Commando Brigade 1 under the Commando Corps is a special-force unit tasked with training, combat readiness and conducting A2 missions; countering terrorism, protecting key targets, important political events of the country and Army, and doing other ad hoc tasks.

To successfully accomplish all assigned tasks, in recent years, the Brigade Party Committee and Command have thoroughly grasped the seniors’ directives, closely followed their functions and tasks, synchronously implemented suitable policies and scientific solutions to build a comprehensively strong, “exemplary, typical” unit with high overall quality and combat power, and gained good results. Especially, the Brigade has successfully accomplished its task of protecting important political events of the country and Army, which has been highly recognised and appreciated by the Ministry of National Defence and Commando Corps. From the achieved results, the Brigade has drawn several experiences, which are also solutions to be implemented in forthcoming time.

Checking training equipment

At first, focusing on building the Brigade specially elite in politics. In the context of complicated risks of traditional and nontraditional security threats, terrorist attacks, riots and subversion, etc., the roles of commando forces become more important. To be truly an “iron fist”, which can conduct rapid combat, timely and effectively perform special and important tasks, the building of politically elite unit is considered as a crucial requirement. Accordingly, the Brigade’s Party Committee and Command have directed its offices and units to enhance the implementation of Directive No. 2423-CT/QUTW, dated 09 November 2023 by the Central Military Commission (CMC) Standing Committee “On innovating and improving the quality of political education work in the new period”; promote the education for cadres and soldiers to steadily hold all policies, guidelines, resolutions and directives of the Party, State, CMC, Defence Ministry on the defence and military affairs, partners, opponents, hostile forces’ sabotage plots and schemes, missions of the Army, Corps, units, etc. In the implementation process, the Brigade has closely combined the regular, on-task political education with the one on traditions of the Corps and Brigade, etc. in order to continuously improve the awareness and responsibility, building the soldiers’ honour and pride of being in the task force of a heroic army, so that they are proactive and aware of training their political spirit and skill, high determination, having trust in weapons, equipment and the task-force commando combat art in the new situation.

In addition, the Brigade has paid attention to strengthening and improving the leadership and combat power for the party committees and organisations; building pure and strong party committees and party cells at all levels combined with all-strong, “exemplary, typical” offices and units. The Brigade has frequently brought into play the exemplary role of all-level presiding cadres in performing their political tasks; enhanced the inspection and supervision, promotes the prevention of political degradation, “self-evolution” and “self-transformation”; effectively launched the Determined-to-win emulation movement combined with promoting the learning and following of Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality and style, and the Campaign on promoting traditions, devoting talents, deserving to be “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers” in the new period. As a result, the Brigade Party Committee has been rated as pure and strong for many years; 100% of its cadres and soldiers have passed annual political tests, 75% of whom have been rated good and excellent. All of them have stable spirit, well accomplishing the assigned tasks.

Focusing on innovating and improving the quality of training, combat readiness has always been considered by the Brigade as a breakthrough and precondition for all cadres and soldiers to acquire knowledge, better combat skills and power, deserving to be the special elite force. Accordingly, the Brigade has directed all of its offices and units to grasp and seriously implement the seniors’ resolutions, directives and instructions on the work of training, combat readiness, especially Resolution No. 1659-NQ/QUTW, dated 20 December 2022 by the CMC; Resolution No. 2741-NQ/ĐU, dated 24 February 2023 by the Commando Corps Party Committee on improving the training quality in the period of 2023-2030 and the following years; and the order of combat training of the Corps Commander. To bring about comprehensive and stable changes in training, the training preparation has been carried out seriously and methodically, with special attention on the further training for cadres, lesson plans and training facilities. In training, the Brigade has closely followed the “basic, practical, solid” motto, and highly appreciated the synchronous and professional training, making it practical to each force’s tasks and adversary. For commando forces, the Brigade advocates to train them with techniques, tactics, combat military exercises, special skills, martial art, firing and survival skills in extreme weather conditions. For counter-terrorist forces, besides the improvement of specialised techniques and tactics, skills of rescuing hostages in short time, capability of combat coordination among forces, combination between training and physical training, etc., the Brigade paid attention to training contents of natural calamity prevention and repairs, search and rescue. In the implementation process, the Brigade has frequently set high requirements of each training session; closely combined the training contents with exercises, specialised techniques, commando tactics and political education and discipline training, at the same time, enhanced the inspection to timely discover and solve any shortcomings, making all soldiers become really “specially skillful”. As a result, for many years, all of its training categories have satisfied the requirements, in which 80% being rated as good and excellent. Specifically, from 2020 to 2024 in a row, the Brigade was awarded by the Defence Ministry with the title of “Excellent training unit”.

In order to continuously improve the competence and combat readiness, meeting the requirements and tasks in the new situation, the Brigade has closely coordinated with the local party committees and governments, the police and other units in the area to research, forecast and hold the political security situations and assigned areas of targets, being proactive to build protection plans and ready to effectively solve all situations. At the same time, it strictly maintained the duties of command and combat readiness from the Brigade to each subordinate unit. The Brigade has regularly checked, adjusted and completed all plans of combat readiness and conducted training seriously, focusing on plans of counter-terrorism, protection of offices, units and other important targets, etc. on holidays, Tet and in major events of the country, Army and foreign activities of the Party and State.

Conducting intense training

Being located in the city, all cadres and soldiers of the Brigade have been significantly influenced by the urban environment, its downside in particular. Clearly understanding this, the Brigade Party Committee and Command have attached much importance to regularity building and discipline training. To well conduct this work, together with boosting the spiritual-political education, the Brigade has strictly maintained the daily, weekly routines and managed troops in echelon, strictly realised the regulation of reports and the whole unit acting on orders; combined the regularity building and discipline training with building the pure and healthy military cultural environment by organising many useful activities for cadres and soldiers, keeping them away from social evils. The Brigade has regularly propagandised, educated and disseminated soldiers to grasp all regulations of the law, Army discipline and the units, especially the ones related to social networks. At the same time, it has proactively informed and warned soldiers about legal violations such as drug using, gambling, usurious debts, misuse of the social networks, etc. so that they could raise their vigilance, discover and stay away. Together, the Brigade has actively mobilised its internal strength combined with support from the seniors to clean the environment, repair the systems of wires, panels, noticeboards, making them regular, uniform and suitable with high-story barracks; directed all units to correctly implement the grassroots democratic regulations, building the atmosphere of unity and solidarity, and preventing any possible ideological problems.

To improve the quality of implementation, the Brigade has frequently upheld the pioneering roles of cadres and party members, assuring their exemplarity in words and actions, always walking the talk; concentrated on training their standardised working styles and behaviours, being good examples for the juniors to follow; given responsibilities of cadres and party members in observing the State’s law, Army’s discipline and the unit’s regulations, keeping and spreading the beautiful images of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers”. The Brigade has enhanced their regular and sudden inspection of the regularity implementation in offices and units, timely making repairs, drawing experience and solving any weaknesses; firmly prevented the neglected management and discipline; closely combined the proactive prevention with the serious punishment of violations to give suitable education and warnings, improving soldiers’ awareness and responsibilities. Since 2020, the Brigade has not had any violations that needed punishing with all offices and units being kept absolute safety.

Besides, the Brigade has focused on improving the quality of logistic-technical work. It has strictly maintained the logistic-technical support for training and combat readiness; checked and completed types of documents and plans of logistic-technical support for A2 and counter-terrorism missions. Besides, it has promoted the emulation movement of “The Military Logistics following Uncle Ho’s teachings”, fully satisfied all policies, standards and quantities for soldiers, assuring the good health of soldiers for any tasks is always maintained at 99%.

In recent years, the Brigade has been equipped with many types of modern weapons and technical equipment, putting higher requirements for its technical support. Given this reality, the Brigade has directed its logistic-technical department to enhance training of professional knowledge for technical cadres, help other cadres and soldiers with management and usage. Meanwhile, it strictly maintains the orders and regulations of maintenance, repairs and storage at all levels. As a result, weapons and technical equipment are always supplied efficiently for tasks of training, combat readiness, A2, counter-terrorism, and other unexpected missions, contributing to successfully accomplishing all assigned tasks.

These achieved results are an important precondition and solid foundation for Commando Brigade 1 to continuously bring into play in building the stronger unit, forever deserving to be an elite force, and with traditions of the heroic Commando Soldiers.

Colonel TRAN KIM NAM, Commander of the Brigade