There is almost no distance between them, but they are always close, sharing, understanding and trusting each other. The officers are truly the brothers and sisters of the soldiers, guiding and instructing them in even the smallest things in training and daily life.

Major Pham Van Duc, Political Commissar of Bach Long Vi Island Defense Battalion (Hai Phong City Military Command) said: "To truly understand, be close to, share the difficulties and hardships, and encourage the soldiers' spirit, the unit assigns specific tasks and tasks to officers, Battalion commanders and "Soldier Psychological Counseling Team" at the battalion and company levels, in conjunction with the soldiers' families, friends, and fellow countrymen right in the unit to monitor and encourage them to work together to resolve difficulties; flexibly and promptly resolve arising ideological issues."

To help soldiers feel secure, stick together to build the unit, always consider "the island as home, the sea as homeland", the Party Committee and command of the Bach Long Vi Island Defense Battalion have promoted the role of mass organizations, regularly organizing activities such as youth forums, comrades' birthdays, cultural-artistic exchanges, physical education and sports with twinned units, departments, branches, local organizations and people on the island.

Officers of Bach Long Vi Island Defense Battalion met and encouraged soldiers (March 2023).

Sharing about the measures to resolve the ideological situation of the unit, Captain Bui Quang Dong, Deputy Political Commissar of Bach Long Vi Island Defense Battalion, added that the specific characteristics of the island, being stationed far from the mainland, the physical conditions, food and accommodation are still lacking. In many cases, officers and soldiers have personal matters such as parents, sick children or wives giving birth and cannot return home because the means of access to the mainland are limited, even during the stormy sea season, harsh weather, winds of level 5 or higher, ships and boats have to temporarily stop operating. Therefore, the Party Committee and the Battalion Command have been flexible in grasping, managing and resolving the ideological situation well. When conditions are favorable, the unit reports to superiors to resolve the issue of leave for soldiers to visit their families, thereby helping officers and soldiers feel secure in their work and building the unit.

Senior Lieutenant Nguyen Van Quy, an employee of the Maintenance Company, Bach Long Vi Island Defense Battalion, confided: "Many comrades have personal family matters and cannot return home, but we are very cared for by the unit commander, comrades, and teammates, who treat each other like brothers in the family to share joys and sorrows in life, and together are determined to complete the mission well, and maintain sovereignty over the sea and islands."

Thanks to flexible policies and measures in grasping, managing and resolving the ideological situation well, officers and soldiers of Bach Long Vi Island Defense Battalion are always assured in their work, well-determined in their tasks, upholding vigilance, standing firm at the forefront, firmly protecting the sacred sovereignty of the sea and islands of the Fatherland.

Article and photos: NGUYEN THANH