Operating in the Central Highlands - a strategic area of the Fatherland, the 15th Corps faces many difficulties and hardships, but with determination, energy and wisdom, generations of its officers and soldiers, labourers have always been committed and stayed side by side with the ethnic minorities to build strong areas, contributing to promoting the fine virtue of "Uncle Ho's soldiers" in the new period.
The 15th Corps was formed rather early compared to other economic-defence units. With more than 36 years of reclaiming, recovering and renovating the fertile but war contaminated red basalt land in the Central Highlands where population density, economic and cultural levels are low, the Corps has attained significant achievements and is weaving the golden page of "Uncle Ho's soldiers" in the new era.
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| Commander of the Corps meets and encourages labourers |
That achievement affirmed the right thinking and strategic vision of the Party, the State, the Central Military Commission, the Ministry of National Defence on the construction of the Vietnam People's Army – an army for combat, for work and for labour in light of Ho Chi Minh thought, and the right policy of combining economy with defence, defence with economy which is shown in the following main contents:
1. Coordinating with localities in building political, economic, cultural and social potentials
Since the early days of its establishment (February 20, 1985), with only nearly 6,000 cadres, soldiers and workers, with efforts to propagate and mobilise people on the spot and from Northern mountainous provinces to come to settle down in the border areas, the Corps has implemented many policies on making it easy for them to stabilise their lives; gradually expanded production; developed economy together with building infrastructure. To date, the Corps has employed 14,364 labourers of 28 ethnic groups, including 7,300 people are ethnic minorities. This is an important precondition for building defence potentials, consolidating and strengthening the defence posture of the defence area, while contributing to raising awareness, gradually eradicating bad customs, eliminating poverty, creating a pre-condition for the building of villages, communes, combat bases and rear bases. From zero-resident, many of its border, remote and isolated areas are now densely populated, making up solid fences for protecting the western border line of the country.
Fully aware of its responsibility to coordinate with the local party committees and authorities to stabilise the area, the Party Committee and High Command of the Corps often deeply grasp the policy on sticking with the people, keeping the people, and pacifying the people in the border area according to the motto that: “Corps attaches to provinces and districts; Companies attach to districts and communes; Production teams attach to villages and hamlets; Kinh households attach to ethnic minority ones”, creating close bonds among residential communities, contributing to building a solid “people's heart and mind posture” in strategic areas. With practical actions, the Corps has effectively implemented the mass work, participated in preventing, combating and overcoming the consequences of natural disasters, eliminating hunger, reducing poverty, implementing social security, building new-style rural areas; coordinated with the local party committees and authorities in building cultural institutions, helping people, especially ethnic minorities to absorb new culture, preserve and promote the fine cultural values of each race. The Corps has signed and effectively implemented the regulations on coordination with 05 districts and cities of the two provinces of Gia Lai and Kon Tum; its companies and units have intertwined with 271 villages and hamlets. In particular, the Corps has created the model of "intertwined household" in which Kinh households are bonded with local ethnic households. Implementing this initiative, the entire Corps has seen nearly 4,000 pairs of bonded households, contributing to improving labour productivity, knowledge, etc., and tightening solidarity and attachment among 28 ethnic groups in the area.
With the policy of taking care of the material and spiritual life for the workers, helping the ethnic minorities free from poverty, the Corps has invested hundreds of billions of dong in building highly "dual-use" infrastructure, serving for production, people’s life and for defence and security purposes, creating a new face for residential areas of ethnic minorities. Currently, the Corps has built 11 kindergartens with nearly 6,000 children in which more than 2,000 children belong to ethnic minority groups. Through vocational training and production organisation, 100% of the ethnic labourers and people in the area have changed comprehensively their old thinking and production habits; improved their technical level of farming and worked with discipline, technique, and high productivity.
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| Instructing skill for havesting latex |
2. Thoroughly performing military and defence tasks.
Despite being a defence economic unit, the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and High Command of the Corps have always thoroughly grasped and strictly implemented the instructions and plans for training its contingent of officers, non-commissioned officers, soldiers and self-defense forces; regularly reviewed, adjusted, supplemented and trained the reserve force; well performed the task of coordinating with the local party committees and authorities to participate in building defence areas and regulations on the organisation of forces, combat readiness. Its companies, units, production teams, factories... are located in accordance with the socio-economic development planning, the disposition of defence zones of provinces and districts.
On the basis of the orders, directives and orders of the Ministry of National Defence, the General Staff on military and defence work, the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and the High Command of the Corps have issued leadership resolutions and implemented all military and defence work thoroughly; maintained the regimes of commanding duty, combat readiness duty in a strict, regular and serious manner; deployed forces to grasp the situation in key areas, focusing on holidays, important events of the country, the localities, unit and at sensitive times; participated in defence area drills with districts and units of the Ministry, Military Region 5 with good results, contributing to maintaining political security, social order and safety; countered to defeat conspiracy and sabotage activities of hostile forces to protect the peaceful life of the people.
The functional agencies of the Corps regularly review and consolidate the self-defence force, ensure sufficient quantity, quality, reliability, and availability for handling of incidents; strictly maintain the duty of search and rescue; prepare forces and means to promptly handle effectively the situations arise; work out plans to coordinate with forces in the task of preventing, combating and overcoming consequences of natural disasters, epidemics, and search and rescue; prevent and fight against fire, explosion, forest fire and collapse; prepare forces and means to participate in responding and overcoming environmental incidents and disasters according to the motto of “4 on the spot" and "3 ready"; closely coordinate with the local party committees, authorities at all levels, military agencies, the police, the Border Guards of Gia Lai, Kon Tum and Quang Binh provinces to well implement the coordination regulations under Decree No. 03/2019/NĐ-CP, dated September 5, 2019 of the Government on coordination between the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of National Defence in performing the task of protecting national security, ensuring social order and safety, crime prevention and fighting, and defence duties; proactively coordinate with the forces standing in the area to grasp the situation, forecast situations, and work out measures for handling in a flexible and appropriate manner, without being left passive and unexpected; strengthen inspection and control to prevent illegal intrusion and border crossing, contributing to maintaining political security, social order and safety and creating a favourable environment for stable production and development.
Since 2012 to date, the Corps has held training campaigns for more than 1,200 key cadres of agencies and units; conducted exercise and rehearsal of changing combat readiness state, including 03 major exercises, namely: the “BV-12” one-sided two leveled staff and command exercise; the "BV-16" exercise on the protection of border, AO and production facilities; the "TNg-18" one sided – two leveled staff and command on-map exercise in the Central Highlands area, which was highly appreciated by the General Staff, contributing to, together with the local party committees, authorities and other forces in the area, maintaining the political posture, not to let demonstration, disturbance and riot happen in the area.
Proud of its glorious tradition, the cadres, soldiers, workers and employees of the 15th Corps will strive to uphold their sense of responsibility to the Party, State, Army and People, preserve and promote the glorious tradition of: “Being consistent with goals; Overcoming all difficulties; Sticking with the people; Creativity and diligence; Solidarity and determine to win”, contributing to making the Central Highlands rich in economics, stable in politics, beautiful in culture, and strong in defence and security.
Senior Colonel HOANG VAN SY, Commander of the Corps