Improving training work in general and the training of the reserve force in particular is an important part of national defence consolidation and the Fatherland protection. As for Division 304, which is frequently tasked with training reservists, researching into solutions for raising the quality of the training of the reserve force represents a matter of importance and urgency.

Training the reserve force is one of the central missions of Division 304 (Army Corps 2). Being fully aware of that, over the years, the Division’s Party Committee and Command have concentrated their leadership and direction on drastically, synchronously adopting various solutions for raising the quality and effectiveness of training work and exercises to enhance the reserve force’s combat readiness capacity and make contributions to facilitating the active force’s performance of missions in all situations. Grounded on its allocated quota of training, annually, the Division has grasped and seriously, effectively implemented its higher echelons’ directives and plans on mobilising, training, and building the reserve force, particularly the Directive on the force building by Chief of the General Staff and the Military-Defence Work Order by Army Corps 2’s Commander. At the same time, it has cooperated with party committees and authorities of Vinh Phuc and Hai Duong provinces in registering, managing, examining, re-examining, and grasping sources of reservists as well as sufficiently, closely receiving reservists and well performing training work. In response to negative impacts made by COVID-19 pandemic, it has always proactively dealt with difficulties, adjusted its training plans in accordance with each degree of COVID-19, and actively renewed contents, forms, and methods of training and exercises in a close, safe manner to achieve rather comprehensive, encouraging results. Therefore, its quality of training reservists has unceasingly improved; it has always been capable of receiving reservists, weapons, equipment, and means of mobilisation, fulfilling training work and exercises, and settling combat situations when necessary.

However, in addition to those good results, a number of reservists and their families have yet to be fully aware of training work. Frame-B cadres’ capabilities in training and managing units have been still limited. Training work has yet to be closely or effectively combined with discipline management and military standard order building. Those above-mentioned problems necessitate party committees and commands of the Division’s active units continuing researching and proposing solutions for raising the quality of training and building the reserve force to firmly protect the Fatherland in the new period. Within this article, we come up with several solutions for bettering the training of this important force as follows.

Commander of the Corps inspecting the Division’s reception of reservists

First of all, focus on raising reservists and citizens’ awareness and responsibility for the training and building of the reserve force. There is a fact that the reserve force is part of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA), reservists are “troops amongst the people,” and they are closely managed by military units and localities. On an annual basis, a proper section of this force will be mobilised to take part in training courses, exercises, military-defence work, and the Fatherland protection. This is a consistent policy of our Party and State aimed at reducing defence budget but guaranteeing the building of the people’s armed forces and particularly the VPA capable of defeating all invaders to firmly protect the Fatherland in any situation. Thus, the raised awareness and responsibility of reservists and citizens towards training work constitute a matter of importance and urgency. To that end, all-level party committees and commands should further renew contents, forms, and methods of political and ideological education, closely combine defence and security education with the work of propagation and education for troops and citizens via examinations and re-examinations of sources of reservists, and align political and legal education and task introduction within annual reservist training propgrammes with the work of propagation and education for all people. At the same time, due regard should be paid to rendering reservists and citizens fully aware of the Party’s guidelines and the State’s laws and policies on the building of the reserve force and military mobilisation. Reservists and citizens must clearly understand their responsibilities and duties for the Military build-up and the Fatherland protection stipulated in the Law on the Military Reserve Force (2019); they should be encouraged to overcome difficulties to participate in training courses, exercises, and other missions at the request of localities and military units. The achievement of quota of mobilisation, training work, and exercises must be seen as a criterion for evaluating the work of propagation, education, and management performed by military units and localities.

Second, closely cooperate with localities in ensuring sources of reservists for training work and exercises. To guarantee the quality and quantity of reservists in both long and medium term, reserve units’ party committees and commands should closely collaborate with local party committees, authorities, and military agencies in following procedures for military call-up, the training of active duty soldiers, and the handover, registration, and management of demobilised soldiers within localities as well as in educating members of the reserve force under the Military Service Law and the Law on the Military Reserve Force. Due attention should be paid to staffing reserve units with reservists according to their military professions in a close, scientific way. Emphasis should be placed on examining and re-examining the reserve force and grasping the quality and quantity of reservists in order to ensure the number of replacements and reservists under quota allocated by higher echelons. Consideration should be given to associating quota of military enlistment with quota of reservist mobilisation and organising training courses on converting military professions so as to increase the rate of standard military professions amongst reservists for localities. At the same time, there should be a balance between military professions in accordance with each area’s particularities to create a favourable condition for managing, examining, and training reservists as well as for opportunely, sufficiently mobilising this force under a mobilisation order. In the process, reserve units should directly grasp reservists’ political profiles, health condition, and military professions. Besides, there should be a clear division of responsibilities between units and localities for examining, re-examining, and receiving sources of reservists, while due regard should be paid to ensuring sufficient policies and entitlements for reservists to encourage them to successfully fulfil their tasks.

Third, boost the quality of training work and exercises designed for the reserve force. Based on the quota allocated by the Ministry of National Defence, the military-defence work Order issued by Army Corps 2, and the quality of reserve units and reservists, the Division should direct its offices and units to develop their plans on training reserve officers, reserve non-commissioned officers, reserve soldiers, and reserve professional employees in accordance with each group of units. In addition to elaborate preparations, prior to each training season, the Division should attach importance to holding refresher courses to improve frame-B cadres’ capabilities in training and managing units as the basis for those cadres’ successful fulfilment of all assigned tasks. In the training process, the Division should seriously, effectively realise training mottos, viewpoints, principles, and connections, actively renew methods of training, and circulate training courses to ensure the participation of all reservists under the Law on the Military Reserve Force and in accordance with each degree of COVID-19. Great weight should be added to equipping reservists with new tactical and technical knowledge relevant to modern warfare environment to make reserve units adept at tactics and ensure the absolute safety. At the same time, it is essential to proactively develop plans on the reserve force’s exercises at battalion level to make contributions to bettering frame-A and frame-B cadres’ capacity to command reserve units and improving tactical-level reserve units’ coordination in military-defence work and combat to successfully deal with situations.

From the Division’s training practice for the reserve force, in order to keep raising the quality of reservists, competent offices of the Ministry of National Defence should take an increase in the annual quota of training infantry reservists into account. With the current quota, many infantry reservists during their mobilisation service could hardly join training courses and exercises as the ratio of tactical-level units in charge of training infantry reservists to active units is too small.

Fourth, opportunely, sufficiently ensure financial, logistics, and technical support for the training and building of the reserve force. To that end, competent offices of the Division should cooperate with reserve units in grasping and seriously, effectively implementing regulations on financial, logistics, and technical support as well as entitlements and policies for reserve units and reservists and their families. Coordination should be maintained to exploit funding allocated by higher echelons and units’ resources to propose and execute projects on constructing and upgrading the Division’s headquarters and units’ barracks in an increasingly regular and modern manner, and completing the Mobilisation Headquarters and the Reservist Reception Station. Due attention should be paid to intensifying measures to guarantee barracks and training grounds of merged units according to intentions of the Ministry of National Defence and Army Corps 2. Moreover, significance should be attached to sufficiently, publicly, transparently ensuring all entitlements and policies for reservists during their mobilisation service under the Law on the Military Reserve Force in order to raise their responsibility for the Military build-up and the Fatherland protection.

Sr. Col. TRINH CA, Commander of Division 304