After 3 years of implementing the campaign “Promoting tradition, devoting talent, deserving to be Uncle Ho’s soldiers,” the 9^th Military Region’s armed forces have gained relatively comprehensive results, creating drivers for task fulfillment in the Military Region’s offices and units.

Leader of the 9th Military Region delivering speech at the conference on reviewing the implementation of the campaign

Over the past few years, on clearly perceiving the great significance and values of the campaign “Promoting tradition, devoting talent, deserving to be Uncle Ho’s soldiers,” initiated by the Central Military Commission’s Standing Committee, the 9^th Military Region Party Executive Committee and the 9^th Military Region Command have strictly grasped and executed the campaign through various practical content and measures, in line with characteristics and missions of the Military Region’s armed forces. Notably, the campaign has been executed in close association with other political tasks, emulation movements, and other movements, thus contributing to improving quality and effectiveness of political education, training, combat readiness, and so forth.

Closely following the targets of the campaign, units have concretized the goals according to their functions and tasks, and included these goals in monthly, quarterly, and annual resolutions of party executive committees and in political commissars and commandants’ agendas, creating a legal basis for implementation. The Military Region Party Executive Committee and Military Region Command request that, in each period of time, units have to work out leadership guidelines and measures; appoint members of party executive committees and cadres to be in charge of this area; assign each player concrete tasks; bring into play the role of mass organizations; and opportunely deal with emerged difficulty to make the campaign become a regular and daily job of the Military Region’s armed forces. All cadres and party members, first and foremost political commissars and commandants make the most of their responsibility; strengthen their leadership and inspection; and set bright examples for their juniors. Cadres and party members are examples to the masses in working and training according to designated norms. Outcome of the campaign is considered as an important norm to assess performance of each organization and individual.

Given high political determination of leaders and commandants at diverse levels, and cadres, party members, and soldiers of the Military Region’s armed forces, the execution of the campaign has met the defined requirements and objectives; brought into play the virtues of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers”; penetrated deep into officers and soldiers’ awareness and actions; and become great dynamics to encourage every one to surmount difficulty, challenges, and danger to fulfill their tasks. Most of cadres and soldiers of the Military Region’s armed forces so far have firm political spirit and absolute confidence in the Party’s leadership and socialist regime; possess good dignity and lifestyle; are active and proactive in their jobs; are sufficiently self-aware to comply with military regulations and rules, the Party’s guidelines, and the State’s policies and law; and strive to build their offices and units, which have good order and discipline, are comprehensively strong, and successfully fulfill every assigned task. There are many prominent collectivities and individuals in terms of training, industriousness, creativity, and enterprise according to Uncle Ho’s example and the tradition “civil-military unity of effort, steadfastly holding out, self-reliance, resilience, and fighting with great fortitude” of the Military Region’s armed forces. These examples include Colonel Phan Van Phat, from the Military Region’s Logistics Department, whose numerous scientific projects and technological initiatives have been applied in production to yield high turnover and interest; Lieutenant Colonel Le Van Hanh, from the Military Region’s military school, who has been  given the title of “ Excellent Teacher” for consecutive years and dedicated to research and application of new teaching methodologies and teaching aid to raise education and training quality; military worker Van Thi Ngoc Tu – a master of Judo – has won 48 medals of all types; and Captain Nguyen Thi Anh Vien, who is a typical example of willpower in training and overcoming difficulty to attain many outstanding achievements in domestic and international tournaments as well as at the 28^th SEA Games. She has been given Decoration for Labour 2^nd Class and 3^rd Class by the President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. They are the prides of not only the Military Region’s armed forces, Vietnam’s People’s Army (VPA) but also the whole country. Drawing on achievements and lessons learnt after 3 years of implementing the campaign, the Military Region Party Executive Committee and Military Region Command are deepening propaganda and education on the need to continue to promote the campaign, and regard this as a focus of leadership and direction at diverse levels, and soldiers’ regular activity. Accordingly, party executive committees and commandants at all levels coordinate the introduction and strict implementation of documents, directives, and instructions issued by higher levels for cadres, party members, and the masses; and align the execution of the campaign with the Politburo’s Directive No.5-CT/TW on stepping up studying and following Uncle Ho’s thought, morality, and lifestyle, and Resolution of the 4^th Plenum of the Party Central Committee (Tenure XII) on Party building. Meanwhile, they should concentrate on leading and directing the settlement of ideology and discipline problems relating to officers and soldiers’ morality and lifestyle. It is necessary to continue propaganda, education, and dissemination of moral values according to Ho Chi Minh’s thought and the content of deserving to be “Uncle Ho’s soldiers” in the new era, and in line with mission requirements and characteristics of each office and unit, and functions and tasks of each individual; and include the content of the campaign in annual programs and plans for political education. Regarding the content of propaganda and education, offices and units should focus on introducing resolutions, directions and instructions from above and their own party executive committees on results and experience in executing the campaign in recent times; concentrate on further clarifying 4 pieces of content relating to the implementation of the campaign and special subjects for studying, introducing, and implementing Directive No.5 and Resolution of the 4^th Plenum of the Party Central Committee (Tenure XII) on Party building. There is a need to closely combine regular education with delivery of special subjects and themes suitable for each type of learners; oral propaganda with propaganda through mass media, cultural institutions, and various types of activities in units, party organizations, and mass organization, rendering the campaign deep in each cadre and soldier’s awareness and actions to encourage them to try their best to successfully compete every task.

To bring the campaign to life for cadres and soldiers, the Military Region has worked out copious, creative types of activities, in close alignment with the “Determination to Win” Emulation Movement, periods of peak emulation, and other campaigns. Movements such as “Offering Assistance for Studious Poor Pupils” and “Savings Boxes of Gratitude” for poor people launched by the Military Headquarters of An Giang province; “Filling up Piggy Banks,” “Rice Jars of Gratitude,” and “Saving 10 Percent of Spending” to support cadres and soldiers in need launched by the Military Headquarters of Soc Trang province and the 6^th Artillery Brigade; “Dignity Training, Talent Cultivation, Pioneering, Creativity to Deserve to Be Uncle Ho’s Soldiers” of regular units; “Five Buildings, Five Antis” of the Military Headquarters of Ben Tre and Tra Vinh provinces; “Three Buildings, Three Antis, Six Togethers” of the 9^th Regiment, the 8^th Division; “Emulation in Good Teaching, Good Learning, Good Service,” “Model Lectures,” and “Democracy, Rules, Enhancing Training Quality” of training institutions, etc., have truly become a reality and been expanded, thus creating key momentums to encourage every cadre, soldier, and military personnel to well perform their obligations and tasks, crafting fine images of the Military Region’s cadres and soldiers in people’s hearts and minds, and making them worthy of love and affection of the Party, State, and party executive committees and authorities at all levels. During the implementation process, party executive committees and commanding officers at all levels have paid attention to combining political, ideological solutions with organizational ones in a synchronous manner; attached importance to bringing into play the role of mass organizations and military councils; made major breakthroughs in the execution of key political tasks, and in dealing with shortcomings and weaknesses. Party executive committees and commandants at all levels monitor closely every activity of soldiers in order to conduct preliminary review, summation, and praise; grow advanced individuals, examples of “good people did good deeds,” and collectives and individuals who have discovered creative, good methodologies; and encourage cadres and soldiers to make the most of their talent and intelligence to surmount difficulty and challenges, and successfully fulfill their tasks. Outcome of this campaign and the campaign to study and follow Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality and lifestyle is one of the criteria to assess and grade party members and party organizations annually, and plan, train, and appoint cadres.

In addition, the Military Region has successfully brought into play the leading role of party executive committees, key cadres, and political organizations at all levels by means of concrete programs, plans, and solutions, in line with practical conditions of units. At the same time, it has mobilized the participation of unions, mass organizations, military councils, etc.; and given prominence to the exemplary role of cadres and party members, particularly key cadres at all levels, in coordinating the implementation. It is necessary to speed up the realization of regulation on grassroots level democracy, closely align education with military’s administrative measures, handle relationships in a harmonious manner, and preserve unity and unification so as to create high consensus in offices and units. There is a need to focus on building fine and healthy military cultural environments to ensure good material and spiritual life of soldiers, and create favourable conditions for them to train, devote, and reach their maturity.

On employing the aforementioned solutions in a synchronous manner, the 9^th Military Region’s campaign “Promoting tradition, devoting talent, deserving to be Uncle Ho’s soldiers” has continued to develop in both depth and width, and become daily activities of each cadre and soldier. That is also a firm premise for the Military Region’s armed forces to successfully fulfill their military and defence tasks, meeting the demands of national defence.

Senior Colonel Nguyen Huy Han

Head of the Department for Propaganda and Training, the 9th Military Region