Division 9 (Corps 34), formerly known as Construction Site 9, is the main mobile unit of the Liberation Army of South Vietnam, directly under the Southern Command, operating primarily in the Southeast battlefield. Just over 02 months after its establishment, the Division launched its first battle, defeating the 3rd Brigade/1st Infantry Division, the "Red Big Brother" of the US, contributing to affirming the will and determination of our army and people to "dare to fight the US, definitely win the US". From 1965 to 1975, the Division's units participated in 18 campaigns, fought in thousands of large and small battles, achieved numerous resounding victories, and made worthy contributions to the cause of liberating the South and unifying the country. Typical examples are: the Bau Bang battle (in 1965); campaigns to defeat Junction City Operation (in 1967), Nguyen Hue Campaign (in 1972), Road 7 - West Ben Cat Counter-Offensive Campaign, and Road 14 - Phuoc Long Offensive Campaign (in 1974), etc. In the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign, the Division was the main force in the formation of Group 232 to attack Saigon from the west. On the morning of 30 April 1975, the Division's forces captured the Capital Special Zone and coordinated with other forces to liberate Saigon.

Leader of Corps 34 works with the Division in 2025

After the country's reunification, the Division belonged to the formation of Corps 4, continuing to make numerous achievements in fighting to protect the southwestern border, carrying out international missions, helping the Cambodian people escape genocide, and in training and combat readiness. With resounding victories and outstanding achievements throughout the 60-year journey of building, fighting and growing, the Division was honoured by the Party and State with the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces twice, and awarded the Ho Chi Minh Medal, the National Citadel Medal; 03 Fatherland Defence Orders (02 Second Class, 01 Third Class); 13 Military Exploit Orders; and was awarded the Angkor Medal by the Cambodian State, along with several other noble awards.

In recent years, implementing the policy of building an elite, strong and modern Army, the Division has been deployed to Corps 34, performing training and combat readiness tasks in the Southeastern region. In the context of the complicated and unpredictable developments in the world and regional situation, hostile forces have stepped up their activities to sabotage our country's revolution, especially plots and actions that threaten to violate the independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of the Fatherland, setting very high goals and requirements for the entire Army in general and the Division in particular. In that situation, the Division has focused on leading and directing the implementation of synchronous solutions to promote the tradition of "Solidarity, modesty, bravery, creativity, and victory" in the new conditions, aiming to improve its overall quality and combat strength, ensuring that the Division is ready to take and complete tasks successfully in any situation.

To achieve that goal, the Division pays special attention to and prioritises the building of political strength. This is the decisive factor to improve its overall quality and fighting strength. From that awareness, the Division focuses on improving the leadership capacity and fighting strength of Party committees and Party cells; making a breakthrough in building Party cells based on the "4 good" criteria. Directing agencies and units to effectively implement projects and directives on political education, improving the effectiveness and efficiency of Party work and political work in all areas of operation, especially the tasks of training, combat readiness, regularity building and discipline management. In particular, in response to the development of requirements and tasks, the Division has strengthened education and dissemination for soldiers to grasp and correctly perceive the viewpoints and policies of the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defence on building "elite, compact, strong", thereby reaching consensus, solidarity, high unity, strictly complying with the regulations of superiors when assigned to Corps 34, ensuring that 100% of officers and soldiers are assured of their work without ideological problems. Along with that, the Division has promoted studying and following the ideology, morality, and style of Ho Chi Minh, the Campaign to promote tradition, contribute talents, and be worthy of the title "Uncle Ho's Soldiers" in the new period, in conjunction with the implementation of Resolution No. 847-NQ/QUTW, dated 28 December 2021 of the Central Military Commission; attaching importance to promoting the vanguard and exemplary role of cadres and party members, especially through specific actions and deeds to set examples of education, building motivation and responsibility for soldiers. Agencies and units strictly implement the Regulations on the management of military ideology, grasp and orient public opinion in the Vietnam People's Army with the motto: "attach to the army, understand the army, trust the army" to promptly detect, prevent, resolve difficulties, encourage and motivate cadres and soldiers to strive to improve their morality, train their talents, promote responsibility, aspiration, and dedication in performing political tasks. With appropriate measures, over the past 5 years, 100% of Party Committees and units have completed their tasks well and excellently; 100% of Party cells have completed their tasks well; Party members have completed their tasks well and excellently, reaching over 90%.

Conducting training

The overall quality and combat strength of the Unit are composed of several factors, in which, the quality of training and combat readiness capability plays a decisive role. Accordingly, the Division regularly educates, thoroughly grasps, and raises awareness and responsibility of officers and soldiers for training and combat readiness; builds confidence in the Vietnamese fighting tactics, military art, and existing weapons and equipment. Before training, the Division directs the completion of the staff, especially for technical and tactical training frameworks; organises training and fostering of officers; develops training programmes, plans, and schedules that are close to the training orders of the Corps, suitable for the subjects, ensuring regularity, unity, and science. Lesson plans and lectures are carefully prepared and censored. In training practice, the Division directs units to strictly implement the training programme, content, and time, and flexibly operate in accordance with the tasks. Adhering to the motto of "basic, practical, solid", "tactical training as the centre, technical training as the basis, squad training as the focus", the Division strictly maintains the content and time of training with the focus on training to improve the ability to manoeuvre and operate on various terrains, camouflage, deception, counter-reconnaissance, electronic warfare, handling situations in urgent conditions, the enemy using high-tech weapons; strengthening night training, long-distance marching with heavy loads,  river crossing, improving the physical and psychological endurance of soldiers. At the same time, actively innovating and improving the quality of training and exercises at all levels, especially comprehensive rotation exercises with live-firing; attaching importance to rehearsing target protection plans, anti-terrorism exercises, coordination exercises with forces in the defence area, etc. Thanks to that, 100% of training subjects achieved good and excellent results; the drills are successfully completed with absolute safety. Along with training, the Division actively implements measures to improve combat readiness, successfully handle possible situations, regularly reviews, adjusts, and perfects plans and combat strategies based on tasks, and organises proficient training. The Division also strictly maintains discipline, regimes and combat readiness systems at all levels in terms of human resources, weapons, equipment, mobile vehicles and support. At the same time, it proactively coordinates with agencies, units, and localities to exchange information, grasps the situations to avoid being passive or surprised.

Regularity building and discipline training are both goals and measures to enhance combat strength. The Division thoroughly educates officers and soldiers to grasp the content of directives, instructions and regulations from seniors; at the same time, resolutely directs the policy of "Breakthrough in improving the quality of regularity building, complying with the law, discipline and ensuring safety", creating a change in awareness, building a sense of self-consciousness in complying with the law and discipline. The Division requires cadres to work according to their duties, act according to orders, superiors set good examples for subordinates, officers set examples for soldiers, agencies set examples for units; strictly implement the "four togethers" to grasp, manage, and resolve thoughts, creating solidarity and unity among superiors and subordinates, officers and soldiers. Over the past years, the Division has focused on implementing the Campaign to ‘Build a good and healthy cultural environment’ in the Army. Agencies and units have utilised resources to focus on consolidating the landscape, flower gardens, ornamental plants, billboards, signs, and slogans that are synchronous and unified from agencies to units; organising cultural, artistic, physical education, sports, and entertainment activities in a disciplined manner; coordinating with twinned units to hold seminars, forums, and exchanges; building different models to improve cultural and spiritual life of soldiers, etc., directing soldiers' activities towards a healthy cultural life, pushing back social evils, and minimising violations of discipline. Thus, the work of regularity building and discipline training has made obvious and steady progress. In recent years, there have been no officers or soldiers who have seriously violated discipline, with normal discipline violations below 0.2%; every year, 92% - 100% of units (from company level and above) are comprehensively strong "exemplary and typical" units.

Along with implementing the above solutions, the Division leads and directs the implementation of logistics and technical work closely and effectively, considering this an important step that directly determines the quality of task completion and the combat strength of the Unit. The Division focuses on leading and implementing the merger of logistics and technical agencies, not allowing the consolidation of organisations and forces to affect its support work. Directing and promoting the emulation movement of Military logistics branch following Uncle Ho's teachings; the campaign "Managing and exploiting technical weapons and equipment well, durably, safely, economically, and traffic safety". At the same time, promoting the core role of cadres, employees and soldiers of logistics and technical agencies in guiding, organising implementation and mobilising a large number of soldiers to participate; in which, priority is given to the tasks of training, drills and combat readiness. Along with that, strictly maintain the regime and order of management, preservation, maintenance, storage, inspection, and quality testing of weapons and equipment, ensuring adequate, timely, synchronous, and quality weapons and technical equipment for missions, especially training and combat readiness missions.

Proud of the glorious achievements over the past 60 years, officers and soldiers of Division 9 are determined to build itself as a comprehensively strong, "exemplary and typical" unit, improve overall quality, combat strength, and continue to write new history with enthusiasm, responsibility, and creativity, worthy of the tradition of the unit being twice a Hero of the People's Armed Forces.

Senior Colonel NGO NGOC AN, Division Commander