the unit.

Being imbued with Uncle Ho’s teaching that, “Cadres are the root of all work,” the Brigade pays special attention to building and fostering its officer corps, especially those directly engaged in training. Before each training season, 100% of officers undergo refresher courses and participate in preparation contests. Training is conducted in line with the “Basic, practical, solid” motto, employing methods such as breaking tasks into smaller parts, practicing repeatedly, progressing from easy to difficult, from individual proficiency to coordinated combat positions, full-ship drills, and flotilla-level coordination. Positions are rotated so that each officer and soldier can perform their role and substitute for one or two others. After each phase, drills, and exercises, evaluations are organised to identify strengths and weaknesses, causes, and individual responsibilities, thereby improving subsequent training. For major competitions, the Brigade selects teams, establishes instructor groups, and invites experienced experts to provide direct coaching. A comprehensive test bank with diverse, realistic scenarios is developed for various specialties. Through these activities, individuals and collectives gain opportunities to exchange experience, leverage their potential skills, and strengthen combat readiness. Additionally, the Brigade emphasises physical training, assigns experienced officers to mentor younger ones during real maritime missions, enabling them to accumulate experience and enhance endurance against harsh conditions at sea. Thanks to determination and innovative measures, within less than one year since its establishment, the Brigade successfully completed all-level exercises, won three First Prizes at the Navy-wide Excellent Ship Commanders and Political Officers Competition, secured the overall First Prize, and was awarded the Ministry of National Defence’s Flag of “Excellent Training Unit.”

Conducting drills

Third, the Brigade puts effort into promoting order and discipline. On adhering to assigned functions and tasks and following directives and regulations from higher levels, especially the Regulation No. 2960/QyD-BTL dated 12 June 2024, of the Regional Command on “Regulations for working, living, studying, conducting tasks, and promoting order for departments and units of the 1st Naval Region Command”, the Brigade has institutionalised a system of rules, internal regulations, and work regimes. At the same time, it has strengthened education and dissemination to raise officers’ and soldiers’ awareness and responsibility while bringing into play the leading role of commanders at all levels in observing regimes and closely managing personnel, weapons, and equipment. To gain solid improvements in promoting order, the Brigade organises the “Exemplary, Regular Ship” competitions covering all aspects ranging from individual duties to routine work performance, equipment and logistics-technical arrangement. Lessons learned are standardised into benchmarks and replicated across the Brigade.

A notable highlight in discipline management is that, for independent and dispersed units, besides flexible inspection measures, the Brigade emphasises the role of direct commanders, building strong trust between superiors and subordinates. This allows officers to “take initiative, dare to act, and dare to assume responsibility” for the collective good. The Brigade closely monitors situation in its stationed localities, manages servicemen’s external relations, minimises risks of wrongdoings and indiscipline, and proactively forecasts and prepares contingency responses to complex developments. Consequently, since its establishment, the Brigade has consistently maintained compliance with regular regimes, experienced no disciplinary violations requiring punishment, and ensured safety in all operations.

Fourth, successfully conducting logistics and technical support.

Given the difficulties posed by aged technical equipment, ships, and boats, combined with the requirement of prolonged operations at sea under harsh weather conditions, the Brigade directs departments and units to strictly carry out weekly, monthly, and quarterly maintenance. The vessels strictly adhere to morning engine drying, as well as inspection, servicing, and preservation of ships, weapons, and technical equipment before, during, and after missions. To enhance technical effectiveness, the Brigade has developed a “Handbook for troubleshooting weapons, equipment, ships, and boats,” compiling malfunction patterns and solutions for technical officers and staff to study and apply in real situations. In logistics work, alongside barracks consolidation during infrastructure development, the Brigade prioritises adequate provision of entitlements and standards, particularly food, accommodation, living conditions, and healthcare. It actively promotes production models, diversifying crops and livestock suited to local conditions. Canteens and messes are maintained according to “standardised, exemplary” criteria and the title “Excellent troop feeding unit,” “Good logistics management unit,” and so on. Through appropriate measures, the Brigade consistently exceeds logistics and technical targets, ensuring timely and sufficient support for all regular and contingency missions.

The initial results and experience are extremely significant. They provide the foundation for the 169th Brigade to successfully implement the objectives of its First Party Congress Resolution (2025 - 2030 term), continuously improving overall quality and combat power, and firmly safeguarding the country’s sovereignty over waters and islands in all circumstances.

Senior Colonel HOANG NGOC TUAN, Brigade Commander