Battalion 1, Brigade 543 is carrying out construction tasks in Van Ban district (Lao Cai), where the majority of the population is Dao ethnic people. Dao people have many different customs and practices. If they do not understand local regulations and ethnic customs, soldiers can easily violate military and civilian discipline. To help officers and soldiers strictly comply with the law and discipline, and not violate local regulations, in recent times, Battalion 1 has focused on propaganda, dissemination, and legal education (TTPBGDPL).

Officers and soldiers performing the task of clearing mines and explosives of Brigade 543 learn about legal information. Photo: MINH HUNG

According to Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Huu Hau, Political Commissar of Battalion 1, closely following the Brigade's TTPBGDPL plan, every quarter, Battalion 1 develops a specific TTPBGDPL plan. The unit integrates propaganda on a number of situations that officers and soldiers may encounter and how to handle them. This helps officers and soldiers feel more confident when communicating with people and performing tasks in the area. Battalion 1 selects appropriate propaganda content for political, cultural and spiritual days and law days, close to the reality and tasks of the unit.

In addition, Battalion 1 and the People's Committee of Tan An Commune (Van Ban District) also signed a Convention on building a safe unit and safe area. Accordingly, Article 8 of the convention stipulates: Officers and soldiers when going out of the camp must strictly comply with local rules and regulations. On weekdays from 9:30 p.m., on holidays from 10 p.m. onwards, if there is a special reason to go out of the commune, they must have lights on and be subject to control and inspection by the Tan An Commune Security Department. Suspicious cases must be clarified, anyone who intentionally violates will be handled...

Every month, officers of Battalion 1 and the Chief of Police of Tan An commune exchange information about the local situation. When an unexpected incident occurs, the two units will coordinate to handle the situation. The convention also strictly prohibits all soldiers and civilians from buying, selling, exchanging, or storing weapons, supplies, military uniforms, and military equipment of the Army. Everyone must uphold their responsibility to detect violations and promptly report them to the unit and the Security Department.

For the engineering force of Brigade 543, which is performing the task of clearing mines and explosives on the border of Ha Giang province - where many Mong ethnic people live, to contribute to raising the awareness of law enforcement and discipline of the troops, in addition to maintaining and implementing the political, cultural and spiritual day and law day, officers and soldiers of the unit are also provided with many newspapers and legal books to learn and study. Officers in charge of the force regularly coordinate with the commune police, village team leaders, village chiefs, and hamlet chiefs to grasp the local situation, customs, and village and hamlet conventions, and promptly provide information for officers and soldiers to strictly comply.

Lieutenant Colonel Ta Minh Hung, Deputy Chief of Political Affairs of Brigade 543, said that Ma Hoang Phin village, Minh Tan commune, Vi Xuyen district (Ha Giang) - where the engineering force of Brigade 543 carries out its mission, has 45 households, 100% of whom are Mong ethnic people. In addition to thoroughly educating soldiers to strictly comply with the law, military discipline, and civil discipline, during the implementation of their missions, Brigade 543 also closely coordinates with engineering units of Military Region 2 that are performing missions on the border. If a soldier who is not part of the unit is discovered to have unusual behavior, the unit will verify the information and promptly notify the soldier's unit to take timely measures to prevent violations of the law and discipline.

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Xuan Viet, Deputy Political Commissar of Brigade 543, shared: “Unit of the Brigade carrying out special tasks such as: Construction works; bomb and mine clearance, explosives... should place high demands on the will, determination, and spirit of strict compliance with the law and discipline for officers and soldiers. In recent times, the Party Committee and Brigade Command have focused on promoting the exemplary role of the cadres in thoroughly grasping, implementing tasks, inspecting and supervising the activities of the troops, while strengthening effective coordination with local Party committees and authorities, in order to maintain safe units and areas, prevent officers and soldiers from violating the law and discipline, and ensure absolute safety during the performance of their duties.”

CAO MANH TUONG