The study and emulation to follow Uncle Ho’s teaching is the “order” from the heart and mind of the entire Party, the entire People, and the entire Army. This content has been implemented by the cadres, personnel, soldiers, and labours in the General Department of Logistics with a tremendous sense of responsibility and sacred devotion which form an important and steadfast political motive to accomplish all assigned tasks and build a strong General Department of Logistics and the Military Logistical branch to meet all task requirements in Military construction and Fatherland protection in the new situation.

In response to President Ho Chi Minh’s Appeal for Patriotic Emulation and engraving His teachings “Providing supplies is as important as directly fighting the enemy on the front: Only when the soldiers are adequately armed and provisioned can they win battles”, the General Department of Logistics has grasped, led, directed, and implement the emulation of following Uncle Ho’s teachings. The contents, measures, and targets of the emulation have been specified in accordance with the activities and characteristics of each agency and unit. Annually, each collective and individual design plans to study and follow Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, ethics, and manners, especially opting for key tasks and areas to make breakthroughs. As for the General Department’s agencies, the focus is placed on grasping the improvement of the competence in advising and directing the renewal of working manners at grass-roots levels and for grass-roots levels. As for hospitals, it is necessary to enhance medical ethics and professional qualifications in examination, treatment, and care. Concerning storage and transportation units, attention is attached to the assurance of traffic safety, cargo safety, and fuel and material savings. For military schools, the focus is on improving the quality of education, training, and scientific research. For enterprises, it is important to bring into play the positive spirit of labour productivity and practice of thrift; promote technical initiatives and innovation to improve productivity and quality, reduce the cost of goods, enhance competitiveness, and establish a corporate culture.

With the flexible and creative organisation of emulation movements, in recent years, the General Department has fulfilled its advisory function for the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of Defence (the Mod) in renewing the methods of logistic support and designing a system of legal normative documents and policy mechanisms regarding logistics. Close coordination with central and local committees, ministries, and branches has been ensured to effectively utilise resources and promote a synergy to create seismic changes in logistic work. The General Department has advised the MoD to renew command and administration methods and logistic support for tasks. The focus has been placed on building logistic potentialities and the logistic posture and strengthening logistic support in defensive areas and conducting exercises and training according to plans to enhance the capability to ensure and adequately support logistic demands in various situations, especially for forces in border areas, seas, islands, and remote areas. At the same time, it is necessary to direct and guide the entire Army to promote the emulation movement "The Military Logistics follows President Ho Chi Minh's teachings" to ensure good life quality in the Army and build forces and logistic equipment to meet the requirements of building a regular, elite, step-by-step modernised Army with several forces advancing toward modernity, etc.

Conference on deploying the emulation movement of the Logistical branch to follow Uncle Ho's teaching in 2022

Currently, the entire Army is concentrating on the implementation of Resolution No. 05-NQ/TW of the Politburo (13^th tenure) on organising the Vietnam People’s Army in the 2021-2030 period and beyond, and Resolution No. 658-NQ/QUTW issued on 20 December 2022 by the Central Military Commission on logistic work in the Army until 2030 and beyond, in the rapid and complicated context of the world in general and Vietnam in particular with multiple unpredictable impacts which include the 4^th Industrial Revolution, Russia-Ukraine conflict and other non-traditional security challenges. Thus, this lays down increasing requirements for the Military Logistics. To accomplish all assigned tasks, the General Department’s Party Committee and Command are required to synchronously implement measures for leadership and direction; in particular, stepping up the emulation of studying and following Uncle Ho’s teachings to facilitate task accomplishment within the General Department is the top measure. Therefore, the General Department’s Party Committee and Command have been concentrating on the implementation of several following contents and measures.

Intensifying education and enhancing the awareness, responsibility, and determination for emulation of the contingent of cadres, personnel, soldiers, and labours in the General Department. The focus must be placed on underlining the emulation of studying and following Uncle Ho’s teachings toward logistic work in the Army. To attain great effectiveness, the agencies and units must actively renovate forms and methods for propagation and education; closely combine fundamental education with supplementary education and task dissemination with traditional education. It is necessary to strengthen measures for managing and maintaining discipline and bringing into play the role model of the contingent of cadres and party members through specific activities in association with assigned duties and tasks. Importance must be attached to propagating and popularising good experience and paradigms in the agencies and units, thereby having a pervasive impact on the building the contingent of cadres with solid political zeal, righteous motive and attitude toward their service, high sense of responsibility and determination, and creativity and self-reliance in task implementation.

One of the measures that the General Department’s Party Committee and Command pay much attention to is the building of all-powerful, “exemplary and typical” agencies and units to satisfy all tasks in the immediate future and in the long run. This is not only a task but also a determinant for the General department to fulfil its functions and tasks. Therefore, the General Department’s Party Committee and Command must lead and direct their agencies and units to consolidate agile, lean, and powerful structure, equipment, and means in accordance with the directive of the MoD. In particular, importance must be attached to leading soldiers’ ideology; accelerating education and training to improve political zeal and professional qualifications for cadres and party members in association with the stringent implementation of the resolution issued by the Central on Party building and rectification; building all-powerful, “exemplary and typical” agencies and units. Planning and training cadres, especially high-quality human resources in several specialisations of Military logistics and in grass-roots units must be well implemented. The General Department must continue to advise the MoD to step-by-step modernise logistic equipment and means, especially gasoline and transportation to accord with the modernisation of weapons and equipment in the entire Army. In addition, it is important to accelerate the renewal of specialised training programmes and contents to ensure practicality and effectiveness; attach importance to improving cadres’ competencies in advising, commanding, and directing; and enhance manoeuvrability and logistic support in accordance with combat plans and circumstances of modern warfare. The functional agencies of the General Department must actively coordinate with military academies and schools to supplement and develop logistic theories to fit the task requirements of building the Army, consolidating national defence, and safeguarding the Fatherland in the new situation. Emphasis must also be put on bringing into play creativity, boosting digital transformation in logistic work, intensifying the application of science and technology into projects and measures on responding to the influence of climate change on logistic work, and socialising several aspects of logistic work to accord with the country’s condition.

Being deeply imbued with Uncle Ho’s teachings that those conducting logistic work nurture soldiers on behalf of the Government and the People; they, at the same time, manage material and technical facilities to cater for the struggle against aggressors, the General Department’s Party Committee and Command must direct the party committees and commanders of agencies and units to concentrate on cultivating and training logistic cadres and soldiers in ethics and “diligence, thrift, integrity, public-mindedness and impartiality to ensure their service commitment. Simultaneously, it is necessary to intensify inspection to promptly detect and stringently and completely correct all manifestations of violations of cadres and party members, especially presiding cadres and personnel at all levels. As a result, the General Department of Logistics can build a contingent of cadres, soldiers, military workers, cadets, and labours with “political loyalty to the Communist Party and professional competence”, a high sense of responsibility and commitment to service. This is their duty, ethics, and devotion to studying and following Uncle Ho’s teachings, which contributes to beautifying the lofty tradition of the General Department and the Military Logistics.

Associating the emulation of studying and following Uncle Ho’s teachings with the Determined-to-Win Emulation movement within the Military Logistics is the pivotal measure to facilitate task accomplishment. Therefore, the General Department’s Party Committee and Command must require their agencies and units to adhere to the resolutions, directives, and conclusions of the Central Military Commission on military-defence tasks and the order of the Minister of Defence on logistic work to regularly review and supplement contents, targets, and measures for the emulation. For great effectiveness, party committees and commands at all levels are required to lead the studying and following of Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, ethics, and manners through the implementation of all-level campaigns and emulation movements, especially the Campaign to Promote tradition, devote talents to deserve “Uncle Ho’s soldiers” title in the new period with specific contents and targets that fit the characteristics of each branch, agency, and unit. Importance must be attached to building, promptly detecting, cultivating, and duplicating paradigms and conducting inspection and after-action reviews to keep emulation movements on the right track. This is the driving force that contributes to the building of excellent party committees and organisations and all-powerful, “exemplary and typical” agencies and units to accomplish all assigned tasks.

Being proud of the achievements, cadres, military workers, soldiers, and labours of the General Department of Logistics will be more determined to overcome all difficulties and challenges and bring intellect, resources, creativity, and responsibility to accomplish all assigned tasks and build a stronger General Department of Logistics and the Military Logistics.

Lieutenant General DO VAN THIEN, Commissar of the General Department of Logistics