Located in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City, district 3 has a large population with a high intellectual standard and great potential for the development of business and services. The district has a lot of crucial transportation hubs, thereby holding a position of importance in various aspects. Over the years, in addition to socio-economic development, the district has always placed emphasis on well performing local military-defence work, with selection and conscription of citizens into the Army (hereafter conscription work for short) being seen as a central task. Currently, a part from advantages, conscription work performed by localities in general, district 3 in particular encounters difficulties, especially in registration and management of citizens at call-up age due to changes in population, migration, and cases with postponement of military service. Against that backdrop, the District Command (DC) has advised the district’s Party Committee and People’s Committee on strengthening their leadership and direction over conscription work in a serious, close, uniform manner and encouraging the participation of the whole political system and people in this important work. As a result, the district has always reached all targets of conscription with the increasingly high quality (90% of conscripted citizens are youth union members, more than 2% are party members, over 50% hold associate degree or bachelor’s degree), being acknowledged and highly appreciated by the Municipal Command and troops-receiving units. In 3 consecutive years (2021, 2022, 2023), the district’s Military Service Council was given Certificate of Merit for “Outstanding achievements in conscription work” by the Municipal People’s Committee.

Leaders of the district give presents to newly conscripted soldiers

In practice, the outcome of conscription work is decided by the leading and directing role of party committees and authorities and the participation of local sectors and organisations. Grasping the Military Service Law and higher echelons’ circulars, directives, and guidance on conscription work, the DC has promoted its core role in giving advice to the district’s Party Committee, People’s Committee, and Military Service Council on issuing sufficient leading, directing, guiding documents regarding conscription work and giving specific assignments to sectors and wards, with the Party exercising its leadership, authorities undertaking operation, military service councils performing their staff work, and military offices being in charge of coordination as a principle; the results of conscription work have been considered a criterion for assessing the performance of yearly military-defence tasks. In resolutions by ward-level party committees, there have been specific targets and objectives which have also been spread to each party member team, party cell, and residential group. To complete all phases and steps of conscription work in a solid way, the district has attached importance to consolidating all-level Military Service Councils and raising all-level authorities’ managerial and operational efficiency and effectiveness. All-level military offices have actively cooperated with Vietnam Fatherland Fronts, committees, sectors, and organisations in designing and realising conscription plans and encouraging the involvement of the whole political system in propagation, education, registration, re-examination to ensure democracy, openness, and equality in conscription work.

Taking advantage of recent violations of law and military discipline relating to conscription work, opportunists and hostile forces have distorted this work in cyber space, thereby creating negative impacts on families and young citizens at call-up age. Against that backdrop, the DC has advised the district’s Party Committee and People’s Committee on measures to intensify dissemination, propagation, and education via various forms. Emphasis has been placed on the fundamentals of the Military Service Law, rights and obligations of citizens for Fatherland protection, the revolutionary tradition of localities and the Army, policies and benefits enjoyed by soldiers and their families after the fulfilment of their military service. The district has also included the Military Service Law in the defence and security education program for groups of learners, especially for high school students. Regarding forms and methods of propagation and education, the district has attached significance to promoting grass-roots communication systems and cyber space, including propagation in meetings of party cells, residential groups, politico-social organisations, and mass organisations, holding forums between ex-soldiers and newly conscripted citizens, storytelling contests about the virtues of Uncle Ho’s soldiers, and talk shows on the youth’s role in Fatherland construction and protection between young people and witnesses of history, war veterans, and local leaders. The district has attached special importance to encouraging young citizens with high intellectual standard to write volunteer applications for military service in order to create a positive ripple effect on implementing the tasks of Fatherland construction and protection among the population. As a result, positive changes in the awareness of the people, particularly young citizens and families whose offspring are at call-up age have been made; they have clearly understood that doing military service is an honour, pride, and noble responsibility of each citizen. In addition to propagation, the DC has given advice and proactively taken steps of conscription work, especially synchronously, closely carried out registration and management of citizens at call-up age and then classified citizens into lists. When some young citizens have taken advantage of the Law on Residence (by shifting their family register to other localities in the process of list making, medical check-up, and issuance of call-up papers), the DC has advised the district’s Military Service Council on directing ward-level military service councils to frequently closely manage the quantity of citizens eligible for military service and proactively cooperate with the localities to which citizens have shifted their family register in putting them into the call-up list. At the same time, the district has established and deployed special working groups to universities, vocational schools, and colleges to closely grasp the number of students at call-up age to avoid omission. All-level military offices within the district have advised all-level military service councils on directing committees, sectors, and unions to manage citizens at call-up age within every household, residential group, and quarter. Inspection and comparison work has been carefully, closely carried out between the district and its wards, particularly for citizens with exemption from military service, postponement of military service, ineligibility for military service, or awaiting consideration for military service. The work of appointing and reviewing citizens for military service has been conducted from residential groups and quarters to ward-level and district-level military service councils in a democratic manner to guarantee a consensus among the people. In the process, the district has focused on ensuring openness, democracy, equality, sufficient quantity, and quality. Due regard has been paid to fostering coordination to grasp the political profile, physical condition, and educational background of each citizen. Priority has been given to selecting citizens with good educational background, officials, and party members working for Party and State bodies or businesses, and combining conscription work with the development of human resources for local authorities after discharge.

The practice of conscription reveals that the main reason for military units’ return of new soldiers to localities is physical unfitness. To deal with that problem, the district has attached great value to raising the quality of medical examination for military service. The DC has advised the district’s People’s Committee to closely direct the development of membership, plans, procedures, and specific tasks of district-level and ward-level military service councils during medical check-up for military service. The DC has given advice to the district’s military service council on consolidating ward-level military service medical examination councils and establishing preliminary medical check-up and supervision teams at both district and ward levels. At the same time, the district has directed its Health Office to formulate plans on preliminary medical examination, organise preliminary medical check-up training courses for wards, and establish an inspection team for each ward’s preliminary medical check-up. Prior to each medical examination, the district has focused on holding training courses on medical check-up procedures and specific health-related requirements for each type of units. In the process, the district has directed its wards to adhere to Circular 16/2016/TTLT-BYT-BQP, dated 30^th June 2016, on “Regulations on medical examination for military service”. As a result, citizens’ profiles have always been completed with sufficient verification notes issued by police and competent health offices. After medical examination, the district has closely managed the selected citizens to reduce deliberate violations of health standards, while cooperating with troops-receiving units in reviewing profiles and finalising the number of new soldiers as the basis for a close, rapid handover of troops.

To bring into play the political and social significance and encourage citizens to join the Army, the district has attached importance to well implementing policies for military families, mobilising social resources for conscription work, and opportunely encouraging newly conscripted citizens both mentally and materially via various forms, such as initiating 2 - 3 youth union members into the Party on a yearly basis, visiting and giving gifts to families with newly conscripted members. Furthermore, the district has proactively worked with offices of the Municipal Command and troops-receiving units to hold Enlistment Camps and troop handover ceremonies in a formal, significant, safe way in order to build up honour, pride, and responsibility of people from all walks of life, provide the basis for the district to continue well performing conscription work in the upcoming years, greatly contribute to the cause of Fatherland construction and protection.

Col. NGUYEN DUY TRUNG

Member of the District’s Party Committee Standing Board

Commander of the DC