"Voyage" of learning and gathering experience
The years of drifting at sea, directly participating in training, being ready to fight, helping people overcome the consequences of natural disasters, searching and rescuing... have left many thoughts in the mind of professional soldier Nguyen Van Dinh. He always wondered: "What do I need to do to preserve and spread the beautiful images and meaningful work of my comrades to everyone?". That is what nurtured his dream, urging him to enter the journalism profession with only passion as his initial luggage.
Recalling the days of learning to write news articles and work for the press, Major Nguyen Van Dinh said, although he knew that this was a highly specialized job, requiring in-depth professional knowledge and scientific thinking, he was still determined and started pursuing a writing career in 2014, while still working on Ship 792.
Not only actively researching, studying, and learning the basic skills of a reporter through books, newspapers, documents, the internet, and training courses organized by superiors, Nguyen Van Dinh always takes advantage of every opportunity to meet with journalists who come to the working area to learn. From there, he consults experience and expertise, accumulates expertise, and improves his qualifications. After more than 10 years, he said, he is now quite confident with the assets of a professional reporter, meeting well the requirements of propaganda work at the unit.
In the era of strong technological development, information and propaganda work on press and media not only requires objectivity, accuracy,educational value, and good orientation, but also must be quick and timely. However, the specifics of the unit, events and conferences often end around noon or late afternoon, close to the news production time frames of many press agencies. Therefore, immediately after the events end, he takes advantage of the time to write news, articles, and make video clips to send to press agencies to ensure timeliness. Although his house is only about 300m from the office, many days he still does not have time to have lunch, because by the time he finishes writing news and articles, it is already time for the afternoon work. There are times when he comes home late at night and his wife and children are already deep in sleep.
Major Nguyen Van Dinh works on the unit's exercise activities.
During the process of carrying out the mission, especially when working in difficult and complicated conditions, he himself did not mind the hardships, always rushing forward with the highest determination. He always kept in mind: "What I do is only a small part compared to the difficulties and hardships that my teammates are going through on the training ground, on ships and stations". Therefore, many times, even though he was resting at home, when ordered to go on a mission, he quickly mobilized to the scene, regardless of day or night, rain or shine, big waves or strong winds, with the desire to record the most realistic and impressive images, contributing to spreading information effectively, timely and timely.
From the unforgettable moment…
One of the memories he remembers most while working was in early August 2019, when thousands of people in Phu Quoc island district ( Kien Giang province) were left homeless. Most of the roads and residential areas were deeply flooded due to the historic flood. At that time, he received orders to bring cameras and video cameras to work to report on the activities of officers and soldiers of the Region evacuating people and property from the dangerous flood "center".
Arriving at the scene, due to heavy rain, strong winds, and deep water, professional cameras and video cameras could not be used, so he used a smartphone to record. Major Nguyen Van Dinh spent many hours with his teammates fasting, wading in the rain and floods, and was present at most of the "hot spots" of the flood, especially isolated households located deep in cajuput gardens far from residential areas. Thanks to that, he recorded many authentic moments, vividly and clearly reflecting the practical and meaningful work of the unit's officers and soldiers. Those authentic materials and images, when published in central and local newspapers and radio stations, created a good effect, widely spreading the image of "Uncle Ho's soldiers - Navy soldiers" in the new era among all classes of people.
These authentic moments vividly and clearly reflect the practical and meaningful work of officers and soldiers, creating a good effect and widely spreading the image of "Uncle Ho's soldiers - Navy soldiers".
Recently, in April 2024, he was assigned to accompany the Region's ships to transport fresh water from Phu Quoc Island to provide free of charge to people in some localities of Ca Mau province that were severely affected by the severe drought and saltwater intrusion. When he arrived, he witnessed the canals, ponds, and wells with dry bottoms; the cracked and burnt orchards and rice fields, along with the faces and eyes of the people, and he partly understood the difficulties and hardships of the people here during the long drought and saltwater intrusion. Therefore, after the fresh water was transported by the Region's ships to the gathering point on the mainland, he worked while working with the soldiers to load the water onto tankers to deliver it to the people as quickly as possible.
With a positive, urgent, and devoted spirit for the people, the unit's officers and soldiers took advantage of the whole afternoon and evening to provide water to the people. Many families in the area where the tanker trucks could not reach had to use plastic cans to get water, and the soldiers helped transport it to their homes. He closely followed and filmed all the actions of the unit's officers and soldiers in detail. He also recorded the comments and assessments of local leaders and the people's feelings about the soldiers' charitable actions in a specific, realistic, and vivid manner. As for him, after supporting his comrades, he took advantage of the time to edit files, create images, and promptly send them to newspapers and radio stations. There were nights when the computer was turned off and the clock had already struck a new day.
Photo of comrade Dinh taking about rescuing fishermen's boats at sea.
Not letting down the trust and affection of the officers and soldiers of Region 5, the journey of bringing "Drops of Love" to the people has been broadcast eight times on Vietnam Television channels and more than 40 news articles on central and local newspapers. The series of news articles of the Region during the water supply campaign for the people of Ca Mau province was recognized and commended by the Navy Command.
…Write articles to help beautify the image of soldiers
From 2015 to present, Major Nguyen Van Dinh has written and disseminated more than 2,000 news, articles, and reports on the activities of the Region, good people, good deeds, good and creative ways of doing things of the unit's officers and soldiers in newspapers, radio stations, and mass media. He also sent those images to participate in competitions and won many high prizes such as: Silver Cup at the 14th Military Television Festival; B prize in the national video contest "The Soldier I Love"; C prize in the national art and press photography contest on the Vietnam People's Army and national defense... along with many certificates of merit from all levels and sectors.
Comrade Nguyen Van Dinh has received many awards, certificates of merit and certificates of merit from all levels and sectors.
But for Nguyen Van Dinh, the greatest reward is still "each time a news or article is published, the image of the soldier is brought closer to the people". He writes without expecting to win a prize, and even less for achievements. For him, being a journalist in the army is part of the flesh and blood of a soldier. And he is happy to be a witness, a companion, and a spreader of the best things in military life.
In a small room in the corner of the barracks, an old camera, camcorder and laptop are indispensable working tools, even "companions" of Nguyen Van Dinh for over 10 years.
With no private office, no dedicated work desk, no filming or editing crew... just alone with a "journalistic backpack", Nguyen Van Dinh is always ready to go day or night.
“Doing journalism in the army is not like in real life. Every news, every photo, every clip must be accurate and careful, but still have emotions, conveying the spirit of a soldier,” he shared. Therefore, whether it is a training session, an evacuation of people during a storm or a water supply session for people in a drought-stricken area - he records everything with all his heart and pride.
Ship 954, Squadron 515, Brigade 175, Naval Region 5 practices live-fire at sea. (Photo taken by comrade Nguyen Van Dinh)
Unlike many professional reporters who have a support team, time and modern equipment, Nguyen Van Dinh has to take on all roles: filming, taking photos, writing, and editing. The pressure is great and the intensity is high, but it is the military environment that has forged him into resilience, courage and a very unique journalistic spirit - "both a soldier and a journalist".
But perhaps, it is the combination of the two roles of soldier and reporter that has created such realistic and moving works. Because he is the one who lives among those noble people, in a place imbued with camaraderie and patriotism, his writings not only carry the breath of current events, but also bear the burden of military-civilian sentiment.
Currently, Professional Military Major Nguyen Van Dinh is working at the Propaganda Department, Political Department, Naval Region 5 Command as a staff member of the Cultural House. Here, he continues to promote his strengths in propaganda work, contributing to improving the cultural and spiritual life of officers and soldiers, while spreading the image of Navy soldiers in the new era.
When asked about the proudest thing in his rather special “journey” as a journalist, Professional Military Major Nguyen Van Dinh just smiled: “I am a soldier. Writing articles to contribute to beautifying the image of soldiers. That is enough!”
Posted date: June 14, 2025
Production organization: THAO LE
Performed by: KHANH LAN-MINH PHUONG
Presented by: PHUONG NAM
Source: https://nhandan.vn/special/nhung-bai-bao-tu-noi-dau-ngon-song/index.html#source=home/zone-box-460585
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