Throughout the Party congresses, importance is always attached to determining the orientation to build the Army. The 13^th Party Congress is not an exception, but there is a brand-new point that the above mentioned issue is oriented not only to 2025 (5-year period) but also to 2030 (10-year period), which is building a revolutionary, regular, elite, and modern People’s Army. This is a positive change and is remarkably meaningful if realised on the occasion of the 100^th anniversary of the foundation of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

It is undeniable that building a modern Army is a big and important issue and a burning aspiration of the entire Party, people, and Army. Since its foundation in 1944 and through nearly 80 years of construction, fighting and growth, it is the first time that our Army has had the appropriate conditions to modernise, which is a positive development. The question is, what is the basis for our Party to have that breakthrough thinking?

In fact, building a modern Army depends on many factors, especially time and resources. If these objective conditions are not met, this task cannot be done successfully. Therefore, in terms of the time factor, since the 7^th National Congress, which is equivalent to more than 30 years and 7 congresses, the Party has oriented to build a revolutionary, regular, elite, and gradually modernised Army. In particular, at the 12^th Congress, the Party emphasised on “Priority is given to the modernisation of several services, corps, and forces” and the 13^th Congress continued to affirm that “Several services, corps, and forces advance straight to modernity”. Therefore, it can be seen that the roadmap to build a modern Army by 2030 is well planned by the Party for each stage in a sufficient time and through different steps. Besides, resources are of paramount importance, in which priority is given to several services, corps, and forces advancing straight to modernity. This further proves that the Party did not hurry to build a modern Army. Instead, it had a well-prepared and scientific plan that fully met the conditions before implementation. It can be affirmed that the goal of building a modern Army by 2030 is completely grounded and highly feasible. Additionally, the Party emphasised the importance of the results of the building of the Army during the 13^th National Congress until 2025, which serves as a solid premise to accomplish the set goals.

Accordingly, it is necessary to continue to build a revolutionary, regular, elite, and gradually modernised Army with several services, corps, and forces advancing straight to modernity. It is widely known that our Army is a revolutionary Army that comes from the people and fights for the people. It was founded by the Party and President Ho Chi Minh, educated and trained to become the heroic Army of heroic Vietnam. However, the Party never undermines and disregards the building and cultivation of the revolutionary and working-class nature for the Army. In this current complicated situation where hostile forces are pointing their spear at the Army to oppose and distort the nature, functions, and traditions of the Army to dilute its goals, revolutionary ideology and nature in order to neutralise the People’s Army, the political and ideological education and the fostering of Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh’s ideology are  increasingly important because they ensure the nature of our revolutionary Army, being absolutely loyal to the Party, the State, and the people.

Importance should be attached to building and creating new changes in the Army’s regularity. Regularity and discipline are the power of the Army. Without them, not only the combat strength and task fulfilment of the Army are reduced but also the unity of will and action is not created, so the revolutionary nature “of the people, by the people, and for the people” fades away. Regularity building has to be comprehensive, with a focus on well implementing the regime of combat readiness, training, drills, etc. to ensure that the Army is always proactive, not to be passive and stunned under no circumstances in performing the task of national protection. Along with that, it is necessary to practice working style, manner, behaviour, speech, etc. for officers and soldiers to constantly enhance the beautiful image of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers”.

Building an elite and warlike Army is an objective requirement and has become increasingly important and urgent, especially in the new combat conditions to deal with all types of war with modern means and weapons as well as the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In fact, our Army is an elite force so it is required to be increasingly elite. Therefore, importance needs to be attached to building an elite Army in all aspects, first and foremost being elite in politics and combat ability, which are the two core factors to ensure that the Army is truly elite and warlike, following Uncle Ho’s teaching “fulfilling every task, overcoming every difficulty, and defeating every enemy”.

Continuing to build a gradually modernised Army, serving as a solid foundation for building a modern Army. That is a consistent viewpoint of the Party at the 13^th National Congress, which needs to be thoroughly grasped and seriously and effectively implemented. Overall, in this term, the orientation is to build a “gradually modernised” Army, in which several forces are invested to advance straight to modernity. In the coming time, it is necessary to study and select other forces to invest in, creating a solid premise to realise the goals of modernising the Army by 2030 according to the Party’s orientation.

Building a revolutionary, regular, elite, and gradually modernised Army is a complete and unified task, in which the contents have a dialectical relationship and can affect each other. During implementation, these contents must be carried out simultaneously with the same importance. Finding out appropriate and effective measures to implement based on the situation, feasibility, and urgency of each content.

To create a premise for realising the goal of modernising the Army by 2030, it is necessary to focus on adjusting and organising forces in the direction of being “elite, compact, and strong”, suitable for the military organisation in peacetime. Currently, as our country is in a state of peace, the military organisation in general and the organisation of armed forces and the Army, in particular, need to be adjusted to suit the situation. This is a subjective requirement that needs to be met or else it will directly affect the development of the country and national defence. This is not the first time our Army has adjusted its organisation as it had done before and achieved good results. However, there are still existing shortcomings in the organisation that need to be further adjusted to suit the new situation. Accordingly, there is a need to ensure an “elite, compact, and strong” organisation, balancing the forces between agencies and units. The general policy is to reduce both the number of organisations and soldiers in a reasonable and scientific manner, which is to reduce the unsuitable organisations and merge agencies with similar functions. At the same time, establishing new specialised organisations, units, and forces according to the requirements of the new tasks of the Army. Adjusting the organisation and forces is the key tasks of the Army during the term, so it needs to be implemented drastically and effectively. The adjustment of the Army’s organisation and forces has to meet the requirement of being “elite, compact, and strong” with the constantly improved overall quality and combat strength of the whole Army. The implementation process must be in accordance with the established schemes, roadmaps, and plans, with the combination of ideological work with organisational work, personnel work, policy work as well as the close coordination between agencies and units inside and outside the Army, thus ensuring the ideological and psychological stability of officers at all levels. The most important thing is that the adjustment of organisation and standing forces must be in association with improving the overall quality of the reserve forces, militia, and self-defence forces. Only by doing this can the strength of the national protection can be improved in the new situation.

Building a modern People’s Army is a big issue of the country, which requires the efforts of the entire Party, people, and Army. In particular, the Army, as a force directly invested in modernisation, needs to thoroughly grasp and strictly implement the Party’s viewpoints. To build a modern Army by 2030, our country has gone through a rather long process of gradual modernisation. Specifically, for the services, corps, and forces that have been invested to advance straight to modernity, they need to be invested to be more modern. For the other forces, they should be given priority to be modernised to ensure the overall aspect of a modern Army. Regarding investment resources, it is necessary to combine both internal and external resources, in which internal resources are decisive. However, taking advantage of external resources through international cooperation and integration, especially with traditional partners is also of great importance. In order to build a modern Army, there are things to be done and invested, in which, the construction and development of a modern defence industry with a high technological level are indispensable. In the coming time, it is necessary to invest in developing a modern defence industry with high-tech complexes, ensuring the self-production of modern and relatively modern weapons, equipment, and technical means to equip the armed forces in general and the Army in particular. Minimising purchases from outside, except for modern means and weapons that go beyond the technical level of the country’s defence industry.

With careful preparation in all aspects along with the great efforts of the entire Party, people, and Army, it is believed that the goal of building a revolutionary, regular, elite, and modern Army by 2030 can be fulfilled, meeting the requirements of national protection in the new situation.

Major General NGUYEN MANH HUNG