Shoulder to shoulder with companion-in-arms

From the forest, down to the sea

When asked, any task force officer or soldier answers promptly, "When we go on duty, even our family members do not know where we are going and when we will return. They never make even a phone call for fear of adverse effects on our duty.”  It is because the task of tracking, preventing and combating criminals requires absolute secret.

Several years went by, but Senior Lieutenant Colonel Ton That Nguyen Dat, Head of the Drug and Criminal Prevention Division, Major Bui Ngoc Son and task force soldiers distinctly remembers the arduous days of investigating the case of  trafficking in explosives.

Getting the information of a trafficker from Quang Nam Province coming to the border communes of A Luoi District to collect explosives, the task force soldiers began a day-after-day journey to track the trafficking object. Only by night did the tricky object operate in the communes of A Roang, A Dot, Hong Trung.

In the forests, due to the thick darkness it is difficult to keep the object under close observation. Nevertheless, after several months of surveillance and investigation, the soldiers were certain about the place where the object would collect his goods - at a local man’s house by a stream in the area. The collection would take place at night, but they did not know when the object will take action. Therefore, everyday as night fell, they went to the stream and waited.

At night, the cold from the stone and water kept them chilled to the bone. Mosquitoes and leeches sucked their blood, but they did not dare to move because in quietness, just a little noise could get the dogs to bark loudly.

After six consecutive sleepless nights with cold and insect bites, the soldiers saw the object turn up. On consideration, if promptly caught, the object with a large quantity of explosives would be very dangerous for the locals living around.

Therefore, no sooner had the trafficker moved out of the residential area with a sack of around 90 kg of explosives loaded on his motorbike than the soldiers shone their flashlights and asked him to halt. The trafficker rode his motorcycle straight into the task force soldiers, and ran away. When his motorcycle hit an obstacle and fell, he left his goods, fleeing into the forest. It was 9 pm.

Knowing that the trafficker was not able to go far since he was from another province and thus unfamiliar with the forest. However, in the night immense forest, the soldiers had to search every bush and tree under the flashlight. After 6 hours of hunting, until 3 am the criminal was arrested and handcuffed. After completing a crime investigation, if receiving another command, task force soldiers will immediately move from the forest to the sea, silently continue with new tasks. Sometimes, only after months can they return home.

Silently

Task force is a "spearhead” in preventing and combating crimes. Prevention is more  important than combat, so task force soldiers are often away from home, carrying the backpacks from one location to another.

Senior Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Dung, Deputy Head of the Drug and Crime Prevention Division, worked with his teammates at Phong Hai Commune (Phong Dien District)  for several months on end in order to carry out the task of  investigating and preventing the use of drugs  among teenagers at risk of "spreading" all over the Ngu Dien area.

After many days of scouting the area, the soldiers were able to persuade many drug addicts to voluntarily go to detoxification centers. Concurrently, the soldiers informed the families and the local authorities of the necessity for drug addicts to be managed and supported to prevent the risk of addiction relapse.

To Senior lieutenant colonel Dung, what troubled him most was the case of a smart and active university student who became addicted and dropped out. Encouraged by Mr. Dung, this young man agreed to be detoxified. Once he suffered a bout of addiction, he got his hands tied. When this young man volunteered to go to the detoxification center for six months, the soldiers were overjoyed. However, when back to the normal life, he did not have enough energy to quit drugs and overcome the fatal temptation.

Concern over a peaceful life for the community has urged the soldiers to go to every corner to hunt the criminals who spread the white death. It is rare for them to have the moments of simple happiness beside their family. There are senile parents in need of their sons’ care. There are wives who lack their husbands’ strong shoulders in hard times. There are desires to be restrained in silence. And there are a lot of other silent sacrifices so that those hands and shoulders can assume the heavy but sacred duty - keeping peace for life.

By Quynh Anh