Honored to be "chosen" twice

In dozens of groups practicing for the parade and marching in preparation for the 50th Anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification (April 30, 1975 / April 30, 2025), we truly admire the female military groups because they have made great efforts to overcome the difficulties and challenges of women who are "weak", overcoming worries for their families when their mothers and sisters are away from home so as not to be inferior to the male military groups during the arduous and difficult training process.

Leaders of the Ministry of National Defense with female soldiers of the Female Medical Officers' Corps. Photo: VIET TRUNG

Sharing with reporters after the training session, Captain Nguyen Thi Huyen Trang (Brigade 205, Signal Corps) in the Female Signal Officers' squad, said that 10 years ago, she had the honor of participating in the parade and marching in the 70th Anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day September 2 at Ba Dinh Square, Hanoi . Now she is married and has two young children (7 and 3 years old), but when her superiors entrusted her with the task of participating in the parade and marching training, she was very excited and tried to arrange her family affairs to focus on her duties. "Although the training was intense and full of difficulties and hardships, we felt very honored, proud, and excited to march in the square and on the streets of Ho Chi Minh City on the great national holiday," Captain Nguyen Thi Huyen Trang confided.

Young and unmarried, this is also the second time Lieutenant Hoang Thi Thu (office staff of the Military Region 3 Command) has been honored to be chosen as the Head of the Female Peacekeeping Officers Block. Previously, Thu had the honor of participating in the parade to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu Victory (May 7, 1954 / May 7, 2024). At the training ground of the National Military Training Center 4, Lieutenant Hoang Thi Thu and more than 100 sisters of the Female Peacekeeping Officers Block always kept a straight formation, precise movements and a fresh and solemn appearance.

Female peacekeeping officers practice marching and marching at National Military Training Center 4. Photo: VIET TRUNG

"During the process of practicing leg braces and walking seriously, many women had sore feet and their whole body ached. In the evening, everyone encouraged each other to soak their feet in hot water to reduce the pain, and continue practicing the next day. Hard work will surely pay off, now the feeling of fatigue and numbness is almost gone. The women in the block are always united, supporting and helping each other overcome difficulties to complete their tasks well. We always keep in mind to practice so that every step, hand movement and face on the parade day can demonstrate the will, determination, spirit and beauty of female soldiers in the Vietnam People's Army", Lieutenant Hoang Thi Thu confided.

Through research, we learned that among the female soldiers participating in the parade to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification Day, there were quite a few women who had been in this honorable formation on previous occasions. They all arranged their family affairs properly and made efforts to overcome difficulties and hardships; united, encouraged each other, guided and helped comrades participating in the parade for the first time to improve the quality of their training.

Turn missing your child into motivation to practice

In the female groups practicing for the parade, many are married and have young children, but all of them "turn missing their children into motivation", actively training with high determination, ready for the big festival.

After a month of training in the "fickle" weather of the midlands and rocky mountains west of Hanoi, militia soldier Le Thi Yen (Northern Women's Militia, from Hai Dinh commune, Hai Lang district, Quang Tri province) was confident and proficient in command movements, demonstrating the beauty and strength of Vietnamese female militia. Yen shared that this was the first time she had been on a mission away from home and she had to leave her son, who was in 2nd grade, with his grandparents to take care of him. Her husband was a soldier working far away, so many nights Yen had trouble sleeping, tears kept flowing because she missed her son, but she tried to control herself and worked hard with her teammates to practice so that the whole block could be even, beautiful, and unified.

Female military medical officers practice marching and marching at National Military Training Center 4. Photo: VIET TRUNG

Senior Lieutenant Nguyen Thi Nhan (Brigade 596, Signal Corps) confided: “I have two young children, so at first I had a lot of difficulties in both training and taking care of housework. In the evening, my whole body was exhausted after a day of intense training, but I still took the time to teach my second grade son over the phone. When I finished teaching, seeing my son crying and saying goodbye to his mother, my heart ached... My husband is also a soldier, so he understands and shares his wife's mission. Besides, I always receive support and help from both my paternal and maternal families, along with encouragement from the Party Committee, unit commander and teammates, so I feel secure and tell myself to strive to complete the task as best as possible.”

At the National Military Training Center 4, there are 16 units of Group 1 participating in parade and marching training, including 5 female units: Female peacekeeping officers, Female information officers, Female military medical officers, Female military musicians and Female Northern militiamen. "After more than a month of intense training in harsh seasonal weather conditions (when it is humid, when it is hot, when it is cold and rainy), the women always show their will and determination not inferior to the male soldiers; actively practicing from basic to advanced movements, using basic training for each person, each group, each row as the basis for practicing coordinated movements in the unit. In addition, to improve health, everyone actively practices sports, builds endurance by running long distances and participates in other healthy cultural and artistic activities," said Colonel Tran Ba ​​Khuong, Deputy Director of the Department of Military Training - Schools (General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army).

Inspecting the parade and marching drills at the end of March, General Phan Van Giang, Politburo member, Deputy Secretary of the Central Military Commission, Minister of National Defense, praised the forces, especially female soldiers and militiamen, for promoting their sense of responsibility, overcoming all difficulties, and completing their tasks well. Minister Phan Van Giang affirmed that the female comrades showed their will and determination no less than that of male soldiers...

Article and photos: DUY DONG - HIEU TRUNG

    Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/nuoi-duong-van-hoa-bo-doi-cu-ho/cac-bong-hong-no-luc-tap-dieu-binh-dieu-hanh-822786