Nghe An is ready for regional defense and civil defense drills in 2022.

PV:First, could you tell us about the plan for the 2022 regional defense and civil defense exercise in Nghe An?

Lieutenant Colonel Phan Dai Nghia:The drills on defense zones and civil defense are extremely important to consolidate and raise awareness among Party committees, authorities and people about the tasks of building and operating in defense zones, building a national defense foundation associated with an increasingly solid people's security posture, meeting the requirements of protecting the Fatherland in the new situation. At the same time, improve the capacity and command of the Civil Defense - Disaster Prevention and Control and Search and Rescue Command Committees at all levels; train and improve the ability to organize and carry out tasks of forces in responding to fire, explosion and toxic chemical incidents, contributing to improving the quality and combat readiness.

In 2022, Nghe An was assigned by the Ministry of National Defense and Military Region 4 to organize defense area drills and civil defense drills; based on the drill directive of the Military Region Commander, the Provincial Drill Steering Committee determined the drill plan with the following main contents:

For regional defense exercises, it is carried out in 3 phases: Phase 1: Moving armed forces into combat readiness states, moving localities into defense states; Phase 2: Organizing preparations for defensive operations; Phase 3: Practicing defensive operations.

In which, the mechanism operation part includes 15 meetings, of which, there are 6 meetings of the Provincial Party Committee, Provincial People's Council; 5 meetings of the Provincial People's Committee; 2 meetings of the Military; 1 meeting of the Provincial Police and 1 meeting of the Provincial Border Guard. The provincial-level live-fire exercise includes 3 contents, the district-level 5 contents.

For the civil defense drill, the mechanism operation part includes 1 meeting of the Provincial Civil Defense Command, 1 meeting of the Cua Lo Town Civil Defense Command; The practical part includes responding to fire, explosion, and toxic chemical disasters in apartment buildings and setting up a level 2 field hospital of the province.

Lieutenant Colonel Phan Dai Nghia during an inspection of preparations for a drill. Photo: TH

PV:What's new in this year's exercise plan compared to previous years, Colonel?

Lieutenant Colonel Phan Dai Nghia:Implementing the viewpoint of the Party, State, Ministry of National Defense, Military Region 4, which is to regularly innovate content and methods in training and exercises, therefore, the Nghe An province defense area exercise in 2022 has innovations in organization, preparation and practice compared to previous years.

This exercise implements the steps to change the combat readiness status of the armed forces, organizing the exercise before recording and presenting.

Unlike previous years, in 2022, the Military Region directed the defense area exercise at the provincial and district levels. Each locality selected 2-3 units representing the Party and government to mobilize all department-level officers and specialists to participate in the exercise. This is the first time this content has been implemented. In 2022, for the provincial level, the Provincial Exercise Steering Committee selected the Provincial Party Committee's Mass Mobilization Committee and the Department of Transport.

Regarding the live-fire drills, in 2009, Nghe An troops fought to retake part of the lost Ngu Island; in 2017, troops fought to fight the enemy landing by sea; this year, the Military Region assigned Nghe An to coordinate with the 324th Division and the Military Region's Brigades to organize a live-fire battle to fight the enemy landing by air. This is also a new content in the defense area drill in Nghe An.

For civil defense drills, this is a difficult content, with a large number of forces, vehicles, and large amount of facilities. And this is also the first time Nghe An has organized a drill, with little practical experience, so there are certain difficulties in preparing and conducting the drill.

Checking the preparation for the defense area drill and civil defense drill in Nghe An province in 2022. Photo: TH

PV:How far are the preparations, Colonel?

Lieutenant Colonel Phan Dai Nghia:Identifying the defense zone drill and civil defense drill as the key task of the year and the entire term, the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee has fully and deeply grasped the Military Region Commander's Exercise Directive, and leaders of agencies, units and localities have proactively deployed the contents as planned, ensuring quality and synchronization. In particular, the Standing Committee of the Provincial Military Command has made efforts, proactively and actively done a good job of advising and preparing for the defense zone drill and civil defense drill.

Up to now, a complete system of leadership and direction documents for the exercise tasks has been issued; 13 meetings have been organized to thoroughly grasp and deploy the exercise tasks; full scripts for conferences to operate the mechanism have been drafted; at the same time, the construction of Command Centers at all levels has been deployed to ensure progress; for the basic exercise contents, scenarios and exercise plans for 2 exercises have been built through the Military Region Exercise Steering Committee, and by mid-August, the exercise will begin.

Checking at the field area in Cua Lo town. Photo: TH

PV:So, were there any difficulties or problems in the preparation?

Lieutenant Colonel Phan Dai Nghia:Defense area drills and civil defense drills are the highest form of comprehensive training on the application of the Party's viewpoints, policies, laws of the State and regulations of principle in the leadership activities of Party committees, administration of the government, advisory roles and implementation organization of agencies, departments, branches and organizations in the field of defense and security of defense areas and civil defense; therefore, preparation work must be carried out carefully, meticulously and synchronously from the province to the grassroots level.

Although in the past time, the preparation for the exercise mission has always received the attention, direction and support of the Command and the Military Region agencies, however, it has also encountered certain difficulties. That is, the Covid-19 epidemic situation is still potentially complicated. It is necessary to deploy many tasks and 2 exercises at the same time. Experience in organizing civil defense exercises at the provincial level is not much. At the same time, there is also difficulty in arranging land funds to build Command Centers in some localities (Vinh City, Cua Lo Town) and the province's practice area; ensuring funding for the exercise mission is still difficult.

Checking the A2 practice area at the Traffic Police Department Headquarters, Nghe An Provincial Police. Photo: TH

PV:Colonel, could you tell us a little about the key tasks in the coming time?

Lieutenant Colonel Phan Dai Nghia:To complete the task of practicing defense zones and civil defense in the coming time, we have determined that we need to perform well a number of key tasks as follows:

Continue to do a good job of disseminating and implementing the tasks of defense zone drills and civil defense drills, identifying this as a key political task in 2022 and throughout the term.

Closely coordinate with Division 324, military units of the Military Region, Coast Guard Region 1, and Navy Region 1 to complete the scenario plan for the provincial-level military exercise contents through the Military Region Steering Committee as intended; on that basis, arrange battlefield equipment, prepare the military exercise area, organize training, and practice the contents according to the plan.

Organize training to improve drill knowledge for drill frameworks at all levels; at the same time, direct agencies, units, and localities to complete the system of drill documents, scenarios, and practical plans in accordance with regulations, proactively study documents, review, practice, and rehearse the contents.

PV:Thank you, Colonel!