Kumquats and peaches are brought to the Truong Sa Islands.
Early in the morning, a Navy vehicle took us to the military port to board a ship bound for Truong Sa. Unlike the trips by civilian and Party delegations visiting Truong Sa during calm seas, which depart from Cam Ranh, all trips depart from the international port to maintain secrecy regarding the ships and military equipment of the 189th Submarine Brigade, the 162nd Surface Combat Ship Brigade, and the 955th Transport and Landing Ship Brigade of the 4th Naval Region…
Naval personnel from Region 4 listen to encouragement from their superiors before marching to the island to perform their duties.
PHOTO: VO VIET
For the year-end trip, the transport ships anchor at military ports for convenient management of troop numbers, transportation of personnel, and arrangement of Tet (Lunar New Year) gifts.
The smiles of those in their 20s who went to the island.
PHOTO: VO VIET
Besides bundles of banana leaves and bamboo strips for wrapping banh chung (traditional Vietnamese rice cakes), the Tet atmosphere is filled with boxes of gifts from the Ministry of National Defense , the Navy, the 4th Naval Region, and local authorities, sent to each island, unit, and household on the islands.
Peach and kumquat trees are being prepared to be loaded onto the boat heading to Phan Vinh Island.
PHOTO: VO VIET
In addition, there are kumquat and peach trees donated by the Vietnam Sea and Islands Association and other organizations and individuals, with the destination clearly indicated on the labels attached to the tree trunks.
Mr. Tran Vu Thanh (Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Seas and Islands) said: For the Lunar New Year of the Horse 2026, in addition to the traditional kumquat trees from Van Giang, the Association will also donate nearly 100 carefully selected peach trees from nurseries in Dong Anh and Quang Ba ( Hanoi )...
Peach blossoms and kumquats from the Vietnam Sea and Islands Association were brought to the islands by soldiers to celebrate Tet.
PHOTO: MTH
Field uniform
On many previous trips to Truong Sa during the year-end holidays, I always saw soldiers in their regular uniforms with kepi hats boarding ships for troop changes. This time, however, everywhere I looked, I saw neat combat uniforms, from the navy blue to the air defense/air force sky blue, the border guard green, and the army's brownish-green...
Mixed in with the military uniforms were familiar faces of workers from the Central Vietnam Meteorological and Hydrological Station (Department of Meteorology and Hydrology, Ministry of Agriculture and Environment), the Air Traffic Management Company under the Vietnam Air Traffic Management Corporation… and also families returning to Truong Sa Island after a vacation on the mainland.
Goodbye to the mainland.
PHOTO: MTH
Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Duy Ba, Political Officer of Brigade 146 (Naval Region 4), said: "Going out to sea is a combat mission, so we wear full combat gear." Throughout the 20-day trip, Lieutenant Colonel Ba always wore combat gear, even when performing ceremonies on the island.
Officers and soldiers from Da Nam Island will be deployed for the second troop rotation in 2025.
PHOTO: MTH
The story of wearing combat uniforms when going to Truong Sa is actually not new. Since 2015, Navy Commander Pham Hoai Nam (now a Lieutenant General and Deputy Minister of National Defense), when leading inspection teams to Truong Sa, ordered all members to wear combat uniforms, citing the reason that "this is a battlefield, not a meeting."
The ships departed from Cam Ranh naval base heading to Truong Sa (Spratly Islands).
PHOTO: MTH
The Lunar New Year meal allowance for soldiers in 2026 (Year of the Horse) includes an additional meal allowance equivalent to the basic allowance (from 72,000 VND/person/day or more, depending on the unit and region) for the three days of the Lunar New Year (the 30th, 1st, and 2nd days of the new year).
In addition to general standards, units also base their decisions on local conditions to supplement meals with additional food and organize cultural activities to celebrate Tet.
Transport people, not pigs or chickens.
Currently, the troops of Brigade 146 (Naval Region 4) are stationed on 21 islands in the Truong Sa Special Zone, covering an area of approximately 160,000 to 180,000 km² . Visiting all these islands can sometimes take a month. If they arrive, wait for favorable weather to land on the islands, and anchor to deliver and receive supplies and personnel, it can take several months.
Forces from Military Hospital 175 (Ministry of Defense) and the Air Defense - Air Force are being deployed to replace troops on Truong Sa Island.
PHOTO: MTH
Therefore, for each year-end trip, typically 3-4 transport ships from the 955th Transport and Landing Ship Brigade (Naval Region 4) are assigned to each island cluster. The ships anchor close together, depart together, and upon return, they coordinate to calculate the timing, ensuring they arrive at Cam Ranh Bay and dock at the same time, just as they did on the way there.
We traveled on ship 571 (411th Squadron, 955th Brigade), a troop transport ship, on a special route of approximately 1,000 nautical miles (nearly 2,000 km) stretching from the north, down to the middle and then southeast of the Spratly Islands, before returning to Cam Ranh base.
Farewell ceremony for delegations departing for Truong Sa at Cam Ranh military port.
PHOTO: MTH
After disembarking and checking into our cabins, we went up to the aft deck to witness the farewell ceremony on the pier, and something felt different. Finally, I realized: The open space at the stern of the ship, now uncovered, was being used to house hundreds of pigs, chickens, and ducks, brought to the island for the Lunar New Year celebrations as in the past.
Ships 491 and 461 brave the waves at the entrance to Cam Ranh Bay.
PHOTO: MTH
When asked about it, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Ngoc Vien (Commander of Naval Squadron 411) chuckled: "In the old days, when there were few boats, we had to share them. Now, military transport ships constantly supply the islands, so livestock and poultry are transported by separate vessels."
The farewell on the pier and the longing for Truong Sa in the hearts of loved ones.
At the year-end farewell ceremony for ships heading to sea, we saw some wives and children of officers and soldiers coming to see them off. This is a new practice, as previously, family members were not allowed into the dock to say goodbye, for fear of affecting the morale of their loved ones and other soldiers.
Captain Nguyen Van Thanh Do bids farewell to his wife and children.
PHOTO: MTH
First Lieutenant Duong The Phong, 28 years old, resides in Tien Lang commune, Hai Phong city. After graduating from high school, Phong applied to the Armored and Tank Officer School, specializing in command and staff, course 43 (2018 - 2022).
After graduating, he was assigned to the 101st Marine Brigade (4th Naval Region) and in July 2024 was deployed to Song Tu Tay Island for duty. In July 2025, Duong The Phong returned to the mainland and in January 2026 was again deployed to Truong Sa Island to take on the role of commander of a mobile infantry platoon.
First Lieutenant Duong The Phong (Truong Sa Island) bids farewell to his wife Nguyen Thi Hoang Yen and daughter Duong Quynh Trang.
PHOTO: MTH
Bidding farewell to Lieutenant Duong The Phong were his wife, Nguyen Thi Hoang Yen, 26, and their 2-year-old daughter, Duong Quynh Anh. Yen, originally from Ba Vi commune (Hanoi), met officer cadet Duong Van Phong on Facebook while studying accounting at the Banking Academy and they fell in love.
Nguyen Thi Hoang Yen's wife and daughter, Duong Quynh Trang, bid farewell to Lieutenant Duong The Phong on the Cam Ranh port.
PHOTO: MTH
In 2023, Phong and Yen got married, and in 2024 they had a daughter, Duong Quynh Anh. Just two months after her husband finished his year-long assignment on Song Tu Tay Island, in September 2025, Yen resigned from her accounting job at a medical supply company and moved with her daughter to My Ca (Khanh Hoa) to rent a house, so she could be closer to Lieutenant Duong The Phong.
As the ship prepared to leave the port, Phong hugged his daughter tightly, sniffing her, then quickly kissed his wife's face before jumping up the stairs with his comrades. Yen hugged her daughter, Duong Quynh Trang, tightly, turning her head to quickly wipe away the tears streaming down her cheeks, not wanting her husband to see. She then turned back to gaze at him, holding her daughter's hand as they waved the red flag with a yellow star, bidding farewell to those going to sea, as the farewell whistle echoed throughout the military port.
As the ship left the dock, we looked back and still saw the national flag, held brightly in the hands of a young woman on the pier. That flag, like a flame of faith, was a gift from the mainland.
Soldiers in Truong Sa are entitled to 4 banh chung (traditional Vietnamese rice cakes) per person.
Military personnel entitled to the Lunar New Year 2026 sticky rice cake (including civil servants, public employees, defense workers; arts students under 17 years old; and international military students on Lunar New Year holiday in 2026 at training facilities under the Ministry of National Defense) will receive 3 sticky rice cakes per person.
Specifically, forces stationed in the Spratly Islands, the DK1 platform, the northern and southern continental shelf areas, the Ca Mau shoal, and other locations with a special allowance of 100%... are entitled to 4 sticky rice cakes per person.
(Source: Department of Finance, Ministry of Defence; January 2026)
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tet-o-truong-sa-ky-2-dom-lua-cam-ranh-185260209184723698.htm
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