To raise people’s awareness of the defense and security work in the area, over the past years, Duy Tien district (Ha Nam province) has focused on improving the quality and effectiveness of this work, contributing to its robust economic development and strong defense and security.

Martial arts competition by the district’s militia and self-defense forces

Comprehending and seriously implementing the Party’s guidelines on closely combining socioeconomic development with defense and security consolidation in each area and nationwide, over the past years, Duy Tien district has devoted effort to attracting investment capital and dramatically changing its economic structure in a bid to make the district among Ha Nam province’s industrial hubs, while ceaselessly strengthening defense and security and creating favorable conditions for its development. Currently, the district has 5 industrial zones and clusters, creating a huge source of income for its budget, improving people’s material and spiritual life, changing its face. However, the process of economic development has brought about complications, such as disputes and petitions during the process of site clearance, environmental contamination, increasingly large number of people taking temporary residence, thereby posing a risk to political security and social order in the area. Against this backdrop, the district has laid down guidelines and measures for leading and directing the implementation of defense and security work in an effort to maintain political security and social order, and facilitate its socioeconomic development, with top priority given to improving the quality and effectiveness of defense and security education.

To do so, first, due regard has been paid to introducing higher echelons’ directives and resolutions on defense and security education work to cadres, party members and the entire people. Focuses have been on the 12^th Politburo’s Directive 12-CT/TW, the Directive 07-CT/TU on “enhancing party committees and organizations’ leadership over the work of defense and security education in the new situation” by Ha Nam Provincial Party Executive Committee, the Law on Defense and Security Education as well as plans and guiding documents by the Councils for Defense and Security Education of the Military Region 3 and Ha Nam province. Moreover, the district has concentrated on consolidating the Council for Defense and Security Education at all levels with sufficient number and proper structure, assigning specific task to each member and seriously maintaining the order of operation. In its capacity as the Standing Organ of the Council, the District’s Military Command has actively cooperated with forces and relevant sectors in counseling the District’s People’s Committee to design and promulgate directives and plans for this work. Noticeably, it has cooperated with the Centre for Political Education in advising the district on establishing the Group of Instructors (including key cadres of the Military and Public Security Forces, the Centre for Political Education, the District’s Propaganda and Education Commission) as the core force in defense and security education. During the process of defense and security education, the district has carried through a great deal of reform. In addition to dispatching cadres of the groups 2 and 3 to defense and security education courses launched by the Military Region and the province, the district has successfully organized defense and security education courses for cadres of the group 4. To achieve the high efficiency, the district has paid due attention to classifying the objects for education and making a supplementary list for the group 4, particularly the newly elected/appointed and cadres and party members from sectors and organizations who shall be educated as the basis for developing plans to hold training courses. Besides, the timing of training courses has been carefully planned in order not to affect the specialist task of each sector. More specifically, defense and security education courses for the group 4 of the Education Sector have been combined with specialist training courses launched by the Education Office on summer holiday while courses for the group 4 of other sectors and organizations have been scheduled for Saturdays and Sundays. Besides, the district has directed its communes and wards to organize courses for their party members on appropriate time. As a result, the strength and quality of courses have been always high.

A part from objects of defense and security education according to regulations of the Law, the district has proactively studied and held defense and security education courses for special objects in the area, such as managers of enterprises, landlords, religious dignitaries, etc. Once being equipped with and fully understanding the Party’s guidelines and the State’s law, those people will have positive influence over their community. Recently, the District’s Military Command has cooperated with Dong Van Industrial Zone Management Board in carrying out surveys, making a list of CEOs, formulating plans and asking the district to provide expenses for defense and security courses. In 2015 alone, the district held 1 course for 53 business managers, which helps raise their awareness and responsibility for and makes them understand the necessity of aligning socioeconomic development with defense-security consolidation. Consequently, enterprises have paid due regard to building the self-defense forces, created favorable conditions for their worker to do military service, given priority to recruit discharged soldiers, mobilized their forces in military training courses. That has greatly contributed to the district’s fulfillment of local defense and military tasks.

In the area of the district, there are now about 57,000 workers from industrial zones and clusters. Most of them are from other provinces and living temporarily in the area. Therefore, there have appeared more than 200 lodging houses in the communes and wards adjacent to those industrial zones and clusters, which has led to a number of security and order issues. Against this backdrop, the District’s Military Command has counseled the district to hold defense and security education courses for landlords in the area with Dong Van ward as the example and asked the District’s Public Security to summon these people. Focuses of defense and security education for these people have been on the Law on the Militia and Self-Defense Forces, the Ordinance on the Reserve Forces, regulations on registration of temporary residence and absence, guidance on fire and explosion prevention and control, etc. Thereby, those have acted as the “extended” arm of the authority in persuading the workers living in the area to seriously follow regulations of the law, while opportunely reporting the security and social order situation to the authority. In 2017, the district organized defense and security education courses for and conferred certificates on 94 landlords. This creative approach has been highly appreciated by the Military Region and the province. Promoting the recorded results, in 2018, the district has continued to multiply this model across the area with a focus on Hoa Mac ward and Bach Thuong commune.

As for religious dignitaries, the District’s Military Command has counseled the district to design plans and make elaborate preparations, particularly selection of instructors. A part from experienced instructors, the district has invited cadres of the Provincial Propaganda and Education Commission and heads of religions in the area to lecture. Since 2015, the district has organized 2 defense and security education courses for over 80 religious dignitaries, practically contributing to consolidating defense and security as well as the non-religion and religion unity in the area.

Besides, the district has synchronously adopted measures to provide defense and security education for students. In previous years, due to a lack of defense and security teachers from high schools in the area, defense and security education courses crucially depended on the District’s Military Command. Against this backdrop, the District’s Military Command has advised the district to give recommendations to higher echelons on prioritizing recruitment of teachers who majored in this subject. Up to now, 100% of high schools in the area have had sufficient defense and security teachers and been able to undertake this task. In 2017, the district held defense and security education courses for nearly 2,900 students.

During the process of disseminating defense and security knowledge to the entire people, great important has been attached to promoting the role of the group of instructors and lectures at all levels, especially the role of the District’s Radio Station and the Radio Stations of communes and wards in propagating the Party’s defense and security line and operations of local armed forces. At the same time, the district has included propagation and dissemination in local traditional festivals, such as Tich Dien (ploughing) Festival, Long Doi Son Pagoda Festival, etc. Annually, communes and wards have organized meetings with young people before they join the military to propagate the tradition and arouse their pride and responsibility towards their hometown, thereby contributing to helping the district achieve the target for military call-up.

The improved quality and effectiveness of defense and security education have laid a solid foundation for Duy Tien district to successfully fulfill local defense and military tasks, maintaining political security and social order in the area, creating favorable conditions for the district to develop its economy, society and culture and to achieve the goal of making it an urban center of strong economy and defense and security in Ha Nam province.

Colonel Nguyen Ba Xuan, Commander of the District’s Military Command

Vice Chairman of the District’s Council for Defense and Security Education