Silent military soldier

"Entering the warehouse is entering the fighting position"
On a sunny day in late autumn, we followed the officers of the Technical Department, Provincial Military Command to visit the workplace of soldiers of Warehouse K153 in Gia Loc district. When we arrived, the officers and staff here were engrossed in their work. Some were cleaning weapons, some were arranging ammunition, some were counting... Each movement was meticulous, careful and always strictly followed the regulations and procedures in preserving weapons and ammunition. All of these weapons and equipment had just been mobilized to serve the 2023 provincial defense exercise.

Captain of the Warehouse Company Nguyen Van Khoi shared: “The working environment of warehouse officers and employees is both dangerous and toxic because they are often exposed to weapons, ammunition, grease, and chemicals. To ensure safety, during the performance of their duties, warehouse officers and employees must always strictly comply with industry regulations. All export, import, storage, maintenance, and transportation activities must have specific, strict plans and be guaranteed to be accurate."

At first glance, everyone thinks that the work of the military soldiers is not hard, but only those who directly perform the task know that this is an extremely difficult and dangerous job. According to Captain Nguyen Van Khoi, on cool days or in winter, it is less tiring. On hot summer days, maintenance and repair are much more difficult because even the smallest detail can cause safety problems.

Walking along the warehouses, we easily saw weapons neatly arranged on shelves by officers and soldiers. The warehouse's physical conditions are still difficult, but the soldiers at Warehouse K153 always find ways to overcome them to complete their tasks well. Weapons, technical equipment, and ammunition in the warehouse are arranged to save space with the motto "easy to see, easy to get, easy to check", convenient for storage, maintenance, distribution, and reception.

At the K98 Warehouse stationed in Nam Sach District, the warehouses are equipped with dense lightning rods. The sturdy mounds of earth act as a shield for the warehouse. Major Nguyen Van Tuan Anh, Head of the K98 Warehouse, said that each time entering the warehouse is entering a combat position, which is very dangerous because even a small mistake can cause unpredictable consequences, affecting lives and political missions. "Each bullet contains explosives and propellants, so the storage work is very dangerous and has its own characteristics. Therefore, the warehouse staff always work with the highest sense of responsibility when practicing the storage and maintenance of bullets," said Major Nguyen Van Tuan Anh.

Associated with technical innovation

In order to use weapons and equipment safely and effectively, recently the Provincial Military Command has launched a movement to promote and improve the effectiveness of the Campaign "Management and exploitation of weapons and technical equipment well, durable, safe, economical and traffic safe"; build "Good weapons warehouse, good weapons warehouse keepers" linking the movement with practicing thrift following Uncle Ho's example...

Units strictly manage weapons, ammunition as well as technical equipment, strictly maintain the inventory of weapons and equipment according to regulations. The movement of writing topics and technical innovation initiatives, considering this a key and breakthrough step in implementing Directive 05 of the 12th Politburo on promoting the study and following of Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality and lifestyle, is given special attention by units.

Over the years, there have been many valuable technical innovations and improvements from the creativity of warehouse soldiers. Typical examples include the “Tool to remove the AK submachine gun’s handguard”, “Multi-purpose gun loading and unloading device”, etc. These innovations have been applied in practice, bringing about practical results, contributing to reducing labor and increasing the productivity of machinery and equipment.

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Nhuan, Deputy Chief of Technical Department, Provincial Military Command, author of the initiative to manufacture AK submachine gun loading device, said that previously, the operation of removing and installing bullets was difficult, time-consuming and laborious, affecting the quality of training. Thanks to a simple but effective idea, with only 1.2 million VND, Lieutenant Colonel Nhuan invented a device that overcomes the disadvantages of loading AK submachine guns. Lieutenant Colonel Nhuan's device is highly appreciated by all levels and can be applied in all units.

Dedicated, brave, creative – the soldiers of the provincial armed forces are overcoming difficulties day and night, wholeheartedly performing their duties with the highest responsibility. Silently doing dangerous work, they have contributed to improving the efficiency in managing and exploiting weapons and equipment in a good, durable, safe, and economical way.