Bringing into play their heroic tradition and core role, the provincial armed forces of Hai Duong have been joining the province’s Party Organisation, authorities, and people in synchronously adopting various measures to successfully fulfil military-defence task as the basis for facilitating Hai Duong’s socio-economic, cultural development and defence-security consolidation.

Under the Party’s guidelines on unifying militia force, guerrilla force, and local force during the resistance war against French colonialists, the Provincial Party Committee of Hai Duong directed the Provincial Resistance Committee to establish Hai Duong Provincial Military Command to uniformly command the provincial armed forces. After being founded and completing command systems, the provincial armed forces both fought the enemy and developed themselves, encouraged the building of “resistance villages,” and gradually annihilated enemy troops, thereby making contributions to thwarting French colonialists’ “rapid fight, rapid win” strategy. In the resistance war against the U.S., for national salvation, under the spirit of doing everything for the front line, for “Southern brothers,” and for a victory against US imperialists, the provincial armed forces cooperated with main military units and citizens in fostering production and socialism construction, opportunely providing material and human resources for the South battlefield, and smashing the enemy’s strategic air raids on Hanoi, Hai Phong, and adjacent localities, thereby making contributions to defending the socialist North, completely liberating the South, unifying the country, and building up the tradition of “unity, self-reliance, creativity, sacrifice, and victory.”

Since the country was unified, the provincial armed forces of Hai Duong have been made politically, ideologically, and organisationally strong with a high level of synergy and combat readiness; they have worked with local authorities, sectors, and citizens to effectively implement socio-economic development projects and consolidate defence and security to deserve to be an absolutely loyal, reliable army of local party committees, authorities, and citizens. Over the past 75 years of construction, combat, and development, under the leadership and direction from the Central Military Commission, the Ministry of National Defence, Military Region 3’s Party Committee and Command, and the province’s Party Committee, People’s Council, and People’s Committee, the provincial armed forces have successfully fulfilled all assigned missions, and they have been presented with a lot of noble rewards by the Party, the State, and the Ministry of National Defence.

Leader of the province inspecting the armed forces’ combat readiness

In the upcoming time, in response to new requirements set by the Homeland protection, hostile forces’ sabotage, and negative impacts made by natural disasters and epidemics, particularly COVID-19 pandemic, the provincial armed forces will keep raising their synergy and combat strength to successfully fulfil military-defence work and create a favourable condition for the province’s rapid, comprehensive, sustainable development via synchronous, drastic measures as follows.

First of all, enhance the provincial armed forces’ capacity to give advice to the province’s Party Committee, People’s Council, and People’s Committee on military-defence work. Well implementing this measure will help assert the provincial armed forces’ core role in performing military-defence work. Grounded on the Party’s guidelines and resolutions on military-defence work, particularly the 10^th Politburo’s Resolution 28-NQ/TW, the Government’s Decree 21/2019/NĐ-CP on building defensive zones, and the Resolutions of the 13^th National Party Congress, the 11^th Military Party Congress, Military Region 3’s 9^th Party Congress, and the 17^th Provincial Party Congress, the Provincial Military Command (PMC) will proactively advise the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People’s Committee to sufficiently develop legal normative documents on the building and operation of defensive zones. It will continue giving advice on executing the Project to “build the provincial defensive zone in the period of 2020-2025.” Importance will be attached to associating defence disposition and economic development with the building of defensive zones’ potential and posture. Emphasis will be placed on giving advice to local party committees and authorities on consolidating all-level defensive zones’ potential and posture, building dual-purpose works for defence task and socio-economic development, raising the operational effectiveness of components and forces within defensive zones, and ensuring state management of defence work. Due attention will be paid to improving the task performance of Steering Boards on Defensive Zones and People’s Air Defence, Military Service Councils, Defence and Security Education Councils, and Supply Councils, cooperating with the province’s departments, committees, sectors, and unions in promoting the strength of the entire political system and people to build the “posture of people’s hearts and minds” and the all-people national defence associated with the people’s security, and collaborating with the Public Security Force in giving advice to local party committees and authorities on opportunely, effectively dealing with complex issues.

Second, boost the quality of defence and security education for all citizens. Well implementing this measure will contribute to raising the awareness and responsibility of cadres, party members, and the people towards military-defence task. Therefore, the Provincial Military Party Committee (PMPC) and the PMC will continue directing all-level military offices to actively, proactively advise local party committees and authorities on consolidating all-level Defence and Security Education Councils and organising defence and security education courses for cadres and party members, particularly for the key ones after all-level Party Congresses. Consideration will be given to actively renewing contents, programmes, and forms of defence and security education in a close, scientific, effective, practical manner, disseminating knowledge of defence and security amongst all people, and providing defence and security education for religious dignitaries, heads of villages and residential areas, enterprise owners, and staff members of press agencies within the province. Due regard will be paid to cooperating with the province’s Department of Education and Training in directing high schools, colleges, and universities within the province to provide defence and security education for students. Focuses of defence and security education will be placed on the Defence and Security Education Law, the Military Service Law, national and local traditions, and citizens’ responsibilities for the Homeland construction and protection.

Third, focus on adjusting and stabilising the provincial armed forces’ organisational structure, and raising the quality of training and combat readiness. This is a breakthrough aimed at making the provincial armed forces strong with a high level of synergy and combat strength to meet their task requirements. To that end, the PMPC and the PMC will grasp contents of “the year for implementing the force adjustment plan” and direct their offices and units to comply with regulations on new organisational structure set by the General Staff and Military Region 3, with priority given to units tasked with training and combat readiness in a compact, strong fashion. In addition to force adjustments, the PMC will direct its offices and units to follow the training motto of “basics, practicality, and thorough grasp.” Great value will be attached to organising and making synchronous, intensive training courses relevant to each area’s particularities, weapons and technical equipment, tasks of units and localities, and modern warfare. Due attention will be paid to proactively developing plans on holding provincial and district-level defensive zone exercises and commune-level defensive combat exercises. Via such exercises, defensive and operational projects will be adjusted and completed to be relevant to the development of missions.

Additionally, the PMPC and the PMC will focus on building a strong, extensive militia and self-defence force and raising the operational effectiveness of mobile and specialised militia units at commune level and self-defence units within offices, organisations, and enterprises. Significance will be attached to closely carrying out the registration and management of the reserve force, advising the Provincial People’s Committee to organise training courses for reservist officers, and recommending Military Region 3 to provide professional training courses to improve the quality of this force.

Fourth, make the provincial armed forces politically, ideologically, organisationally, and morally strong. Emphasis will be placed on building pure, strong party organisations, “exemplarily, typically” comprehensively strong offices and units, and a contingent of cadres and party members capable of meeting their task requirements. Due attention will be paid to stepping up the study and following of Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, ethics, and lifestyle in tandem with the 13^th Party Central Committee’s Conclusion 21-KL/TW, dated October 25^th, 2021 on building and rectifying the Party and the political system, resolutely preventing, repelling, and strictly handling degradation in political ideology, ethics, and lifestyle as well as the signs of “self-evolution” and “self-transformation” amongst cadres and party members, the Campaign entitled “promoting tradition, devoting talent, deserving to be Uncle Ho’s soldiers” in the new period, and the Central Military Commission Standing Board’s Resolution 847/NQ-QUTW, dated December 28^th, 2021 on “bringing into play the virtues of Uncle Ho’s soldiers and resolutely fighting against individualism in the new period.”

Promoting the heroic tradition, cadres and soldiers of the provincial armed forces of Hai Duong will strive to successfully fulfil military-defence task to make contributions to consolidating defence and security, ensuring political stability, boosting socio-economic development, and turning Hai Duong into a centrally-controlled city in 2035.

Sr. Col. NGUYEN HUY THANG

Member of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Board, Commander of the PMC