The "steel roses" and the special mission A50

(LĐ online) - In April, the Southern sun is blazing hot, but the female soldiers - considered the "steel roses" of the Army Academy - who make up the Female Special Forces Unit - are still persistent and persistent in training with the spirit of not being afraid of difficulties or hardships, ready to best prepare for the great national holiday: the 50th Anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification (April 30, 1975 - April 30, 2025).

Professional Military Captain Nguyen Thi Ngoc Thi (2nd row, left cover) was assigned to protect the Military Flag at the Parade to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification Day.

• TAKE THE WILL TO WIN THROUGH HARD WORK, TEAM SPIRIT AS A FULLNESS

Under the scorching sun at the Military School of Military Region 7, 127 female officers and soldiers from many military units; of which, the Army Academy (a unit under the Ministry of National Defense , located in Da Lat City) had 6 soldiers and professional soldiers participating, united into a cohesive collective called the Female Ranger Company to carry out mission A50.

Proudly wearing the green uniform, each soldier always shows pride and honor when standing in the ranks to participate in the rehearsal for the parade to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification.

Entering the “sprint” phase, Private First Class Bui Thi Ngoc Thao - a soldier of the Administrative Department, Army Academy always maintains a spirit of readiness to practice with her teammates day and night, determined to complete the mission well. Although she is familiar with military regulations, during this period, the training intensity requires Ngoc Thao and her teammates to make double the effort. Every step, every movement must be rhythmic and coordinated to create a unified, solid block.

The "steel roses" of the Army Academy are honored and proud to contribute their part in carrying out their duties at the Parade and March to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification Day.

The hot weather these days has caused most of the women to lose a lot of energy. However, with a spirit of discipline and determination, Ngoc Thao quickly adapted, maintaining a stricter training regimen than ever before. In addition to daytime training sessions, the team also increased their training at night with additional movements to improve their skills and maintain their formation.

“The training process inevitably has moments of fatigue or pressure, but it is the solidarity and sharing of teammates that helps us overcome. Through each day of training, I clearly feel myself becoming more mature, not only in terms of physical strength but also in the will, courage and discipline of a soldier,” Ngoc Thao shared.

Marking his maturity after more than a year of training in the military environment, every word and look of Private First Class Nguyen Ly Hang - Soldier of the Administrative Department expressed pride and happiness when recalling the moment he was selected by the unit to participate and carry out the noble mission.

Before officially participating in training to perform the mission, Hang had 3 months of new soldier training at the Military School of Military Region 7 in 2024. Here, she was enthusiastically instructed by instructors on each posture, step, left and right turns, standing at attention, resting, and techniques for walking evenly and at attention according to military regulations.

“At first, it was really difficult to hit my hands and face at the right angle. But thanks to the dedicated guidance of my teachers, I gradually understood that precision is not just a formality, but also a manifestation of a soldier's discipline,” Hang shared.

Although the training time is hard, the female soldiers always have special feelings for each other, that is the love of comrades.

The more Hang practices, the more she understands that the stability of a team lies not only in technique but also in will. During the training process, what she finds most challenging is not the stressful commands, but having to maintain a position with each leg on the rope, on average, each leg must hold for 1 to 2 minutes. This exercise not only strengthens the legs but also trains the ability to endure and persevere.

The challenge also comes from the harsh weather during peak hours. In April, the Southern sun is like fire, with some days reaching temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius, making outdoor training even more difficult. Loss of strength, heatstroke, and fatigue are inevitable, but Hang and her teammates have steadfastly overcome each training session, using their will to overcome the harshness, and using team spirit as a fulcrum.

“Each decisive and powerful command movement, expressing the solemnity and bravery of the formation, is the result of months of hard training. When practicing under the scorching sun, I always think of the moment of walking in the parade to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and the reunification of the country. Thinking about that, I feel that all the difficulties are worth it,” Ly Hang confided.

Proud in uniform, Lieutenant Ly Thi Kim Oanh (No. 03) and her teammates are trying day and night, overcoming difficulties to carry out the A50 mission excellently.

• HONORABLE TO PARADE AT SACRED MOMENT

Sharing the same feelings with her teammates, Lieutenant Ly Thi Kim Oanh, a professional soldier working at System 3 of the Army Academy, was honored to participate in the training for the first time, ready for the country's important holiday. With the mindset of being ready to carry out the mission, but somewhere deep inside, the soldier felt a bit nervous and worried. Because, the assigned mission this time was not only the trust of the unit, but also demonstrated the spirit and responsibility of the soldier towards the Fatherland.

The sparkling eyes exuded determination and honor at being able to contribute to the sacred moment of the nation. “Although the time to gather for training was not long, every second and every minute here, everyone had special feelings for each other. In the midst of the hard training days, we always clearly felt the comradeship, teammates standing side by side, sharing and helping each other both in training and in daily life”, Lieutenant Ly Thi Kim Oanh confided.

Proud in her uniform, Captain Nguyen Thi Ngoc Thi - Professional Soldier of the Army Academy expressed her happiness and honor when she was selected to join the Flag Team with the task of protection. For her, this is a difficult task, because she has to walk in the right rhythm and hold her gun firmly.

"At this time, the flag guard and the flag bearer must be in line horizontally and vertically, with distance between them, swinging their legs at attention at the correct height, length and distance, but still maintaining solemnity, uniformity, beauty and straightness," said Ms. Thi.

Quick video calls to relatives give the women extra motivation to stay strong while away from home.

Not only the camaraderie, but more than anything, for female soldiers far from home, family is always a great source of motivation and a solid support for them to have more strength to overcome difficulties. In addition to the intense training hours, they set aside time for their families with greetings, a quick look through video calls to continue their mission.

In the neat military uniform, exuding strength, determination and discipline of a person who has been attached to the military environment for many years, it is impossible to hide the feelings of longing of the woman behind the sweat-soaked military uniform.

On the training ground, the weather is hot and sunny, sometimes reaching 40 degrees Celsius, but the women are still persistent with their goals and ideals.

Temporarily putting aside her role as a wife and mother, as a habit, before leaving home, she arranged her family's work as her way of preserving familiar things. With great love for the purpose and ideal of serving the Army, she used her family as a motivation to complete her mission well.

Confiding, she confided: “My husband is a businessman, also very busy, but fortunately he always understands and sympathizes, accompanying me. To nurture determination and strength through difficult training days, for me, family is always a great support. I temporarily put aside my personal feelings to make room for determination, to train my strong will to overcome difficulties to be able to participate in the great festival of the country.”

The female Special Forces company trained together at Bien Hoa airport on April 16.

The parade to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification Day (April 30, 1975 - April 30, 2025) will take place solemnly on the morning of April 30 on Le Duan Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. This is one of the country's major socio-political events, demonstrating the strength of the great national unity bloc; at the same time, paying tribute to the sacrifices and contributions of previous generations for the independence and freedom of the Fatherland.

In this parade, there were more than 13,000 participants with 15 standing groups and 56 walking groups; of which, the Army and Militia had 8 standing groups and 24 walking groups. Contributing to the parade, the Army Women's Group alone had 5 groups including: Military Band, Information Officer, Military Medicine, Vietnam Peacekeeping, and Special Forces.

The delegation of the National Defense Trade Union and the Army Academy visited, presented gifts and took souvenir photos with soldiers and professional soldiers on duty at the 50th Anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification Day.

Colonel Tran Trung Dung - Deputy Head of Politics of the Army Academy said: "To be selected to practice for the A50 mission, female soldiers must meet the criteria such as good health, height from 1.6m or more, active, lively, clean background, good moral qualities. Through many preliminary rounds, the Army Academy has selected 6 female soldiers to represent the women of the Academy to participate in the parade. To promptly encourage and share, the Army Academy has recently established a working group to visit female soldiers in Military Region 7. Through understanding the spirit of their comrades, everyone is ready for the important national holiday taking place on April 30."

In the historic month of April, when the sacred moment of the nation is approaching, the female soldiers carrying out the A50 mission chose to step forward with the steadfast spirit of Uncle Ho's soldiers. In the green of the military uniform, they are more graceful, exuding the indomitable spirit of the Vietnam People's Army. They are not only the pride of the armed forces, but also a symbol of steadfast will and dedication to the Fatherland. From that silent and persistent dedication, the "steel roses" of the Army Academy in particular and other military units in general have been and are contributing to strongly spreading the national spirit, fostering patriotism, pride and aspiration to contribute of each Vietnamese child.

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/xa-hoi/202504/nhung-bong-hong-thepva-nhiem-vu-dac-biet-a50-523243f/