The happiness of Dai Nam teachers and students with the first "autonomous" military season

Notes of lecturer Tran Le Thu - Department of National Defense and Security, Dai Nam University

I walked slowly through the school grounds and stopped in front of the row of purple-flowered Lagerstroemia trees blooming in the blazing summer sun. The shade of the trees was not only a place to avoid sudden rains or act as a round umbrella to protect us during hot days, but also imprinted with warm memories of the first autonomous military season of our teachers and students at Dai Nam University.

After 11 years of training, starting from 2019, Dai Nam University officially has the right to autonomously teach national defense and security.

Are you curious about how teachers and students of DNU lived, studied, worked and interacted during the first autonomous military season? Let me tell you about the first class of full-time students who received military training right at the school!

College life is full of new experiences and military training is one of the most memorable ones. January knocks on the door, bringing K11 students “a wonderful military training period”, according to them, this is the longest military training period with the most emotional range.

Strict, challenging and hard are the first associations that come to mind for every student when thinking about military training - an environment that always emphasizes discipline and principles; a collective environment where no individual is allowed to go beyond the boundaries of formal order.

The first day in the military student area started at 7:00 am. We welcomed the students in awe. Along with the young faces full of energy and curiosity were a lot of colorful personal belongings. Looking at them, I suddenly remembered myself on the first day in front of the university gate.

National defense and security education uniforms of Dai Nam University students

We provided them with military equipment and assigned them rooms, including blankets, pillows, mats, and books. I secretly watched the students’ expressions of delight when they saw their military uniforms with their bright red shoulder straps and lapels, and their eyes sparkled when they saw the sparkling yellow stars on their caps. These were the things that would accompany them throughout their 28 days here.

Team discipline class of teachers and students of Dai Nam University right in the school yard.

I was assigned to command a company, the word “comrade” came naturally. We built a plan to gradually bring the students into order and discipline. That was really difficult for students who had never left their families. 11 daily regimes were applied from the first noon. The students were quite shy when they were not used to the new uniform and military style, especially when all activities of sleeping, resting, and living followed the same order as for army cadets.

I often take advantage of the break time to chat and ask about each student’s life and do not forget to encourage them to study with peace of mind; that here we not only teach them military knowledge and skills but also give them useful experiences about life. The first night was probably the longest. There were sighs, tossing and turning because of difficulty sleeping, partly because of the unfamiliar bed, partly because of missing their parents and family.

Students learn shooting skills with AK submachine guns on the training ground under the instruction and supervision of the Department's staff and lecturers.

The worries and strangeness seemed to fade away in the following days. The grass-colored national defense and security education uniforms seemed to cover the entire dormitory area; the sound of the assembly siren had become familiar; the company meetings were warm with comradeship; the watchtowers were not lonely but filled with the laughter of friends; the evenings of marching were tiring but full of new experiences; the evenings when the whole company sat together practicing singing 10 prescribed military songs, the clapping of hands like cheers urging my "soldiers" to be more enthusiastic gradually became a way of life here.

Students are excited to learn about internal affairs.

We guide the children to fold the internal affairs neatly, arrange the internal affairs in accordance with regulations; educate them about the tradition of building, fighting and growing up of the heroic Vietnam People's Army, the tradition of revolutionary struggle of the people's armed forces, foster political ideology, ethics and lifestyle; equip them with basic military knowledge such as: 10 oaths of honor, 12 disciplines, learning the internal rules, 11 daily regimes, 3 weekly regimes, 2 exercises with 24 movements, learning about types of guns, combat weapons and military tactics.

Students enjoy learning outside the field.

Here, the students also experience collective life, know how to share, love and help each other, take care of teammates when they have a cold or high fever, know how to give and receive, sacrifice personal interests to find a common voice in the group. The Squad Leaders and Platoon Leaders are always enthusiastic and responsible in their work, promoting their core role to unite the soldiers, contributing to quickly bringing the unit into regular order and maintaining discipline.

Dear DNU house with the care and protection of the school and the tireless efforts of functional departments, lecturers and administrators have created for the students a second home called "Military House".

Nearly a month together was the days when they learned to live independently. I realized the positive changes in the thinking and actions of the "soldiers". The sun and wind on the training ground, the cold weather and the sirens of the marching movement have tempered my "soldiers" to become more mature, stronger and more experienced.

Relaxing moments of DNU students during the national defense semester.

On the day of “demobilization”, there were tears. Some students wished it was not nearly a month but a longer period of time. Some also wished they could return to military training one more time to write more memories. We hugged each other in all the nostalgia, sadness, memories… Everyone promised themselves that after leaving the National Defense Education area and returning to the specialized faculty, they would try to study and train well like this meaningful military training period.

The national defense and security course is one of the memorable experiences in every student's life.

Now, I stand under the Lagerstroemia tree that gave us shade during the hard training days, watching you, one by one, leave the “common home” to return to your original life…and think to yourself “K11 - Wishing you all the best!”.