Thue Thien - Hue is located in the Central key economic zone, holding a position of strategic importance to national defence and security, being rich in civilisation, history, culture, and revolutionary tradition. Fully aware of its position, potential, and advantages, over the years, while facilitating socio-economic, cultural development and improving the people’s intellectual level and material and mental life, the province has attached great value to performing its defence-military work and particularly adopting various practical, effective measures for building a strong, extensive militia and self-defence force.

First of all, the province has focused on building a high-quality, compact militia and self-defence force and especially making it strong politically. Grasping the 9^th Party Central Secretariat’s Directive 16-CT/TW on enhancing the Party’s leadership over the militia and self-defence force and the reserve force in the new situation, the Law on the Militia and Self-Defence Force, and plans and guiding documents by the Military Region 4, the Provincial Military Command (PMC) has counselled and helped the Provincial Party Committee and People’s Committee on issuing many directives, resolutions, plans, and projects on the building, training, and operation of the militia and self-defence force as well as on ensuring policies and entitlements for this force in accordance with the Law on the Militia and Self-Defence Force and local particularities and budgets. Besides, the PMC and localities’ military offices have actively cooperated with sectors, departments, and unions in disseminating the position and importance of the militia and self-defence force to the Homeland construction and protection as well the province’s measures for building this force. Doing so has helped raise the awareness and responsibility of cadres, party members, and all people, particularly at grass-roots level, encourage the participation of the entire political system, and promote the all-level military offices’ core role in counselling and inspecting the building of this force.

A training session on line-up regulations

In fact, most of the citizens at the age of militia and self-defence service are breadwinners working in industrial zones or far away from home. Thus, to realise the goal of building a strong, extensive militia and self-defence force in every residential area and party organisation, the province has directed local party committees and authorities, particularly the all-level military offices to well manage citizens at the age of militia and self-defence service, select and initiate new members into this force in a democratic, equal, formal manner right at the grass-roots level. Under the province’s direction, localities have built an “extensive” militia and self-defence force with proper structure and quantity in accordance with each area, particularly the border, coastal areas and the key areas in terms of national defence and security. As for the coastal militia and self-defence force, the province has directed coastal localities to close manage members of this force and ask vessel owners to make reports on their manpower. As a result, coastal militia platoons have been consolidated and provided with equipment and supporting tools in order to both exploit seafood and take part in the defence of national sea and island sovereignty.

Thua Thien - Hue has taken the initiative across the Military Region 4 in establishing commune-level military party cells and initiating new members into the Party within the militia and self-defence force. Over the years, the province has directed military party cells to maintain the order for meetings. On a yearly basis, those military party cells must initiate 1 or 2 new members into the Party as a criterion for assessing the national defence work. By doing so, the militia and self-defence force within the province has been made compact, politically strong, and capable of performing all missions in the states of combat readiness. Up to now, the province has built 487 militia and self-defence establishments and 1 standing militia and self-defence squad. All communes, wards, and townships have set up military party cells. Members of the militia and self-defence force make up 1.6% of the population, 31.3% of them are party members, 54.2% of them are youth union members, and 12.6% of them are discharged soldiers.

In order that the militia and self-defence could promote its core role in performing the defence-military task at the grass-roots level, the province has attached importance to providing military training and political, legal education for this force. To that end, the province has required localities to actively renew method of training, select and train a contingent of training cadres and instructors, and strictly implement the regulations on training at each level and for each group of troops. The province has organised refresher courses for commanders and deputy commissars of commune-level military commands, while districts have provided training courses for deputy commanders of commune-level military commands, cadres of offices and organisations’ military commands, and military cadres at villages and hamlets. In the training process, emphasis has been placed on improving the training method, overcoming weakness, and updating new knowledge and information, such as the National Defence Law and the Law on the Militia and Self-Defence Force. At the same time, the province has directed districts, towns, and cities to organise training courses for 1 or 2 groups of communes to draw lessons and then provide training courses for the force en masse. As for the first-year members, the province has required localities to hold training courses at communes, wards, and townships. To ensure the sufficient number of members in training courses, the province has asked communes to register their training duration and quickly inform each member of the training timetable. As for the coastal militia force, due to the fishing season, localities have been required to organise training courses properly. In the training process, the province has directed localities to adhere to the motto of “basics, practicality, and thorough grasp” and combine military training with political and legal education. It has also enhanced the work of inspection and investigation and helped localities to resolve difficulties. After training courses, localities have organised competitions and commune-level defensive combat exercises and taken part in mobilising troops in provincial and district-level defensive zone exercises in order to improve the combat readiness capacity of the standing and mobile militia force.

A military contest intended for the militia and self-defence force in 2019

In addition to raising the quality of training, the province has attached great value to improving the task performance of the militia and self-defence force. The province has directed localities to develop and supplement the working plan of the militia and self-defence force according to the Circular 108/2016/TT-BQP by the Ministry of National Defence, to maintain cooperation between this force and others, namely Public Security, Border Guard, Coast Guard, and Forest Ranger in protecting coastal and land border, performing combat readiness duty, and conducting patrols, and to encourage this force to take part in natural disaster, fire and explosion prevention and control, search and rescue, mass mobilisation, new-style countryside construction, and political system building so as to make contributions to maintaining political security and social order and safety in the area.

Fully aware of the important role of commune-level military cadres in the building, training, and operation of the militia and self-defence force, the province has paid due attention to making a plan on training and using a contingent of military cadres at the grass-roots level and gradually standardising this contingent. Over the years, the PMC has advised the province on directing localities to actively review and formulate their plan on training and using commune-level military cadres. With the efforts made by all-level authorities, up to now, the province has been training nearly 600 commanders of commune-level military command as bachelor holders in the local military speciality, while ensuring that all commune-level military commands have been sufficiently staffed by military cadres. These commune-level military cadres have promoted their role and well performed their responsibilities and assigned tasks. In order to prepare the personnel plan for party congresses at the grass-roots level, the province has directed localities to organise a training course for commanders of the commune-level military commands. To improve the quality of building the militia and self-defence force, the province has attached significance to ensuring facilities, policies, and entitlements for this force. Under the province’s guidelines, the PMC has issued the Directive 1250/CT-BCH, dated May 26^th 2015, on constructing headquarters and combat readiness duty rooms of the militia force at communes, wards, and townships. The all-level military offices have counselled local party committees and authorities to build and consolidate working and combat readiness duty rooms of the militia force and provide sufficiently weapons and supporting tools under the regulations so as to improve this force’s task performance. Up to now, all commune-level military commands have possessed their own headquarters. Under the Plan 105/KH-UBND by the Provincial People’s Committee, the PMC has advised the province on allocating budgets to localities so that they could provide sufficient policies and entitlements for the militia and self-defence force. At the same time, localities have been flexible in paying members of the militia and self-defence force for their working days and actively mobilised resources from unions, organisations, and enterprises to give financial and material assistance to this force.

Thanks to the leadership, direction, and involvement of the entire political system and the core role played by the all-level military offices, the militia and self-defence force within the province of Thue Thien - Hue has been made strong, extensive, and capable of performing the defence-military mission and taking part in maintaining political security and social order and safety as well as building wealthy localities.

Col. Ngo Nam Cuong

Commander of the PMC