According to the Resolution of the 11^th Military Party Congress, the modernisation of several services, corps and forces will have been completed by 2030; from 2030, the entire Military will be modernised. To achieve that goal, it is necessary to comprehensively, synchronously take various measures. As for the Military Logistics Branch, due attention should be paid to developing its human resources in line with the Military’s modernisation process.

Logistics human resources represent the sum of physical and mental resources of all-level logistics cadres, soldiers, and employees. They also act as a determinant to the quality of logistics and the performance of the Military’s training, combat readiness and combat missions.

Being imbued with Marxist-Leninist theories and Ho Chi Minh’s ideology on the importance of logistics cadres and employees in the military build-up and the Homeland protection, over the years, the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defence have concentrated on consolidating and developing high-quality logistics human resources, and building a strong Military Logistics Branch (MLB) capable of meeting its task requirements in the new situation. Due regard has been paid to preparing, training, retraining, and using logistics human resources in a close, serious manner. A contingent of logistics cadres and employees has been standardised according to their position and developed both quantitatively and qualitatively. Their professional competence, skills, working style, and service attitude have been improved. It is worth noting that logistics human resources at strategic and campaign levels as well as within services, corps, and forces which are being modernised have been developed comprehensively. As a result, the efficiency of logistics consultation and direction within the entire Military has been considerably raised. The work of logistics support has been renewed and standardised to serve both regular and irregular missions opportunely and sufficiently.

However, the building of military logistics human resources has exposed several weaknesses. The work of training and using logistics staff members has yet to be regular. The quantity and quality of logistics cadres and employees have yet to satisfy the practical requirements. There has not been a balance in the logistics force’s structure within some units. The number of good logistics cadres and top logistics experts has been still small. Meanwhile, the qualities, ability, proactiveness, creativity, responsibility, and professional ethics of several logistics cadres and employees have been limited.

At present, to achieve the goal of military build-up under the Resolutions of the 13^th National Party Congress and the 11^th Military Party Congress, in addition to an increase in the national defence budget, the development of human resources is still a top priority. Due to the importance of the MLB and the logistics work to the Military’s development, combat, and victory, it is necessary to synchronously adopt a system of measures to build logistics human resources on a par with their task requirements in the new situation as follows.

First of all, focus on formulating a master plan and completing a system of policies and mechanisms to develop logistics human resources. This is an important task aimed at laying a legal foundation for the implementation process. To that end, the General Department of Logistics should cooperate with competent offices in advising the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defence on building and executing the Master Plan for the development of logistics human resources in the new situation. In the process of research, it is essential to have breakthrough measures and strategic visions. The Plan must set up the goals and the roadmap for building logistics human resources, while clearly identifying the quantity and structure of each force (cadres and employees) and each profession (staff and command, ordnance, petroleum, transport, and military medicine). Great value should be attached to achieving a harmony between quality and quantity. Priority should be given to building a pool of top experts and good employees in each sphere. More importantly, it is vital to establish and complete the criteria for logistics human resources in line with the roadmap for developing the Military (towards 2025 and 2030, and from 2030). Doing so will enable units and logistics sectors to formulate their plans to recruit, train, retrain, and use logistics human resources to meet both long-term and short-term demands.

Furthermore, consideration should be given to perfecting the system of mechanisms and policies relating to this issue in accordance with the MLB’s particularities. Emphasis should be placed on developing logistics human resources in the new, specialised fields and particularly in the forces that move straight to modernity. Due regard should be paid to promulgating a preferential treatment policy to attract, recruit, preserve, and develop logistics human resources. Researches on the length of service of a number of specialised, high-quality logistics cadres and employees should be undertaken, while the extension of service amongst some logistics professional service men and women under the Circular 12/2021/TT-BQP, dated January 28^th, 2021 by the Ministry of National Defence should be implemented to avoid “brain drain.”

Second, renew and improve the training and retraining of logistics cadres and employees at all levels. This is a measure of importance to developing logistics human resources qualitatively, quantitatively in both long and short terms. Bringing into play the recorded results, the General Department of Logistics should cooperate with military schools and academies, particularly the Military Academy of Logistics in raising the quality of training logistics human resources to meet the requirements set by the military build-up in the new situation. In the upcoming time, it is necessary to quickly realise the Project on organising the Military Logistics Colleges No.1 and No.2 to train a pool of logistics employees for the entire Military. Due attention should be paid to comprehensively renewing, “standardising and modernising” the contents, forms, and methods of training logistics cadres and employees in a “basic, intensive” manner. Great value should be attached to developing an integrated training programme and updating new military-defence issues, the development of technology, the performance of the logistics work, and economic, financial knowledge in the conditions of a socialist-oriented market economy and international integration in accordance with each group of learners. Besides, it is vital to assess the quality of human resources and identify specific plans for training and retraining in each period. To that end, it is essential to foster cooperation in training both at home and abroad, combine the training work at schools with units’ logistics work and combat reality, and strictly maintain military logistics training courses, contests, and exercises at all levels. Due regard should be paid to increasing the quality of building the logistics reserve force. Currently, in addition to enhancing logistics cadres and employees’ skills and management capacity, importance should be attached to improving their foreign language level and soft skills so as to enable them to work in the international environment and meet the requirements set by the modernisation of the Military.

Third, continue to adjust the MLB’s organisational structure to satisfy the task requirements in the new situation. A part from a master plan for the MLB’s organisational structure under the roadmap for the Military’s modernisation, it is necessary to drastically adjust the organisational structure of logistics offices and units under the Project on organising the Vietnam People’s Army in the period of 2020-2025. Emphasis should be placed on building a “compact, strong” logistics force at all levels. Moreover, it is important to proactively undertake researches into the development and modersnisation of services, corps and forces together with the requirements of logistics so as to prepare plans and projects on establishing some new logistics forces and units. Due regard should be paid to correctly assessing the quality of human resources and developing projects on arranging and consolidating the logistics force from strategic, campaign levels to offices and units across the Military in order to ensure a balance between logistics specialities and a solid inheritance between forces. Emphasis should be placed on dealing with a dearth of human resources in units and redundancy in offices. It is necessary to adjust the strategic and campaign-level logistics disposition on a national scale, particularly in the key directions and regions, while it is vital to acquire more logistics equipment and means in sync with new-generation weapons and technical equipment to increase manoeuvrability and meet the task requirements.

Fourth, enhance the work of political and ideological education to raise logistics cadres and employees’ political zeal and professional ethics. To respond to the hostile forces’ sabotage strategy and the negative impacts made by the market economy, it is necessary to well carry out the work of political education and ideological management and build up logistics staff members’ political zeal, determination, pure professional ethics and devotion to their job. Logistics offices and units at all levels should encourage their cadres and employees to keep effectively studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, ethics and lifestyle, with a focus on the emulation movement titled “the MLB follows Uncle Ho’s teachings.” At the same time, emphasis should be placed on building comprehensively strong, “exemplary, typical” logistics offices and units and politically, ideologically, morally, organisationally strong party organisations as the basis for each logistics cadre and employee’s “self-review,” “self-correction,” and self-improvement.

Developing logistics human resources on a par with the task requirements in the new period represents a task and measure of importance to realising the goal of building the Military under the Resolution of the 13^th National Party Congress. With both advantages and difficulties, the entire Party, Military and people, particularly party committees and commands at all levels and the MLB should drastically, seriously adopt measures mentioned above to perform this demanding mission.

Col. NGUYEN HUU HOAT, PhD, Military Academy of Logistics