Being fully aware that the politico-spiritual factor plays a decisive role in successfully fulfilling all assigned missions, the Division 395’s Party Committee and Command (the Military Region 3) have frequently placed emphasis on improving cadres and soldiers’ capacity, political zeal, morality, and lifestyle. This is a matter of principle and a fundamental measure for raising the Division’s synergy and combat power. The Division’s Party Committee has required affiliated units and offices to enhance cadres and soldiers’ political zeal, combat determination, and physical and psychological resilience, make them capable of mastering military science and technology and skills in infantry and joint operations, heighten military discipline, foster comradeship and close-knit bond with the people, and uphold the spirit of being proactive and creative to overcome all difficulties and fulfil all assigned tasks. It should be noted that the Division’s Party Committee has considered the implementation of the 12^th Party Central Committee’s Resolution No.4 as an effective measure for correctly evaluating cadres and party members’ political quality, ethics, and lifestyle.

A forum on observance of the State’s law and the Military’s discipline held by Regiment 8 under the Division 395

Under the leadership and direction from the Military Region 3, the Division’s Party Committee and the all-level party committees and organisations within the Division’s Party Organisation have heightened a sense of responsibility, promoted democracy, unity, exemplification, and progressive spirit in self-examination, self-criticism and criticism. Strong and weak points, reasons, and individual and collective responsibility for the management and training of political ideology, morality, and lifestyle have been frankly raised. The spirit of Party building and rectification under the 12^th Party Central Committee’s Resolution No.4 has deeply penetrated the ideology and action of each cadre, party member, party committee, and party organisation. On an annual basis, in addition to party organisations’ analysis and evaluation, each party member is self-aware to evaluate themself, grasp the preset criteria to identify whether he/she has the signs of degradation in political ideology, morality, and lifestyle, and set out remedial measures. In the process, party committees and organisations have strictly adhered to the principles for the Party’s organisation and operation, combined the assessment of the Party building and rectification under the 12^th Party Central Committee’s Resolution No.4 with the execution of the 12^th Politburo’s Directive No.5 on “studying and emulating Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, ethics and lifestyle and the Regulation on things that party members are not allowed to do. In the process of self-examination, self-criticism and criticism under the 12^th Party Central Committee’s Resolution No.4, cadres and party members have all mentioned their family members’ observance of state law and local regulations, while defining their responsibility for violations by their inferiors and family members. Regular and annual reviews have shown that in spite of the fact that the Division performs its task in peacetime and is affected by the dark side of the market economy and social negative practices, it has witnessed no sign of political ideology, ethics, and lifestyle degradation, “self-evolution,” and “self-transformation.”

However, the Division’s Party Committee realises that within some units, a number of cadres and soldiers have yet to keep their mind on their work. They have also been afraid of difficulties and hardships and their responsibility for work has yet to be great. They have not frequently improved their morality and lifestyle, while violating the military discipline and their units’ regulations. Therefore, the Division’s Party Committee and Command and the all-level party committees and commands have clearly defined their responsibility and worked towards solutions for promoting strong points, overcoming weaknesses, and building a politically strong and morally pure Party Organisation of the Division as the basis for raising its synergy and combat strength.

To build a politically strong Division, the Division’s Party Organisation has determined to well conduct the work of political education and ideological orientation. As the Division’s units are scattered in the mountainous and border areas of the Northeast, the requirements for its units, cadres, and soldiers’ political zeal and operational independence and creativity are very high. Hence, the Division’s work of political education and task introduction has been carried out seriously in accordance with the Party’s military-defence guidelines, higher echelons’ directives and resolutions, and troops’ realities of training and combat readiness. Great value has been attached to educating troops in the Division’s tradition, unmasking the hostile forces’ plots and tricks of “peaceful evolution,” and avoiding letting “self-evolution” and “self-transformation” occur within units. The Division’s units and offices have well conducted the work of ideological forecast and orientation, closely managed troops’ ideology and social relationships, and opportunely dealt with the arising ideological issues. At the same time, they have stepped up the Determination to Win Emulation Movement, commended and multiplied typical collectives and individuals, and effectively handled the sign of hesitation in study and self-improvement as well as violations of the State’s law, the Military’s discipline, and units’ regulations.

The Division’s Party Committee has also focused on building a morally pure Division via many specific, practical solutions. On a yearly basis, the all-level party committees and organisations render all cadres and party members fully aware of the signs of morality and lifestyle degradation within the Military and the Division, while establishing moral standards in accordance with each group of troops. In the process, significance has been attached to heightening the spirit of “self-examination” and “self-correction,” putting the collective benefits first, harmoniously settling relationships between commanders and commissars, between superiors and inferiors, and between cadres and soldiers, and fostering a sense of unity to help each other surmount difficulties and fulfil the task. The Division’s Party Committee has required each cadre and party member to remain vigilant against material temptations, individualism, selfishness, negative practices, and “group interests.” Each cadre and party member must set examples in humility, lead a simple life, match their words with action, actively study and emulate Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, ethics and lifestyle, stringently implement the Regulation on things that party members are not allowed to do, and encourage their relatives and family members to observe the Party’s guidelines, the State’s policy and law, and local regulations.

In order to build a politically strong and morally pure Division, it is vital to encourage the role model-setting responsibility of key cadres at all levels, which is one of the most important solution. Key cadres at all levels must always grasp and strictly execute the Party’s directives and resolutions and working regulations, stringently exercise self-criticism and criticism, adopt measures for overcoming their weaknesses effectively, honestly, convincingly, and develop an objective approach to their jobs, their inferiors, and themselves. The Division’s Party Committee and Command have required the all-level key cadres to implement the Regulation 101-QĐ/TW, dated June 7^th 2012 by the Party Central Secretariat on “role model-setting responsibility of cadres and party members, particularly the key ones,” the Regulation 08-QĐ/TW on “role model-setting responsibility of cadres and party members, particularly members of the Politburo, the Party Central Secretariat, and the Party Central Committee,” and the Regulation 646-QĐ/QUTW, dated November 6^th 2012 by the Central Military Commission Standing Board on role model-setting responsibility of cadres and party members, particularly leaders and commanders at all levels within the Military. Cadres and party members at senior levels must further set role models for their inferiors to follow. To that end, key cadres of the Division must be active in training and self-improvement, enhance their political zeal, morality, and lifestyle, grasp troops’ ideology and legitimate aspirations, defend the truth, criticise the wrong, and play a vanguard role in the fight against bureaucracy, corruption, wastefulness, irresponsibility, and indifference to their inferiors.

Besides, the Division has strictly maintained regulations and ensured its cadres and soldiers’ material and spiritual life. The building of a politically strong and morally pure Division greatly depends on the working and living environment of its cadres and soldiers. Hence, the Division’s Party Committee has required units’ party committees and commanders to concentrate on building the military standard order, performing the task under the regulations, enhancing discipline management, stepping up the work of inspection and supervision, stringently exercising self-criticism and criticism, opportunely identifying and seriously handling the signs of degradation in political ideology, ethics and lifestyle as well as negative practices within their units. Additionally, commanders of the Division’s units have actively, proactively fostered crop and animal husbandry, improved troops’ material and mental life, and built a pure, healthy cultural environment as the basis for cadres and soldiers’ training and self-improvement.

Thanks to the above-mentioned solutions, the Party’s ideological foundation within the Division has been maintained. Party organisations’ leadership and combativeness have unceasingly improved. Cadres and party members’ pioneering and exemplary role has been promoted. Mass organisations have been consolidated. As a result, the Division’s synergy and combat power have been raised. In many consecutive years, the Division’s Party Organisation has successfully fulfilled the task. The Division has been recognised as a comprehensively strong unit and typical example in the Determination to Win Emulation Movement.

Building a politically strong and morally pure Division will act as a determinant to the Division’s synergy and combat strength and its successful fulfilment of all assigned missions. Therefore, this task will continue to be further performed by the Infantry Division 395 in the upcoming time.

Sr. Col. NGUYEN DINH KHIEM, Commissar of the Division