Tuesday, June 12, 2018, 08:51 (GMT+7)
Following Uncle Ho’s teachings: Motivation for the Military Logistic Corps to fulfill its missions successfully

The emulation movement “the Military Logistic Corps (MLC) Follows Uncle Ho’s Teachings” represents a vivid, clear manifestation of studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s thought, ethics and lifestyle in the whole corps. At the same time, it is a step to concretize the “Determination to Win” emulation movement launched by the MLC in recent years.

When President Ho Chi Minh was still alive, he used to pay attention to building the people’s armed forces, including the MLC. He paid a number of visits to and wrote letters to instruct and encourage the MLC officers and soldiers to successfully complete their assigned tasks. His instructions have become mottos, slogans and themes of many emulation movements, providing a powerful impetus to overcome difficulties, hardships  and sacrifice to achieve glorious victories in the revolutionary cause of our Party and people.

In order to maintain and bring into play that fine tradition under the new conditions, the Ministry of National Defence (MND) issued the Directive 214-CT/BQP on launching the emulation movement “the Military Logistic Corps follows Uncle Ho’s teachings” on 14 March 1995. Being thoroughly imbued with President Ho Chi Minh’s teachings “Emulation is patriotism, patriotism requires emulation” and with the deepest respect for him, the emulation movement “the Military Logistic Corps follows Uncle Ho’s teachings” has drawn great attention of the Central Military Commission (CMC), the MND and party executive committees and commanders at all levels, and been carried out strictly. Perceiving political significance of the movement, given its function as an advisory, leading organ, the General Logistics Department (GLD) has followed closely the goals of the “Determination to Win” emulation movement and requirements of military and defence missions to turn them into the corps’ practical actions, including “one focus, three breakthroughs” and “five goods,” laying the foundation for specialized logistic branches and units to further concretize into plans and programs of action. Grounded on the emulation movement “the Military Logistic Corps follows Uncle Ho’s teachings,” specialized emulation movements and logistic competition have been promoted in the whole military. The most prominent ones include “Establishment of Good Catering Units, Good Management of Military Supplies” of the Military Supplies; “Military Medical Soldiers Follow Uncle Ho’s Teachings” and “Building Five-Good Military Medical Units” of the Military Medicine; “Building and Running Barracks of Good Order and Discipline, Greenness, Cleanness, Beauty,” “Managing and Using Fuels in a Safe, Economical and Effective Way,” “Building Regular, Safe, Effective Transport Units” of the Accommodation, Fuel and Transport, and so on.

During the implementation process, logistic organizations at various levels have advised executive party committees, commanders and emulation movement steering boards to actively renew content, forms and methods for execution; focus on vital tasks; overcome shortcomings; and improve quality of logistic support. At the same time, importance has been attached to inspection, preliminary summing-up and review; to cultivating exemplars of success; to multiplying prominent examples; and so forth. The corps, in particular, has closely associated the emulation movement “the Military Logistic Corps Follows Uncle Ho’s Teaching” with realizing the goals of Resolution 623-NQ/QUTW of the CMC on “military logistics through 2020 and beyond” and directives 03-CT/TW and 05-CT/TW of the Politburo (11th and 12th tenures), considering this as its key task while studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s thought, ethics and lifestyle.

Thanks to sound guidance and proper, creative leadership and execution, the emulation movement “the Military Logistic Corps Follows Uncle Ho’s Teachings” has developed ceaselessly in both depth and width; become active, effervescent revolutionary actions of not only the corps but all of officers and soldiers; and provided a powerful spiritual impetus to the corps’ successful implementation of assigned missions. Meanwhile, it has encouraged and created a favourable environment for logistic officers and soldiers to self-improve and promote their comprehensive capacity while making a corps of logistic officers and personnel with both talents and good virtues and logistic units and the Military Logistic Corps comprehensive strong. In recent years, organisation and staffing of logistic organisations and units at all levels have been strengthened; working styles and logistic regimes from organisations to units have been disciplined; sense of responsibility and service of logistic officers and personnel have been enhanced; and the corps’ logistic support activities have been renewed, focused on units at grass-roots level, and become increasingly practical and effective.

Realising “three breakthroughs” and “five goods,” the corps has successfully fulfilled many fundamental goals and missions, overcome shortcomings and weaknesses, made comprehensive, firm changes, and brought about a great leap in logistic work. The corps, in particular, has well performed its advisory role in logistic work, especially at operational and strategic levels; invested a great deal of effort in building logistic capabilities and posture in each area and nationwide; adjusted the amount of logistics dedicated to combat readiness at all levels; and reformed and perfected modes of logistic support in accordance with market mechanism. The quality and effectiveness of logistic work have been continually enhanced, ensuring timely, sufficient logistics for combat readiness and contingencies, especially for units working in key areas, border areas, at sea and on islands, and so on.

“Adequate logistics results in a strong army. The logistic branch has to be determined to provide soldiers with rations and weapons.” Soldiers can only triumph over the enemies when they are well-fed and cared for.” Having been imbued with Uncle Ho’s teachings, the Military Supplies has launched and executed successfully the emulation movement “Establishment of Good Catering Units, Good Management of Military Supplies”; actively renewed modes of logistic support according to new mechanisms; and properly devolved and promoted inspection while encouraging bid for production, procurement and source generation. At the same time, it has invested a great deal of effort in researching, developing and installing mechanical steam ovens in units; developed and carried out a project to socialize soldiers’ mess, making a great breakthrough in logistic support. Clothing support for soldiers has witnessed major advances, which is consonant with weather conditions and specific characteristics of each service and arm, satisfies requirements for future operations, thereby making important contributions to building a regular military, and so forth. The emulation movement has urged the whole military to heighten the sense of self-reliance and resilience, step up growing crops and animal farming, improve soldiers’ standard of living, and further deepen our military’s function as “an army for work” in the new era. The whole military has been basically self-sufficient in vegetables, meat and fish so far, contributing to improving soldiers’ standard of living, stabilizing market price, and promoting economic development in stationing areas.

The emulation movement gives momentum to encourage the Military Medicine to fulfill its mission of providing medical care to soldiers and people. Medical ethics of military doctors and capacity of military hospitals at various levels, especially those at grass-roots level, have been promoted. Prevention and control of epidemic emergencies have gained positive achievements, which successfully prevented the outbreak of epidemics. In addition, military medicine at all levels has well realized the policy of civil-military medicine; and provide free diagnosis and treatment of various diseases to millions of people annually, making important contribution to addressing urgent matters in medical care, especially in remote, border areas and on islands, and fostering close civil-military relation and strong people’s hearts and minds posture.

Through the emulation movement, the Military Housing has also got good results. In the context of shortage of budget and facilities, the emulation movement has encouraged organisations and units to bring into play their sense of self-reliance and resilience to proactively consolidate barracks and implement well many programs, including the building of new accommodation to replace seriously deteriorated one, construction of water supply work, hot water bath, draught shielding, improvement of low voltage network, yard, internal lanes, and so on. Most of military units have possessed spacious, regular, green, clean, and nice barracks so far. Soldiers’ standard of living has become increasingly better. The emulation movement “the Military Logistic Corps Follows Uncle Ho’s Teachings” have been a catalyst for units’ successful completion of logistic tasks, meeting units’ requirements in any situations.

Being imbued with Uncle Ho’s teaching, logistic personnel has to be prime examples of diligence, thrift, integrity, and uprightness. The movement has been a catalyst for change in the management and use of logistic supplies and facilities, thrift practice and wastefulness combat. Apart from strictly complying with logistic regimes and principles, logistic organisations at all levels have executed synchronous measures to practise thrift and combat corruption and wastefulness in logistic work, which creates all-pervasive influence and becomes a widespread movement in the whole military. Every year, the Military Logistic Corps saves a great amount of material and goods worth about hundreds of billions Vietnamese Dong, making practical contribution to improving the use of defence budget and providing additional logistics to units.

On the basis of experience and recorded achievements, the Military Logistic Corps will continue to grasp and implement well the Directive 98/CT-BQP, dated 10 December 2016, of the Ministry of National Defence on continuing to step up the emulation movement “the Military Logistic Corps Follows Uncle Ho’s Teachings” by practical, concrete deeds, bringing the movement to a new height in the direction of “intrinsic innovation, increased effectiveness, sustainable quality.” More importantly, it is necessary to concentrate on successfully realising “one focus, three breakthroughs,” “five goods,” and thoroughly deal with shortcomings and weaknesses, giving momentum to further improve the quality and effectiveness of logistic work, contributing to successfully completing every assigned mission.

Major General Tran Duy Giang, Commander of the General Logistic Department

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