Being fully aware of the position and importance of a contingent of commune-level military cadres, over the years, the province of Nam Dinh has taken many measure for raising the quality of this contingent and achieved significant results. To meet the new requirements set by the military-defence work at grass-roots level, due attention should be paid to further enhancing the quality of this contingent.

Grasping the Resolution 17-NQ/TW, dated March 18^th, 2002 by the 9^th Party Central Committee on “renewing and improving the commune-level political system,” the Prime Minister’s Decision 799/QĐ-TTg on “approval of the Project to train cadres of the commune-level military commands into bachelors of grass-roots level military speciality towards 2020 and beyond,” and the Circulars 87/2011/TT-BQP and 117/2019/TT-BQP, dated June 27^th, 2011 and December 30^th, 2019 respectively by the Ministry of National Defence, over the years, the Provincial Military Command (PMC) of Nam Dinh has advised the Provincial Party Committee and People’s Committee on leadership over the improved quality of commune-level military cadres. Doing so has enabled the province to well perform the military-defence task, maintain political security and social order and safety, foster economic, cultural, and social development, build “bright, green, clean, scenic” localities, and take the lead in the programme on “new-style countryside” construction.

Commune-level military cadres act as an “arm” of all-level military offices; they directly counsel and help local party committees and authorities to perform the military-defence task at grass-roots level. Perceiving the importance of those cadres, the PMC has advised the Provincial Party Committee and People’s Committee on issuing documents to lead and direct the planning, training, and use of commune-level military cadres. Grasping the Joint Circular 01/2013/TTLT-BNV-BQP by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of National Defence, the PMC has cooperated with the Provincial Party Committee’s Organisation Commission and the Department of Home Affairs in giving instructions to localities on developing their plans for commune-level military cadres in a uniformed, synchronous manner, with emphasis placed on laying down criteria and ensuring inheritance and development according to the previous plans. Besides, cadres included in the plans must be eligible to hold higher positions in local party committees and authorities. As a result, 72 heads of the commune-level military commands within the province have been promoted to secretaries and deputy secretaries of commune-level party committees and chairmen and deputy chairmen of commune-level people’s councils and people’s committees.

When being assigned to train heads of the commune-level military commands by the Ministry of National Defence, the PMC has advised the province on directing localities to review, identify, and select cadres for the training courses under the regulations as well as commit themselves to using those cadres in order to avoid wasting budget and human resources. Grounded on the established criteria, localities have focused on selecting young people who had fulfilled their military service, joined the Party, and held the positions of squad commanders, or reservist officers who had been trained by military units, or those who have expressed their enthusiasm and responsibility for local movements. In reality, localities have proactively prepared human resources for their military commands by selecting and drafting elite young people into the Military. Since 2015, the province has selected 584 young people who had fulfilled their military service to include in their plans for training cadres of the commune-level military commands.

Cadets trained to be heads of the commune-level military command design combat documents for their graduation examination

In the training process, importance has been attached to grasping the training viewpoints, mottos, and principles, taking learners to the forefront, considering practical training as the main part, and dealing with weaknesses and limitations within localities, such as the staff work related to the military-defence task for local party committees and authorities, infantry tactics training, physical training, line-up regulations, commune-level defensive combat exercise, natural disaster prevention and control, search and rescue. At the same time, the PMC has cooperated with the Provincial Political School in organising courses on political theory, public administration, and information technology for learners. To enhance the quality of training, the province has directed its Military School to ensure accommodation for all learners, step up military standard order and discipline management, frequently draw lessons on the training work, and opportunely rectify weaknesses in this work. During graduation exercises, significance has been attached to developing and reporting plans of all types. More specifically, all learners as heads of the commune-level military commands would formulate and directly report their own plans for commune-level defensive combat.

In addition to training at the Provincial Military School, the PMC has advised the province on directing localities to screen, select, and dispatch cadres to attend college-level courses at the Military Region 3’s Military School and the Infantry Officer College No.1 according to the assigned targets. Since 2002, the province 6 vocational education courses for 572 cadres and dispatched 32 cadres to attend courses at military universities and colleges to gain bachelor’s degree.

Special attention has been paid to using cadres after training courses. The PMC has counselled the province to remain the same position of cadres who had graduated from training courses. It has cooperated with the Department of Home Affairs in organising examinations for positions under the regulations, appointing and using cadres according to their specialities. Besides, due regard has been paid to ensuring sufficient entitlements and policies for cadres under the Law on the Militia and Self-Defence Force. The province has actively mobilised social resources to improve commune-level military cadres’ material and mental life so that they could keep their mind on their work. Up to now, all positions within all commune-level military commands have been filled. Over 90% of cadres who had experienced training courses have been appointed as heads and deputy heads of the commune-level military commands or become commanders of militia and self-defence units, or held higher positions.

Furthermore, the province has frequently provided refresher courses for commune-level military cadres at each level. The PMC has been directly in charge of training commanders of communes and offices’ military commands on the staff work related to the military-defence task for local party committees and authorities, on the building of the militia and self-defence force and the reserve force, on the method of training the militia and self-defence force, and on cooperation with the Public Security and Border Guard Forces in security maintenance, natural disaster and epidemic prevention and control, and the mass mobilisation work. Executing the Dispatch 174/DQ-TC, dated March 5^th, 2019 by the Department of Militia and Self-Defence on “building commune-level military commands’ plan for the shift of combat readiness states,” the PMC has trained cadres in charge of the militia and self-defence work in districts and cities so that they could play a core role in providing training courses for commune-level military cadres. Each district and city has been required to select one commune as the role model for others to follow. The PMC directed communes to apply the plan to organising their defensive combat exercises in 2019. To opportunely draw lessons, the PMC has included the content of the Dispatch in its training courses in 2020 at both provincial and district levels. As a result, the capacity and knowledge of commune-level military commands’ cadres have been improved considerably, thus making contributions to raising the quality of counselling and performing the military-defence work at grass-roots level.

In order to accelerate the “National Target Programme on Building New-Style Countryside in the Period of 2016-2020,” the province has encouraged the involvement of the entire political system and people, including cadres of the commune-level military commands and the militia and self-defence force. Therefore, the PMC has cooperated with the Department of Home Affairs in launching 3 training courses aimed at equipping heads of the commune-level military commands with skills in advising local party committees and authorities on combining socio-economic development with political security and social order maintenance. Moreover, the PMC has directed cadres of the commune-level military commands to actively engage the militia and self-defence force in facilitating socio-economic and cultural development, constructing rural roads, draining channels, cleaning up the environment, and executing movements and campaigns, thereby contributing to accomplishing the Programme on building “new-style countryside.”

Great value has been attached to evaluating the ability of cadres of the commune-level military commands and improving their political zeal and working style as an important measure. To that end, on a yearly basis, all-level military offices develop plans for assessing grass-roots level military cadres’ performance of the military-defence work. Emphasis has been placed on the line-up regulations, method of training tactics for militia and self-defence teams, squads, and platoons, AK shooting test No.1, the militia and self-defence force’s combat skills, the Law on the Militia and Self-Defence Force, the Law on Defence and Security Education, the Law on Military Service, the Ordinance on the Reserve Force, political knowledge, and the logistics-technical work. In 2018, the PMC randomly selected 50% of heads of the commune-level military commands to test their ability, which helped improve their capacity, knowledge, political zeal, and working method as the basis for them to well perform their assigned function and task.

Bringing into play the obtained results, in the upcoming time, Nam Dinh will continue making military cadres at grass-roots level comprehensively strong and capable of playing a core role in carrying out the local military-defence work and building the all-people national defence, the posture of all-people national defence associated with the posture of people’s security and the defensive zone.

Sr. Col. LUONG VAN KIEM, Commander of the PMC