The military logistics officers play a key role in the work of logistics support for the entire military’s operations. To build a contingent of "both red and expert" military logistics officers, meeting the requirements, it is necessary to bring into play the synergy of many factors. An important one is to apply measures to improve the training quality of military logistics officers at the Military Logistics Academy (MLA) in accordance with Ho Chi Minh’s ideology.

When he was alive, President Ho Chi Minh devoted much attention to the consolidation of Military Logistics in general, the education and training of military logistics officers in particular. He said: “To have qualified cadres, it is important that the Party should successfully conduct the task of training cadres”, "it is the original work of the Party". Thoroughly understanding this thought, together with strictly grasping the Resolution of the 8^th Plenum of the  Party Central Committee (11th tenure) on fundamentally and comprehensively renewing education and training; the Resolution No. 765-NQ/QUTW of the Central Military Commission on "Improving the quality of training for 2013-2020 period and the subsequent years"; and Strategy for the development of education and training within the military in 2011-2020 period, over the past years, the MLA has focused on conducting research and renovation to standardize and modernize the teaching program, content and method, ensuring the inheritance and integration among different educational levels and specialities, in accordance with the economic management mechanism of the State, and meeting the demands of  logistics support, and objectives and the requirements of education and combat training as well. As a result, the quality education and training of the Academy has been gradually improved; after graduation, logistics officers have successfully brought into full play the knowledge and responsibility, fulfilled all assigned work and become the key factors in the logistics work of units, making contribution to the improvement of logistics quality and efficiency in the whole military.

At present, the task of building the revolutionary, regular, seasoned and gradually modern military continues to attract attention, direction and investment of the Party and the State. Accordingly, the mission of the Military Logistics has new developments, thus requiring the building of qualified military logistics officers with the relevant quantity and assured long-term stability.

With its functions and tasks, the MLA continues to study and creatively apply measures to raising the quality of education and training in accordance with Ho Chi Minh's ideology, contributing to building a contingent of qualified military logistics cadres. To that end, attention should be paid to studying and synchronously applying the following basic solutions.

Firstly, continuing to renew, standardize and modernize the training content and program in accordance with units’ logistics work. According to President Ho Chi Minh, the training should be practical and thorough rather than too broad. It means, in any situation, education and training must focus on reality, consider the reality both the objective and the basis, meet the short-term demands and gear toward long-term orientation.

With the vigorous development of science and technology and the reality of logistics support in hi-tech wars, importance should be attached to studying and thoroughly understanding the task of logistics support in the new condition. Accordingly, it is necessary to review, supplement, and finalize the training content and programs for different objects in the direction of "streamlining, modernization and practicality" as well as stay close to the logistics and financial work of units. They should also be updated, renewed, and made relevant to the development of the military and defence work.

Cadets study Ho Chi Minh’s ideology at the MLA

To do that, functional agencies and faculties of the MLA, with the Department of Education and Training playing the core role, should cooperate with one another in standardizing the training objectives and requirements for different objects. At the same time, it is essential to standardize the training materials, textbooks, and lesson plans, etc. The standardization and modernization of the training content should be conducted synchronously and aimed at providing learners with sufficient professional knowledge so that after graduation, they could fulfill all duties and tasks assigned. In the process, it is vital to learn from experience in the logistics work of previous generations during the course of building and safeguarding the Fatherland; and to study the emerging issues on modern logistics work. The content should be well and scientifically organized, easy to learn, to understand and to practise.

Secondly, enhancing the political and moral content in education. The Military logistics work is directly related to the management and utilization of facilities, finance, and capital construction, etc. Moreover, logistics officers are those who are directly responsible for managing, exploiting, maintaining and distributing a large volume of logistics facilities for training, combat readiness, healthcare, and daily demands of the whole military. In that environment, if logistics officers fail to be thoroughly aware of their responsibilities, and are lazy to improve their political will and professional ethics, they will easily violate law and regulations. President Ho Chi Minh instructed that: "... it is the logistics officers’ duty to bring a bowl of rice, a coin, a bullet, a pill, a meter of cloth directly to the hand of soldiers". Therefore, the education and training content must be comprehensive, combine "knowledge training" with "career training" and "moral training" in which "moral training" is the basic and core content.

Thoroughly grasping Uncle Ho’s teachings, the Academy has identified that: in education, it is necessary to raise and consolidate political awareness, build cadets’ scientific worldview and firm belief. Besides "basic, systematic, unified, and intensive" professional training, emphasis should be placed on effectively implementing the Resolution of the Party Central Committee’s 4^th Plenum (XII tenure) on the Party building and rectification, the Directive 05-CT/TW of the 12^th Politburo on the studying and following of Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality and lifestyle, and the campaign "promoting tradition, devoting talent, and deserving Uncle Ho’s soldiers", etc.

At the same time, the Academy has accelerated the practice of following Ho Chi Minh’s “hard-working, thrifty and integrity” example, and his teachings: the logistics cadres should be  “hard working, thrifty and integrity” models.

Facing the negative impacts of the market economy, the Academy should strengthen moral training for cadets, including revolutionary and professional morality, and service styles and behavior, and sense of thrift practice so as not to commit ethic degradation and corruption, etc., shaping cadets’ right motivation and determination so that they could successfully fulfill requirements in learning and training.

Thirdly, combining the innovation of training program with updated teaching methodology. Accordingly, attention should be paid to renewing teaching methodology and learning habit, gradually changing from providing knowledge mainly to forming “capability and morality” of the learners, considering them the core of the training process. Emphasis should also be placed on stepping up the movement of “good teaching” in faculties, “good studying” in cadet management units, and the conduct of trial lessons to draw experience.

In the course of implementation, instructors are requested to flexibly combine different teaching methods, applying information, simulation and digital technologies to their lessons, enhancing research work, changing from "one-way" teaching method to instructing learners to "self-study", etc.

In addition to the innovation of teaching methods, significance should be attached to regularly promoting the efficiency of self-study and improving the skills in taking note, exchanging and expressing ideas, processing information, and applying knowledge to the reality, etc. Moreover, the tasks of organizing examinations and making assessment of study result should be renewed with a focus on practising and applying the comprehensive knowledge to dealing with the issues from reality, etc.

In line with the above solutions, the Academy should concentrate on upgrading facilities, particularly the specialized classrooms and laboratories, and holding training courses for instructors in order to bring into full play the efficiency of modern teaching means, contributing to raising the quality of training and building a contingent of "both red and expert" military logistics officers, meeting the requirements in the new situation.

Sr. Col. Nguyen Huy Dong, PhD, Maj. Pham Ngoc Nhan, PhD, Military Logistics Academy