The "steel roses" of Hai Duong armed forces

Major, professional soldier Nguyen Thi Thanh Mai (left) and Lieutenant, professional soldier Pham Thuy Duong (right), actively participate in training at the martial arts club of the Hai Duong Provincial Military Command.

hard work

Every day at 5 p.m., officers and soldiers of the Hai Duong Provincial Military Command are present at the unit's stadium to practice. From warm-up movements to each martial art move, the female soldiers perform accurately and skillfully.

Although she is a military nutritionist at the provincial military command, when it comes to training, Major, professional soldier Nguyen Thi Thanh Mai (44 years old) is as strong and determined as any male soldier.

Ms. Mai shared: “There were training sessions where my whole body ached, was sore, and I even suffered injuries. However, as the “big sister” of the team, I determined that I needed to set an example for the younger members to strive for. Practicing and competing in martial arts also helped me improve my health, perseverance, and high discipline.”

Ms. Mai's husband is also a soldier and is often away from home. Her two children are of school age, so Ms. Mai has to calculate and arrange her time reasonably between family matters and unit duties.

Thanks to her efforts and determination, Ms. Mai has achieved many high achievements in competitions and sports. In 2015, she won a bronze medal at the All-Army Unarmed Combat Martial Arts Competition. In 2022, she won a silver medal at the All-Army Unarmed Combat Martial Arts Club Championship. Not only is Ms. Mai good at national affairs, she is also good at housework. Ms. Mai's family has always achieved the title of "Model Military Family".

Having just completed a long period of training and competing in the military sports tournament, Lieutenant, professional soldier Pham Thuy Duong was present at the unit to practice with her teammates. Tall and strong, at first glance, everyone could see that Ms. Duong had a martial arts temperament.

Loving the green of the military uniform, in 2021, Ms. Duong volunteered to join the army. With outstanding achievements, after the training course for new soldiers, Ms. Duong was assigned to work at the Provincial Military Command. Ms. Duong's daily job is to archive documents, so when participating in sports events, Ms. Duong has to arrange her time to both do her professional work well and actively practice to achieve the highest results.

At the 2024 Military Sports Festival, Ms. Duong defeated strong opponents one after another to win a gold medal in unarmed combat in the 57-60 kg weight class.

Not only is she a good "fighter", Ms. Duong is also a shooter in the shooting competition. "To have good health and endurance in training and competition, my teammates and I have to go through supplementary exercises such as weightlifting, arm pulls, push-ups... The training time is long and the intensity is high, there were times when I thought I could not overcome it. However, my family and relatives encouraged me, my superiors cared for me, and gave me more motivation to overcome difficulties and complete my tasks well," Ms. Duong shared.

With her own efforts, Ms. Duong won 2 gold medals at the 2022 Military Martial Arts Clubs Unarmed Combat Championship and the 2023 Military Martial Arts Clubs Unarmed Combat Sports Festival.

Major, professional soldier Nguyen Thi Thanh Mai supports and guides female soldiers in the unit to accurately perform martial arts training postures.

Important factor

According to the Provincial Military Command, the entire armed forces of Hai Duong province currently have 73 female officers and professional soldiers, of which the Provincial Military Command has the most with 54 people.

Female soldiers are an important factor, representing the provincial armed forces to participate in competitions and sports events at all levels.

Their professional work at the agency or unit is military nutrition, clerical, military medical... Despite their different circumstances and professional work, in competition they always strive to overcome difficulties, improve the achievements of the whole team, bringing honor and pride to the province's armed forces.

Second Lieutenant, professional soldier Pham Thuy Duong (standing in the middle) won a gold medal in unarmed combat in the 57-60 kg weight class at the 2024 National Defense Sports Festival (photo provided by the facility)

Currently, the Hai Duong Provincial Military Command martial arts club is maintained with more than 30 members, including 7 female soldiers. Major Nguyen Van Thang, coach of the provincial military command martial arts club, commented: "Although they are female soldiers, their spirit of effort, perseverance and determination are not inferior to men. Witnessing the hard training process of female soldiers, we admire them even more."

Not only good at "martial arts", with love and responsibility, female soldiers of the provincial armed forces also actively participate in social security work.

Currently, the Women's Union, agencies and units under the Provincial Military Command are sponsoring 12 orphans, supporting each child with 500,000 VND/month. Some agencies and units have also deployed "Savings Boxes Following Uncle Ho's Example" to create a source of funds to help poor students.

Female soldiers also actively prevent storms, clean up fallen trees on roads, and support houses and schools to overcome the consequences of the recent storm No. 3.

Second Lieutenant, professional soldier Pham Thuy Duong won many high achievements at sports competitions at all levels in unarmed combat.

Colonel Ho Sy Quyen, Political Commissar of the Provincial Military Command, said: “Each medal that the female soldiers have achieved is the result of hard training and their utmost efforts. The female soldiers put aside their personal worries and work, all for the common mission. The Provincial Military Command always creates conditions, promptly encourages and motivates the female soldiers to excellently complete their assigned tasks.”

NGUYEN THAO

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/nhung-bong-hong-thep-cua-luc-luong-vu-trang-hai-duong-395781.html