70th Anniversary of Naval Academy's Traditional Day (April 26, 1955 - April 26, 2025): 70-year journey of nurturing marine soldiers

70 years of construction and development

In the context of the North having just been liberated, on April 26, 1955, the Coastal Training School was established under the Decision of the Ministry of National Defense , with the task of training officers and sailors for the coastal defense force. On the first day of establishment, the school encountered many difficulties. However, on June 6, 1955, the school opened its first course and quickly trained 372 students of the first course. On August 24, 1955, General Vo Nguyen Giap visited the school and announced the decision to establish two flotillas, Song Lo and Bach Dang, which were the first "bricks", the predecessors of the combat ship force of the Vietnam People's Navy today.

Naval Academy reviews its staff at the opening ceremony of the 2024-2025 school year.

Since its establishment, the Naval Academy has changed its name five times, from Coastal Training School (1955) to Naval Training School (1959), Vietnam Naval School (1961), Naval Officer School (1965), Naval Technical Command Officer School (1980) and Naval Academy (from 1993 to present). During the resistance war against the US to save the country, the school provided thousands of officers and soldiers for combat units; directly participated in combat, burned enemy aircraft and surface ships, cleared mines and magnetic bombs, transported support to the southern battlefield, built the Truong Sa archipelago, etc.

After 70 years of construction, fighting, growing and developing, up to now, the Naval Academy is the leading center of education, training and scientific research of the army and the country. The Naval Academy is the only school that trains naval command officers from the squad, brigade commander to the regional commander level; from university level to master's and doctorate in naval military arts. Among the thousands of officers graduating from the academy, hundreds of cadres have become generals and senior commanders of the Ministry of National Defense, the Navy Command, the Vietnam Coast Guard Command, heroes of the people's armed forces...; affirming the solid position of the Naval Academy as the "cradle" of training naval officers of Vietnam.

Practical training

In mid-April, at the naval school on the coast of Nha Trang City, we were taken by Colonel Tran Hoang Thang - Political Director of the Naval Academy to visit the place where future naval officers study and train. Colonel Tran Hoang Thang said that the academy currently has a system of more than 220 lecture halls, specialized classrooms, practice and experimental rooms; Learning resource center, digitalized and automated general library... Determining the quality of training is the combat readiness of the unit, students must be trained close to the actual battlefield, therefore, the academy has built the ASTT Combat Simulation Training Center, the Gepard 3.9 missile frigate crew simulation system, the 1241.8 fast attack missile ship crew simulation system and training and education equipment all apply modern information technology and artificial intelligence, can simulate all equipment on the ship, tactical situations close to the actual combat situation at sea.

Long distance sea training students.

Coming to the practice area simulating information, radar, sonar, navigational equipment and electronic warfare, the "virtual ships" are operating smoothly under the skillful operations of young students. Major, Master Pham Van Duc - lecturer of the Faculty of Maritime said: "We not only teach students to operate weapons and equipment systems, but also train tactical thinking and reflexes in real-time and emergency situations on the battlefield. Each training session is a simulated combat session, where students must make quick, accurate decisions and coordinate as if they were on the battlefield. The goal is that when they go into the field, students will no longer be confused but will confidently handle all situations with the skills and knowledge they have been trained in."

At the academy, students not only study in the classroom, on simulation equipment, but also directly train and practice at sea for long periods. The "Lecture Halls on the Waves" training in Truong Sa, DK1 Platform or going to distant sea areas serving foreign defense are valuable opportunities to practice endurance, adaptability, and handling of real-life situations at sea. Having just returned from a long-distance training trip at sea, Sergeant Lai Ngoc Quoc Bao - a 4th-year student majoring in maritime affairs shared: "For nearly 10 days at sea, my teammates and I were trained in combat deployment tables; determining ship positions using astronomical and geographical targets, observing, identifying and handling collision avoidance; training in firefighting, anti-sinking and handling some emergency situations... During this training session, the weather had big waves and strong winds, sometimes at level 5, level 6, which were good conditions for us to study and handle some real-life situations".

Continuously improve quality

After many years of construction and development, up to now, the Naval Academy is a multi-level, multi-disciplinary educational and training institution, with training types including: University-level squad-level officers with 11 majors; command and staff officers - combat, command and staff officers - logistics - technical at tactical and campaign levels for ship brigades, naval regions, coast guard regions, border guards; training masters and doctors of naval military arts... Besides, the academy also trains human resources for the Royal Cambodian Navy; cooperates in university and postgraduate training, and fosters cadres with schools inside and outside the army; is a naval military science research center with many works and scientific topics from the grassroots level to the Ministry of National Defense and State level...

DTH-24 exercise organization.

Colonel Tran Hoang Thang said that with the above tasks, the academy is required to constantly improve the quality of its staff and lecturers. Up to now, the team of lecturers and educational managers of the academy is growing strongly in both quantity and quality. 100% of lecturers have university degrees, of which more than 87% have postgraduate degrees, 20% are PhDs; many are professors, associate professors, hundreds of excellent lecturers at the Ministry of National Defense level; many lecturers were trained abroad, meeting the requirements of international integration... Inheriting and promoting the 70-year heroic tradition of the military service and the academy, the team of leaders, staff and lecturers of the academy continue to strive for comprehensive, synchronous and in-depth innovation in all aspects of work. Thereby, creating a strong change in the quality of education - training, scientific research and building a modern, exemplary, and worthy center of leading and prestigious training, fostering cadres, and scientific research of the army and the country.

With its outstanding contributions and achievements in training cadres, scientific research and various tasks, the Naval Academy has been awarded the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces; First and Third Class Military Exploit Medal; Third Class Independence Medal; First and Second Class Fatherland Protection Medal... and many other noble titles. On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of its tradition, the President has just signed a decision to award the First Class Fatherland Protection Medal to the academy for its exceptionally outstanding achievements in combat and combat service, contributing to the cause of building socialism and defending the Fatherland.

ETERNAL

Source: https://baokhanhhoa.vn/xa-hoi/202504/ky-niem-70-nam-ngay-truyen-thong-hoc-vien-hai-quan-26-4-1955-26-4-2025-hanh-trinh-70-nam-hon-duc-nhung-nguoi-linh-bien-1f01436/