VNFPU-1 – Vietnam’s first peacekeeping police unit
In January 2024, the Ministry of Public Security’s Office for UN Peacekeeping announced the Decision to establish and launch the Peacekeeping Police Unit No.1 (VNFPU-1). This is Vietnam’s first armed police unit for peacekeeping. Currently, at the Peacekeeping Training and Capacity Development Centre (Van Giang, Hung Yen), the Ministry of Public Security’s Permanent Office for UN Peacekeeping is organising the second intensive training course for VNFPU-1. This is an important preparation step for the unit to carry out its tasks at international missions.
With high requirements according to UN standards, VNFPU-1 must ensure that it is an independent combat unit, including the necessary means for field operations, always in a state of readiness. The mission area is mainly dirt roads, the dry season is dusty, and in the rainy season, combat vehicles easily get stuck in the mud, while the unit is required to prepare for long patrols in remote areas. Therefore, in addition to the guns, armoured vehicles, troop carriers, water trucks, and ambulances have been equipped and used for training, the VNFPU-1 barracks also have forklifts and rescue vehicles.
Lieutenant Colonel Tran Trong Nguyen, Deputy Commander of VNFPU-1, emphasised: “VNFPU-1 is assigned to protect civilians and UN assets, and at the same time support local police in fighting and preventing crime in unstable areas where the legal system is disrupted. The unit also conducts active training activities, currently at level 3 and expected to move to level 4 next April”.
The young commander’s hands were still covered in dust after he and his teammates had just prepared equipment and prepared for the training formation. His voice became more enthusiastic as he affirmed his determination to improve the effectiveness of training and studying: “We are determined to bring the spirit of innovation and youthful energy into every exercise, every class, to improve the effectiveness of training. I believe in the enthusiasm and will of the young soldiers.” He added: “Training focuses on combat skills, the use of equipment and weapons, and meeting UN standards. Soldiers are trained to work according to international law, prioritising reconciliation and persuasion in missions.”
The VNFPU-1 team is urgently preparing reserve forces for mission deployments, with training programs built according to strict UN standards. The young soldiers not only practice physical strength and field skills but also receive intensive foreign language training to meet the requirements of international missions. In addition, they participate in activities such as supporting local communities or practising etiquette, to hone their will and strengthen their team spirit. However, the training conditions of VNFPU-1 are still limited, with inadequate equipment and simple facilities.
In that context, Lieutenant Le Minh Quan, born in 1995, working at Can Tho City Police, affirmed: “I am very confident in preparing for this mission!”. Quan is one of the young officers who studied the peacekeeping force early and registered as soon as he learned the criteria. He added: “Entering the Centre, I saw my teammates coordinating well, working with high spirit. I am studying to improve my English, continuing to improve my necessary skills such as martial arts, training, combat skills, and many new lessons that we will need to learn in the future”.
Lieutenant Colonel Tran Trong Nguyen assessed: “The young officers and soldiers at VNFPU-1 are constantly striving to hone their combat skills in a dangerous environment with many potential risks, difficult conditions, epidemics, poverty and fighting between armed groups. We are making determined efforts to prepare our combat capabilities, professional qualifications, and foreign languages to be upgraded in the UN Standard Readiness System.”
Building on a solid foundation
Colonel Le Quoc Huy, Deputy Chief of the Ministry of Public Security’s Permanent Office for UN Peacekeeping, said that VNFPU-1 is the first unit of the Ministry of Public Security established to participate in UN peacekeeping missions. The unit’s commander is Senior Lieutenant Colonel Luong Thi Tra Vinh, the first Vietnamese female police officer to join the UN peacekeeping force. Currently, Task Force No.3 and Task Force No.4 of the Ministry of Public Security are performing UN peacekeeping missions at the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and the UN Mission in the Abyei Region (UNISFA), with an officer working at the UN headquarters in New York (the US).
Last February, Task Force No.2, consisting of Lieutenant Colonel Bui Phuong Lan, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thu Ha and Major Dinh Manh Cuong, returned home after completing their mission, receiving high praise from the leaders of the mission’s police and the South Sudanese police.
Having just returned home, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thu Ha - the only female officer of Task Force No. 2 - is now training with the VNFPU-1 team at the Peacekeeping Training and Capacity Development Centre. For her, when working in a special area like South Sudan, with hot weather, dusty sand, lack of clean water, and above all, the fear of disease, the biggest challenge is not there but the longing for her little daughter, who always haunts her after each night away from home.
Returning after a year and a half of working at the UNMISS Mission, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thu Ha still remembers the moment her 8-year-old daughter hugged her mother tightly, her eyes shining with joy mixed with a bit of resentment because of the days apart. “When my mother came back, she clung to me very much, clinging to me as if she was afraid that I would go away again,” she said, her voice slightly low when mentioning the difficulties in the heart of a security soldier mother.
However, she quickly regained her spirit, ready to return to work. Currently, Ha is undertaking two important tasks. With extensive experience working at the Mission, she is supporting the unit in building equipment profiles according to UN standards. “This is not an easy task, requiring meticulousness and perseverance, but I am ready because it is the path I have chosen,” she shared.
The Criminal Police Lieutenant Colonel is also supporting training and improving English for commanders and unit leaders in VNFPU-1. From practical lectures, she designed a program to help her teammates access the necessary skills, preparing for the UN’s rigorous tests on equipment, language and combat capabilities. Looking back on her journey in South Sudan, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thu Ha emphasised: “I hope you will feel the reality through the experiences I have gone through, to continue the peacekeeping mission with passion and responsibility.”
With professionalism and fortitude forged through hardship, the first Working Groups are laying a solid foundation for the peacekeeping work of the police force. The image of the “blue beret” officers and soldiers is also a source of inspiration for the youth of the police force to learn, follow their example, and follow in the footsteps of peace.
Ready for international missions
When we arrived at the Centre, the VNFPU-1 soldiers in the uniform of the People’s Public Security Forces were gathered in the school yard, in neat rows, shouting orders loudly, determination emanating from every movement. Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thu Ha assured me: “I am not the one who inspires you, but your positive energy and spirit have passed on to me.”
For her, that is the motivation for her and her teammates in the training team to strive to improve the quality of training, to better prepare the unit. She emphasised that the work of GNHB requires professionalism, not only in expertise but also in courage, to prepare for missions thousands of kilometres away from the Fatherland.
Talking about the days of facing dust, gunfire and homesickness, constantly advising the young soldiers, she also always affirmed her belief in their potential: “The soldiers are practising every day, in English, soft skills and sense of responsibility, it is a long-term accumulation process”.
As one of the young soldiers in the squad, Captain Nguyen Phuong Thao shared: “The image of a blue beret soldier represents the colour of world peace. I set a goal to join the peacekeeping force to fulfil my dream of being a police officer”. Thao said that Lieutenant Colonel Luong Thi Tra Vinh was the “fire-bearer”, inspiring her to pursue her dream. Along with the support from her family and the trust of the agency, more and more young police officers are determined to contribute to the peacekeeping mission.
With a solid foundation of the tested experience of those who have “passed the torch” before, the current young generation of the People’s Public Security Forces is ready to train formally and professionally to wear the green uniform of the peacekeeping police force.
