During his studies, Vu Xuan Cuong received the title of "Advanced Soldier" and "Outstanding Soldier" at the grassroots level four times - Photo: Provided by the interviewee.
After four years of challenging studies, Vu Xuan Cuong (23 years old, from Than Khe, Hung Yen ) graduated from the Naval Commando major at the Special Forces Officer School with a GPA of 8.02/10, and was appointed a lieutenant.
Cuong is one of 95 valedictorians honored by the Hanoi People's Committee for outstanding achievements graduating from universities and academies in the capital in 2025 at Van Mieu - Quoc Tu Giam on the evening of November 14th.
"I consider this a special gift for my mother and my late father," Cuong shared.
Xuan Cuong hopes that after graduation he can work at a unit closest to his home so that he can easily take care of his mother - Photo: Provided by the interviewee.
I once failed to get into university because I was 0.3 points short.
Speaking to Tuoi Tre Online , Cuong said that he had dreamed of attending military school since he was a child so that he could have a stable job and share the financial burden with his parents.
In 2020, Cuong took the entrance exam for the Command and Staff major at the Army Officer School 1, but luck was not on his side, as he was just 0.3 points short. With the door to military school temporarily closed, Cuong enrolled at Hanoi University of Civil Engineering.
However, after about 4-5 months, Cuong realized that the cost of studying was quite expensive, and the field of study wasn't suitable for him. With his mind focused solely on retaking the military entrance exam, Cuong decided to drop out of school to concentrate on retaking the university entrance exam and was accepted into the Special Forces Officer School.
Xuan Cuong with other trainees at the Special Forces Officer School during their studies and training at the school - Photo: Provided by the interviewee.
The training process at the Special Forces Officer School lasts four years, but it is not until the end of the third year that trainees begin to choose their specialization, including land special forces, commando special forces, and naval special forces.
Cuong said that when he first entered the Special Forces Officer School, he only knew how to swim short-distance freestyle. But after two days at the school, he was instructed and trained in long-distance breaststroke. In the group swimming training sessions with about 20 people in a line, Cuong was always chosen to swim at the front of the line because of his strong physique and good technique.
Cường's father passed away in a traffic accident in 2022, and hoping to find a job near home after graduation to better care for his mother, he decided to pursue a career in naval commando.
"For the first three years, we learned to swim from basic to advanced levels. By the end of the third year, when we chose the water science major, most of our colleagues in the major already knew advanced swimming, so we were able to handle long/distance swimming," Cuong said.
A challenge for naval commandos.
Pursuing specialization in naval commandos, the challenges become even more difficult and rigorous. Cuong considers the most difficult training exercise to be "drifting at sea for 24 hours" during his final year internship in Ninh Thuan.
At that time, Cuong participated in a 24-hour drifting exercise at sea to test his physical endurance. During the drifting, the trainees used inflatable tubes and ate thin porridge prepared in water bottles attached to the tubes while floating on the water.
"Drifting on the sea for 24 hours was quite exhausting, requiring both physical strength and willpower. The weather at sea was extremely harsh; my skin got burned, and when I got ashore, it peeled off and was very painful," Cuong said.
Xuan Cuong and his teammates in training uniform - Photo: Provided by the interviewee.
The memories that Cường cherishes most are from the 10-day final training exercise. During the exercise, naval commando trainees had to conduct battles such as attacking islands and ports, and had to swim and approach targets in the extremely cold December weather.
There were nights when the trainees had to swim in the freezing cold of 7-8 degrees Celsius, and the instructors taught them tips like gargling with fish sauce or drinking ginger water to keep warm.
"Commando attacks are only carried out at night. We started at 7 PM, the weather was very cold, we only wore commando shorts and went shirtless. There were moments when, swimming to the target location, we could only swim for survival because it was too cold, we couldn't feel our hands and feet. When we surfaced, we couldn't walk steadily anymore and had to use our hands to support ourselves on the rocky areas," Cuong recounted.
Cuong and his mother at the graduation ceremony - Photo: Provided by the interviewee.
First Lieutenant Nguyen Manh Khiem - Company Commander of Company 2, Battalion 1, Special Forces Officer School - said that Cuong is a well-rounded student. Not only does he have good physical fitness and meet the requirements of specialized training exercises, but Cuong is also very active in extracurricular activities and adheres well to the school's regulations.
"Cuong is a very good swimmer, but he's especially outstanding in the exercise requiring him to pull a 20-25kg weight over a distance of 30-35km. Trainees need to have good physical fitness and skills to meet the requirements of this exercise," Khiem said.
After graduating, at the end of August, Cuong was assigned to the Special Forces Battalion, 3rd Military Region Headquarters in Hai Phong as a platoon leader, responsible for managing soldiers.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/thu-khoa-dac-cong-nuoc-ke-chuyen-kho-luyen-danh-dao-danh-cang-24-gio-tha-troi-tren-bien-2025111414163998.htm
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