Proud to be a soldier in Truong Sa

During his military career, Colonel Nguyen Duy Hien - former Deputy Director of the High-Tech Information Technology Center of the Signal Corps, General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army - directly set foot on all the platforms and islands of the Truong Sa archipelago.

Memorable experience

During many long business trips, in 2011, Colonel Hien had a journey of more than 100 days to the islands in Truong Sa and the DK1 platforms to install information stations - VSAT systems - according to the project of the Ministry of National Defense . During nearly 4 months of carrying out the mission, as the head of the working group, he was directly present at all the island and platform locations to work with his teammates to transport equipment, survey and deploy the installation. After completing a cluster, he continued to another location until the mission ended.

Because he had the highest rank in the group and was the head of the working group, every time he set foot on the island, Colonel Hien was often encouraged by the soldiers on the island: "There is a lot of fresh water, sir, go take a bath!". But understanding the shortage, he and the soldiers only "bathed the baby": sitting in a basin of a few liters of water to pour over themselves, then reused it to wash clothes and water vegetables.

Despite the hardship, Colonel Hien and his comrades had experiences that only Truong Sa soldiers had. "On nights when the ship was anchored and waiting for the sea to calm down, the brothers cast their lines. The fish were processed right on the deck, so much so that they had to be poured out onto the deck or put into cans of fresh water to be salted. From then on, the soldiers prepared all kinds of dishes: fish porridge, fish floss, fish sauce... There was always more fish than porridge" - Colonel Hien said.

Tự hào là lính thợ ở Trường Sa - Ảnh 1. — Colonel Nguyen Duy Hien swings a rope back to the ship after completing the installation of the VSAT system at the platform in 2011. (Photo provided by the character)

Another memory of Colonel Hien was the time he went to Truong Sa Dong island. After completing the task of installing equipment and preparing to "retreat", the island's information team came to see him and asked to contribute two ducks for a farewell party. Colonel Hien said: "We have to see if the ducks are male or female. If they are female, we will leave the eggs for the brothers to improve." A soldier from the island's information team joked: "No, the ducks are 100% male, sir!". Feeling a bit skeptical, Colonel Hien went down to the cage to check and discovered that both were female ducks, so he firmly... postponed the party.

Surprisingly, that afternoon the sea was "in favor of people". When the tide receded, the brothers on the observation tower discovered a school of armored bullfish stuck in a rock cavity. Nets were immediately mobilized. For the first time, the soldiers of Truong Sa Dong caught 49 bullfish, each weighing more than 3 kg. Six were reserved for the farewell meal of the working group, the rest were divided equally among the island clusters. That night, the whole island celebrated with grilled bullfish in a clay pot - a specialty that the island soldiers are always proud of.

Recounting these memories, Colonel Hien said: "We deeply understand the hardships, difficulties, sacrifices and dedication of the soldiers on the island."

Connecting remote islands and the mainland

The most difficult trips were to the rig in phase 2 of the project that Colonel Hien and the members of the working group carried out. On days with big waves, they had to tie ropes from the bow of the ship to the rig and use pulleys to pull people and goods up. Many times, their hearts stopped when they saw their teammates hanging high up, and then bulky equipment such as generators, solar panels, antenna dishes... swaying like kites right next to the rig.

Installing equipment on platforms and submerged islands is not simple, because of the small area, limited space, and having to choose each location to place the equipment cabinet. The most difficult thing is installing the antenna dish on the roof 20-30 m high in strong winds. Sometimes the equipment cabinet has to be placed in the narrow bedroom of the soldiers. However, with the determination to complete the task, the installation team took advantage of every hour, as soon as they set foot on the island, they immediately started working, even working through the night to meet the schedule.

The installation of information stations on islands and platforms brings important effects on national defense, security, economy and people's lives. Colonel Hien said that at the end of 2011, when the Truong Sa 20 ship docked next to the working group's ship, the soldiers discovered a wooden raft with a triangular wooden board bearing a strange flag. Low tide caused the raft to get stuck at Dau Go beach near Nam Yet island. The Truong Sa 20 ship had just been installed with a VSAT system connecting television to the mainland command, so the command could also directly observe this "mobile landmark".

Lieutenant General Nguyen Trung Thu - then Deputy Chief of the General Staff - asked the ship to approach, lower the boat, fire a probe and use a rope to pull the object onto the ship. That was the first time Colonel Hien and his teammates witnessed the information system they had just installed take immediate effect.

Tự hào là lính thợ ở Trường Sa - Ảnh 2. — The soldiers on the platform always uphold the spirit of training and combat readiness. Photo: DANG VAN DONG

Having been to many islands and directly witnessed the difficult lives of island soldiers, Colonel Nguyen Duy Hien is even more proud that the equipment he installed helps improve the soldiers' living conditions. When information stations are deployed on all islands, officers and soldiers can read newspapers, communicate safely, and report more quickly; locations with television help commanders connect online from the mainland to observe the situation on the island. People on the mainland can see images and voices from far away; on the mainland, doctors from two major hospitals, Military Hospital 108 and Military Hospital 175, can consult and directly instruct military doctors on the islands to handle situations and perform surgery on patients...

The soldiers of the Signal Corps have truly become an "extended arm", helping Truong Sa and the platforms get closer and closer to the mainland.

Colonel Nguyen Duy Hien shared: "What we encountered has become normal to the soldiers on the island. Overcoming all difficulties, hardships and dangers, they always hold their guns firmly to protect the Fatherland's borders."