Tank Brigade 215 (under the Tank-Armour Corps) is tasked with training and combat readiness. In recent years, given the development of requirements and tasks, the invention of many anti-tank weapons which have high accuracy and damage, especially the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), together with new combat methods and tactics, etc. have posed significant challenges to the training, combat readiness and combat of the Brigade.

Together, based on the features and task requirements, the Brigade has concurrently managed, exploited and used a large amount of technical equipment, both old ones which have been used for years, and new ones which are modern and highly complex. Meanwhile, cadres and crews do not have equivalent knowledge and experience, and the support has hardly met the task requirements, etc. Given this reality, the Brigade Party Committee and Command have proactively implemented many synchronous solutions in order to break into the improvement of training quality and combat readiness, assuring the Brigade to “surely win once deployed”, successfully accomplishing all assigned tasks.

Receiving the Emulation Flag from the Government

The training preparation is one of the important contents, directly deciding the training quality. Therefore, to achieve the breakthrough, at first, the Brigade needs to make the intense leadership and direction on the training preparation; of which, taking the human preparation as the key, materials and training grounds as the centres. Annually, the training preparation is conducted early and comprehensively in all aspects by the Brigade. Together with intensely examining, adjusting, strengthening staff, organisation, weapons and equipment, assuring the equality in the quantity and quality before training, the Brigade pays attention to the refresher and further training for cadres in echelon; promotes the grasp and education for all soldiers to firmly grasp the training viewpoints, goals and requirements, be ready for combat, improve their awareness and responsibility, build their will and determination to overcome difficulties for the best results.

Together with personnel preparation, the Brigade builds and issues synchronously the system of guidance documents; requires all units to fully prepare books, lessons plans, documents and teaching aids. Notably, in recent years, with the concern from the seniors, the Brigade has paid special attention to planning and building modern and multipurposed training grounds including roads, driving lanes, obstacle sites, ranges of tank firing, fieldtrip areas, shelters and trenches, etc., which have been strongly cemented to well support the training of tank-armour technical and tactic subjects and training of combined forces, creating favourable conditions for the innovation and improvement of training quality. Together, the Brigade has promoted the movement of scientific research, technical initiatives and application of information technology into the training tasks. In the 2020-2025 period, annually, the Brigade has conducted 10-12 technical initiatives, many of which have been widely applied according to directions from the Corps and Defence Ministry. Especially, the initiative of “The digitalised cable TV equipment” has enabled commanders and training cadres to observe and exactly evaluate every training action of individuals, vehicles and units from a wider space, timely adjusting and learning from experience, making a direct contribution to improving the training quality and effectiveness.

Grasping and implementing all viewpoints, goals, objective and requirements defined in Resolution No. 17-NQ/ĐU, dated 30 March 2023 by the Party Committee of Tank-Armout Corps on improving the training quality in the 2023-2030 period and the following years, so that all soldiers could acquire good techniques and tactics, creative thinking, be decisive and able to skillfully use both weapons, equipment in service and new ones as well, the Brigade takes technically professional training as the foundation, tactical training as the centre and personnel training as the key. To make this happen, the Brigade regularly makes examination and inspection to firmly hold the quality and skills of cadres, seeing it as the foundation to build the training schedules suitably to participants before each training course. The training contents focus on new subjects, repairing the shortcomings and weaknesses in the organisation and methods of night training, etc. To achieve good results, the Brigade closely coordinates between the organisation of regular cadres’ training and the strict maintenance of on-site approval of lesson plans, “modelling training”, daily and weekly training inspection; focusing on cadres who directly do the training or newly-graduated cadres. In reality, some cadres, the political and logistic cadres in particular, when appointed to the Brigade have not been trained with tank-armour specialisations. To solve it, together with sending these cadres to join the transformation courses held by the Corps, the Brigade has built training plans which are included with contents related to the specialisation that they are doing; timely completed their knowledge and experience, improved their competence, training methods and skills of exploiting and using weapons and equipment. In addition, the Brigade has directed offices to frequently renew the contents and organisational formats of contests and competitions in a professional and comprehensive way. All political, logistic and technical cadres join the crews to conduct the lessons of live firing, weapon calibration, line-up and regulation training, first aid bandage, getting the injured soldiers out of the vehicle, fieldtrip living, etc. Besides, the Brigade has frequently created favourable and equal conditions for promotion; bravely appointed and asked young and capable cadres to perform difficult and important tasks in order to train their skill and spirit, and capability, ready for being promoted to high positions. With such solutions, 100% cadres of the Brigade have been able to give training in echelon, over 85% of whom are battalion officers, over 80% are company officers and 75% are platoon officers who can give good and excellent training (35% being excellent). Especially, 100% political cadres of companies and battalions have passed the on-vehicle firing tests with over 80% being good and excellent.

River-crossing training

Along with that, the Brigade has promoted the reform of training contents and methods, making them suitable with the learners, organisation and equipment of each unit. Of which, the Brigade has intensely improved the capability of mobility, camouflage, diversion, combined arms operations; increased the night and field training, physical training, training in advanced situations when the enemies use high-tech weapons; trained soldiers how to master, exploit and use new weapons and equipment. To gain the above target, the Brigade has directed all offices and units to pay attention to reforming the training methods in the way of visuality, creativity and flexibility, taking practice as the key; intensely train the crews to properly solve any combat situations and deal with any common breakdowns, fully exploit all features of weapons and equipment, increase the training time for difficult subjects including distant and combat firing, sessions of driving and firing in complicated terrains and at night, using the ballistic calculators, the laser ranging system, protection system, etc. Especially, in order to meet the operation demands in modern wars, the Brigade has enhanced the organisation of military exercises, especially the joint military exercises, mobilisation exercises, combat exercises at all levels, and joined exercise of combined forces held by the military regions and Defence Ministry. The exercise contents have been regularly renovated and added with situations from recent military conflicts and military exercises in new and strange terrains, etc. in order to make cadres and soldiers  familiar with the combat reality, training their capability of command and coordination among units, between tank-armours and combined forces. The Brigade has strictly maintained the order of inspection, following the grounds and classes by all-level cadres, timely discovered and solved any shortcomings in the training of all units. Therefore, the results of training and exercises of the Brigade have been significantly improved. The annual test results are all good and excellent with all sessions of driving and firing being excellent. The Brigade has achieved good results in all contests and competitions at the Corps level, and the contest of all tank - armour units; especially, attended and won the Contests of “Good tank crews” and “Good Tank-Armour Platoons” held by the Corps.

Together with improving the training quality, the Brigade has synchronously implemented all solutions to maintain and improve the combat readiness capability without any passiveness and suddenness in all situations. Closely following the reality, the Brigade has proactively checked, adjusted and completed the system of combat plans, making them suitable with the situations and task requirements; coordinated with the localities to grasp the sources of reserve, build the suitable mobilisation and receiving plans so that it is able to support and strengthen forces when necessary, at the same time, enhanced the practice and inspection of the combat readiness in all offices and units according to the plans of operation, natural calamity prevention, search and rescue, etc.; timely discovered and repaired any shortcomings and weaknesses, improving the “readiness” capability of all sub-units

Being a unit with high intensity of training and combat readiness which usually uses a great quantity and variety of weapons, to make the weapons and equipment long-lasting and stably operated, the Brigade has paid attention to well conducting the support, the logistic-technical one in particular. Closely following the seniors’ directions and guidance, and the real situations, the Brigade has strictly maintained the regulations and discipline of maintenance, storage, repair and usage extension of weapons and technical equipment; promoted the Campaign of Managing, exploiting weapons and technical equipment effectively, sustainably, safely, economically, and traffic safety; enhanced the training to improve cadres’ and technicians’ knowledge and professional skills, especially their ability of repairing common breakdowns related to technical training and combat situations. As a result, all weapons and equipment have the stability, synchronicity and technical coefficients which always meet the standards with the combat readiness ones having Kt = 1 and the training ones having Kt = 0.95, being always ready for uses in any situations. In addition, the Brigade has directed all offices and units to securely support sufficient logistic materials for the training task and spare ones for the combat readiness task according to plans; take care of soldiers’ regulations, criteria, health and life, creating motivation for all cadres and soldiers to carry out their task of training and combat readiness with the highest results.

Bringing into play the achieved results, Tank Brigade 215 continues to thoroughly grasp the tasks, proactively overcome any difficulties, improve the quality of training and combat readiness, and successfully accomplish all assigned tasks, deserving the title of Hero of the People’s Armed Forces in the renovation period.

Senior Colonel LE HAI DANG, Brigade Commander