Newspapers travel to Truong Sa and DK1 platform

Although digital technology and digital intelligence have become dominant in the 4.0 era, reading newspapers on electronic platforms is no longer strange and has become easier and more convenient than ever. However, for officers and soldiers of the DK1 platform stationed off the southern continental shelf of the Fatherland, reading newspapers on electronic platforms is still a "rare commodity".

Because in the midst of the stormy sea, the weather conditions are harsh, the waves are unpredictable, the internet is unstable, and even calling to visit relatives on the mainland is very difficult, so where can we get the daily newspaper online? Therefore, the paper newspaper from the mainland, carried by ships across the waves, delivered to the platform for officers and soldiers to read is still the most effective method of "updating information" in the decades-long journey of protecting the sea of DK1 soldiers.

Like hundreds of other ships going to the continental shelf before, in late May, the Truong Sa 01 ship of the 125th Naval Brigade left the port, overcoming the waves to go out to sea to join the soldiers "heads in the sky, feet never touching the ground" at the forefront of the wind and waves. On that beloved ship, in addition to carrying dozens of tons of rice, military supplies, and uniforms, there was a "special gift" that could not be forgotten under any circumstances, which was letters and newspapers.

To deliver newspapers to the soldiers, after the on-duty or DK1 Battalion liaison soldier "receives" them from the Naval Region 2 library, the newspapers are distributed to the DK1 platforms on each shelf. Before the ship sets sail, the soldiers' newspapers, documents, and letters are packed in plastic bags (waterproof bags) by the liaison soldier and transferred to the ship and stacked neatly in a compartment.

To avoid confusion between the letters from one platform and another, each package of newspapers is carefully written with the platform name: “Document DK1/12, document DK1/14, document DK1/15...”. If the sea is calm, letters, newspapers, and documents are transferred to the platform by a transporter; in the stormy season (from October to March of the following year), newspapers are tied tightly in protective bags and dropped into the sea for soldiers on the platform to pull up. Normally, when DK1 soldiers receive the newspaper, the information is two months, or even four months out of date (equivalent to the time or a shift change ship).

As the person directly responsible for dividing, packaging and delivering newspapers to the DK1 platforms, Sergeant Nguyen Duc Toan said that the DK1 platforms still maintain reading daily newspapers as usual. In order to avoid confusion between one platform and another, after receiving them from the library, they must proactively distribute newspapers to the platforms immediately. Before the ship sets sail, the newspapers are carefully packaged, transferred to the ship, and delivered to the platforms for the soldiers. This has always been directed by the Party Committee and the DK1 Battalion commander, and has been done well for many years.

Newspapers travel across the waves to Truong Sa and DK1 platform - photo 2 — Soldiers on Sinh Ton Island read the Culture Newspaper. Photo: XUAN HUONG

The DK1 platforms are stationed on the southern continental shelf of the Fatherland, hundreds of nautical miles from the mainland. The climate here is harsh, with waves and winds all year round, scorching sun, and difficult physical conditions. Because there is no relay station, the internet connection is unstable, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, and sometimes it can barely catch a signal, not to mention the “interference” of the climate, clouds, and waves. That also means that reading the daily newspaper and getting information from the platform soldiers is difficult.

Each platform has a TV that receives signals through a TVRO dish, but it does not always receive images. Problems such as "jet lag", the dish being "out of alignment" by storms and winds, not receiving signals, and many other problems can happen at any time. Therefore, newspapers and tiny radios are now used. After hours of training on combat plans to protect the platform, officers and soldiers sit around the tiny radio to listen to news from the mainland. Old newspapers are taken out by soldiers to "ponder". To preserve the newspapers and let everyone read them, young soldiers have bound them into different types of newspapers. Magazines with beautiful pictures, good poems, touching love stories are cut and pasted into the notebooks of the platform and considered as their "private little corner".

It is known that at the DK1 platform, professional military major Nguyen Van Long is a diligent collector of newspapers. Taking advantage of his free time, he binds old newspapers into volumes of each type for soldiers to pass around to read. This is a small and simple act but has great significance, demonstrating the spirit and responsibility of a soldier who has been attached to DK1 for many years.

“In the middle of the year-round waves at sea, newspapers are not only knowledge but also our confidants. Every time a ship comes out to take over duty, the thing we care about most is still the newsletter. Now reading electronic newspapers has become popular, accessing information from the mainland is also much easier, but not every platform can read electronic newspapers because the internet is often unstable and cannot be caught, so newspapers still dominate. After everyone has finished reading them, I put them away on the shelf, and the following month I take them out to read again like new. That work has become a beautiful cultural collection for many years,” said Major Long.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/chinh-tri/bao-giay-vuot-song-ra-voi-truong-sa-va-nha-gian-dk1-144254.html