White clouds of peace
(NAO)- Three enemy planes came from somewhere to attack; artillery and mortars from enemy bases fired fiercely at our positions..., our infantry and tanks seemed to be completely exposed! There were light explosions, a thick smoke screen like white clouds carried by the wind, obscuring the "enemy's" view. Losing the target, enemy planes flew around in a chaotic manner, enemy artillery also fired wildly...
TDuring the DT-07 exercise of the B24 Group (Military Region 4) at the end of 2007, I was really impressed with the smoke camouflage performed by the 38th chemical troops. At G-hour, explosives exploded, the DKZ and 85 artillery concentrated intense fire on the "enemy" firing points. However, after the initial shock, the "enemy" organized a counterattack. Three "enemy" planes came from somewhere to "attack", along with artillery and mortars from the enemy bases that rained down on our formation and battlefield. The infantry and tanks of the 1st and 2nd assault teams seemed to be completely exposed to the "enemy" firepower. However, the thick smoke like white clouds from the right wing was blown by the wind and completely covered and obscured the "enemy" observation. The three bombing planes lost their target, flew around in a chaotic manner, and the enemy artillery also shot out. I followed the assault force and charged into the middle of the stronghold, feeling secure because I was protected by a thick and fragrant smoke screen.
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The impression of the combined arms "battle" with the participation of chemical troops led me to Chemical Squadron 38 (General Staff of Military Region 4).
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The unit's tradition room has been awarded many titles: 5 consecutive years (2002-2007) with the title "Victory Unit"; 12 consecutive years (1995-2007) with the title of Strong and Clean Party Committee, Typical Strong and Clean Party Committee, Excellent Training Unit 1995-2000, 2000-2005, and many other certificates of merit and awards... Lieutenant Colonel Tran Van Dong - Political Commissar of the unit told us that the unit has a team of young, strong cadres and party members who have received basic training through school, and the internal unity is always united to build the unit.
Looking at the barracks, the complete system of garden-pond-barn, we can see that the Unit has invested tens of millions of Dong, mobilized hundreds of working days of officers and soldiers to dig 2 ponds for fish, build a system of trellises and gardens, in the direction of "concretization", concentrated livestock raising, building duck and rabbit pens, ensuring uniformity. Now, 100% of the green vegetables in the soldiers' meals come from the garden. From the production fund, the unit has renovated and built a clean and green landscape environment, and was awarded a certificate of merit by the Military Region for its good performance in the emulation movement."Building green-clean-beautiful regular barracks"5 years 2002-2007.
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We witnessed a marching practice session carrying heavy loads with weapons and chemical defense equipment. In the blazing April sun, the troops were fully equipped, it was impossible to recognize anyone in their professional uniforms with masks, gloves and chemical defense clothing. Hot, stuffy, thirteen rounds of marching around the barracks with a total length of 3000 meters, not too long a distance but for the chemical defense soldiers, it was a challenge, sweat poured out and filled two pairs of boots but could not escape because once wearing chemical defense equipment, it meant completely isolating the body from the outside environment. Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Ngoc Da - Squad Leader, said: there were soldiers who fainted the first time practicing this exercise, so the unit always arranged for medical forces to march along, ready to handle the situation...
On the other side of Chung Mountain, a chemical squad was practicing creating a smokescreen. We only heard very small explosions, and suddenly a white cloud appeared, completely covering a corner of the pine hill, reminding us of the combined arms “battle” during the DT-07 exercise. The white smoke flew high, blending with the April sky. White clouds floated over the countryside.
Article and photos: Tran Hoai
