The Marines of the Vietnamese Navy are the well-trained force capable of retaking control of islands off the coast that have been invaded by foreign forces, declared senior colonel Hoang Phu Vinh, vice chief of the Marines brigade M47 before a live-ammunition military maneuver in October this year.
In a hypothetical circumstance, after foreign forces overpowered the local military unit on an island of Vietnam and controlled most of the area, the Navy high command sent in the Marines brigade M47 to reclaim the island.
The live-fire drill
About 1.5 – 3 nautical miles from the island, an armored tank company was lowered to the sea to prepare for the battle about to take place on the island. When the ships were just over a mile from the destination, soldiers of the Marine forces were taken down on speed boats to lead the attack on the island.
For military campaigns at seas, the Marines are always the first to approach the target before meeting with other forces to carry out tasks to recover the lost territory.
After swimming across the coral reefs and clearing other barricades surrounding the island, the soldiers landed on the island. They were assisted by three helicopters that dropped paratroopers in the back line of the Marines and at the same time provided cover for the Marines from the air to help them open an assault on the enemies’ positions.
With the combined forces of tanks, airplanes and paratroopers, and under the cover of the artillery, the Marines led the attack, using live ammunition against the enemy.
“It is only one of the many operational requirements that the Marine forces have become accustomed to during their regular training sessions,” said the colonel Vinh.
At the end of the maneuver, the Navy high command rated the firing skills of the Marines brigade M47 at A level, according to the official.
“Whenever an island of Vietnam falls into the hands of foreign invading forces, the Marines are the force to retake the island at any price,” Vinh said with firm determination.
“So besides mastering the skills of an infantryman, a Marine soldier is also strong at tactics, able to pierce through well-fortified positions, and possess a good command of combating skills in water.
“A Marine soldier can also maintain independent combat under limited information from headquarters. It is the job no other forces can take over,” said Vinh.
At the army barracks of the B73 unit under the M47, the soldiers were loaded with heavy ammunition, each wearing a bulletproof vest and carrying 35-40kgs of munitions on the back.
During an operation, a Marine soldier is assumed to be able to fight and survive for three days without supply, in dangerous circumstances such as floating at seas for days.
According to M47 leaders, they can only recruit 170-180 young men from thousands of soldiers mobilized a year. After the initial training session lasting two months and a half, raw recruits are transferred to different divisions such as infantry, artillery and signal.
In the Marines, each new recruit has to go through 4-6 additional months to become a seasoned solider.
A Marine soldier must meet strict health standards, with no heart problems and of a minimum height of 1.65 – 167m to be able to carry heavy state-of-the-art military equipment with ease, said colonel Nguyen Trong Binh, political commissar of the B73.
Soldiers of the Marines during a regular training (Photo: Tuoi Tre)
Battle hardened
Any Marine soldier can swim over a distance of 3-5km with a heavy load of ammunition on his back.
“It’s normal for a Marine soldier to swallow sea water during training. Till you find the sea water sweet, you cannot swim like an otter,” Vu Van Hiep, 20, a Marine soldier, joked.
After passing the swimming test, the soldiers move on to master the next level of skill: keeping themselves afloat in sea water under the scorching sunlight for continuously 8 hours a day.
A training day starts at 8:00am and only concludes at 16:00. In cold season, their working schedule is reduced to 10:00 – 15:00. It is not uncommon for them to be picked up at the end of the day, floating at sea 7-10km away from the starting point.
It is part of the training to train them to survive on isolated islets without drinking water. Each is therefore given a food ration of three liters of fresh water and a compressed bar of combined food a day.
In addition, Marine soldiers must also overcome sea sickness and fear of height. For training, their feet are tied to a Ferris wheel and their bodies hang upside down, and they are gyrated around and around, sometimes for several hours on end. After that, soldiers are taken on ships to learn to travel in stormy weather.
On getting familiar with extreme conditions at seas, they are sent to Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago for a field training session held on the island each year.
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