Joining the army to protect the Fatherland is citizens’ right and obligation, which are stipulated by the Constitution. Nevertheless, hostile forces still use all tricks to distort and incite citizens to evade military service. These tricks must be identified and rejected.

To implement the Constitution and laws of the State, every year, there are tens of thousands of young people nationwide ardently volunteer to do military service. However, this is also the time when many false allegations made by hostile forces, reactionaries, and political opportunists about the Military Joining Day and obligations of young people appear in cyberspace. Their aim is to smear fine images of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers” and the nature, traditions, and prestige of the People’s Army, undermining people’s confidence on the People’s Army. This will result in “self-evolution” among joining people and make them inconsiderate of the Fatherland. This will also make people worried, lack confidence in the policy, and abstain from allowing their children to do military service. In a deeper sense, it is a plot to destabilise the country in terms of politics, social order, and safety when the reactionaries incite people to carry out protests and do deliberate damage to the state, incite soldiers to desert from the military. Nevertheless, despite their efforts, no one can deny the nature and fine traditions of Viet Nam People’s Army (VPA) as well as high responsibility of the young generation to the mission of defending the Fatherland. The military is a major school and a good environment for the youth forever.

Youth eagerly joins the Army

Sacred responsibility and duty of all citizens

Doing military service is a right and noble responsibility of each Vietnamese citizen for protecting national independence, freedom, and peace as well as safety of their own native land, families, and relatives. Above all, performance of military service has been stipulated by the Constitution and laws of the State. Thus, it cannot be debated if citizens choose to do or abstain from doing military service; dare or dare not do military service. The 2013 Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam provides that “Protection of the Fatherland is a scared duty and glorious right of citizens. Citizens must perform military service and participate in building the all-people national defence.” Article 64 of the Constitution stipulates that “Protection of the socialist Vietnamese Fatherland is the cause of the entire people.” To institutionalise the Constitution, Clauses 1 and 2, Article 4 and Clause 1, Article 59 of the Law on Military Service of 2015 stipulate that military service is a glorious duty of citizens serving in the People’s Army; citizen at the age for military service, regardless of ethnics, sectors, faiths, religions, education levels, occupations, or residences, must perform military service according to the regulations. Any organisations/individuals that evade, oppose, or obstruct the performance of military service shall be disciplined, incur administrative penalties or shall face criminal prosecution according to nature and severity of the violations. So, performance of military service has been legalised and binding.

However, doing military service is not simply compliance with laws of the State, but also a sacred, glorious duty of citizens to the nation and Fatherland. History has proved that the building and defence of the country have become an everlasting rule of our people. Generations of our ancestors have laid down their lives for national independence and freedom and happiness of the people. In the struggle for national liberation, given the spirits of “Nothing is more precious than independence and freedom” and “Resolving to fight for the survival of the Fatherland” as well as the will to “split the Truong Son Mountain Range to save the country,” millions of young people of Viet Nam have volunteered to go to war and become faithful, indomitable soldiers. Heroic martyrs such as Cu Chinh Lan, Vo Thi Sau, Be Van Dan, To Vinh Dien, Nguyen Van Troi, Nguyen Viet Xuan, Nguyen Van Thac, Dang Thuy Tram, etc., are shining examples of revolutionary heroism and pride of generations of Viet Nam’s youth. Without those spirits and glorious, sacred sacrifice, we cannot have such an independent, prosperous, happy country as today. Therefore, doing military service, becoming a member of the heroic VPA, and being allowed to devote sthength and intelligence to protection of the Fatherland and revolutionary achievements are honour, pride, and sacred, glorious duty of each young person today.

A major school

Hostile forces resort to all tricks to smear military environment with the aim of exerting influence on the youth’s and their families’ fear of doing military service. In fact, those are only distorted, ambiguous, biased, ungrounded allegations.

Over 78 years’ building, combat, and development, together with the entire Party and people, the VPA has achieved brilliant feats of arms. It is a “major school” for millions of young Vietnamese people or “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers” to ceaselessly develop in every aspect, making great contribution to the revolutionary cause of the Party and country. Nowadays, with its self-discipline, the military environment provides good opportunities for the youth to learn, train, and develop themselves and devote to the Fatherland. Together with development of the country, increased attention has been paid to spiritual, material life and policies on military personnel. When the youth perform military service, they are entitled to study to gain political, military, cultural, scientific, technological, professional knowledge that is useful to themselves. In the military, they are entitled to study and taught about guidelines of the Party and policies and law of the State in many fields, especially in national defence, security, and the strategy to construct and safeguard the Fatherland; are educated about politics, traditions, and legal matters, thus helping them to have a better understanding of politics and shape their world views and scientific methodologies to clearly and correctly perceive events that are happening in the country and the world. The education is bound to promote their patriotism, awareness, sense of revolutionary vigilance, political steadfastness, and “immunity” to distorted, harmful allegations of hostile forces. The military also serves as an environment for young people to keep them physically fit, enhance their agility, develop proper styles, have high responsibility for work, strict discipline, and proper behaviour. More importantly, the military is a place for the youth to train themselves that enables them to bring into full play their ability to surmount difficulties and challenges in their working environment and life. The military is the best environment that educates people about comradeship, solidarity, mutual affection, and mutual love. All cadres and soldiers work together for task accomplishment. It is also a place where young people are deeply imbued with the civil-military solidarity and close bond both in the past, at present, and in the future. Basic qualities each military personnel possesses after their length of service will provide crucial, firm foundation for them to establish their own position in life and career. Additionally, those who are qualified after training will be selected and offered suitable jobs or sent to training institutions to become officers or non-commissioned officers if they wish to serve for a long time in the VPA. Military personnel finishing military service will be entitled to preferential policies, including support for vocational training; provided with stable jobs; and selected as potential candidates for holding positions in localities if they are qualified for those positions. This demonstrates that the military environment is not so “bad” as what is being fabricated and distorted but an ideal place for the youth to train and grow in every aspect.

Measures to fight against distorted, inciting allegations

Although levels, branches, and localities always promote education and propagation, in the face of destructive action, distortion, incitement, and impacts of multiple factors, there remain some young people who fail to have a firm grasp on their duties and responsibilities; have signs of evading military service. Consequently, party committees, authorities, the Fatherland Front, and sociopolitical organisations, especially the Youth Union at all levels, need to promote propagation of the Law on Military Service and traditions among the youth with a view to arousing their pride and motivating them to fervently do military service. Besides, it is important to enhance collaboration on rejecting false, hostile, distorted viewpoints on citizens’ performance of military service. Regarding everyone participating in social networks, they are to strictly abide by the Law on Cyber Security; remain vigilant for information exchange in order to minimise potential violations and refrain from being deceived by hostile forces. They should regularly share positive messages to repel negative information and distorted, damaging allegations. As for education and training institutions, they are requested to strictly and fully implement programs on defence and security education; promote extracurricular activities aimed at improving pupils’ life skills, shaping young generation’s motive, attitude, and sense of responsibility to the society and country, and facilitating their strong resistance when participating in social networks. In addition, functional agencies regularly manage and work closely with service providers to adopt technical solutions to timely prevent the spread of false, hostile viewpoints in cyberspace and among people from various walks of life. As far as the youth’s families and relatives are concerned, they need to develop correct awareness; stay away from harmful messages spreading through social networks; and actively encourage young people to join the People’s Army.

Struggle against false, hostile viewpoints that distort execution of military service is the responsibility of levels, branches, and entire society. This will help to generate comprehensive strength to directly enhance awareness and guide young people’s ideology, thus making them well prepared for implementing their rights and sacred, glorious duties, contributing to building and firm protection of the socialist Vietnamese Fatherland.

Major General HAN MANH THANG, Director of the Department of Legal Affairs, Ministry of National Defence