Party building and rectification is a vital content as provided by the Conclusion No. 01-KL/TW, dated 18 May 2021, of the Politburo (13th tenure) on further stepping up studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, morality, and style. This is also a matter that has been led and directed effectively by the 299th Engineer Brigade Party Committee and Commanders, laying the basis for building a pure, strong, representative party committee and comprehensively strong, exemplary, representative unit while being ready to undertake and accomplish any missions successfully.

The 299th Engineer Brigade (also known as Tan Trao Engineer Brigade), 12nd Army Corps, is a mixed engineer unit. It is tasked with training, combat readiness, and campaign-level engineer support; building military structures; detecting and removing bombs, mines, and explosives; participating in preventing, responding, and dealing with aftermath of natural disasters; conducting search and rescue; and performing other missions. In the past few years, in the context of increasing requirements of engineer support, the Brigade Party Committee and Commanders have led and directed enhanced study and imitation of Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, morality, and style according to Conclusion No. 01-KL/TW, dated 18 May 2021, of the Politburo (13th tenure) to build a pure, strong, representative party committee, which provides a solid foundation for improving its comprehensive quality, mobility, and combat readiness. The unit always brings into play its glorious tradition and promote solidarity, diligence, thrift, self-reliance, resilience, vanguard, and creativity to accomplish any assigned tasks.

On being imbued with President Ho Chi Minh’s teaching: “A party cell is the foundation of the Party. A good party cell will make everything good,” the Brigade Party Committee focuses on enhancing leadership capacity and combat power and firmly upholding the key role of party committees and party cells. Having grasped and realised Resolution No. 21-NQ/TW, dated 16 June 2022, of the Party Central Committee (13th tenure) on “Strengthening the building of party bases and raising quality of party members in the new period,” the Brigade Party Committee timely directs strengthening of party committees at all echelons to ensure sufficient quantity, proper structure, and fine quality; ceaseless reform and enhanced quality of meetings, especially the meetings aimed for issuing leadership resolutions; education and training of party members in both political quality, morality, lifestyle, sense of discipline, and command and management competence. Accordingly, each party member and party cell checks themselves with signs of degradation and individualism, been clearly identified in the Resolution of the 4th Plenum of the Party Central Committee (13th tenure) on Party building and rectification and Resolution No. 847-NQ/QUTW, dated 28 December 2021, of the Party Central Committee on promoting fine quality of Uncle Ho’s Soldiers and resolving to combat individualism in the new situation, in order to exercise self-criticism and criticism and work out measure to address shortcomings and weaknesses effectively and thoroughly. All cadres and party members are requested to formulate plans and pledge to implement these plans. Party committees and party cells must assign party members to supervise, inspect, and urge implementation of plans. Outcomes of implementation are regarded as the most important criterion for assessing and grading quality of cadres and party members every year. Additionally, the Brigade closely combines party members’ political theory training and in-service training with enhanced study and imitation of Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, morality, and style as well as the campaign of “Promoting tradition, devoting talent, deserving to be Uncle Ho’s Soldiers in the new situation,” the Determination-to-Win movement, other movements, and campaigns launched by levels and branches. The Brigade regularly develops the corps of party members and aligns the building of the corps of party members with the building of the corps of cadres, the building of party committees with the building of leading cadres, and so on. Therefore, leadership capacity and combat power of party cells are ceaselessly improved. They all have a good understanding of resolutions and directives of the higher echelons, work out leadership solutions, and coordinate effective implementation of the resolutions and directives.

The Brigade's Party Committee meet to issue leadership resolution for 2023

To be a unit of the 12th Army Corps, the first army corps to be organised in an adept, compact, strong, modern direction with higher requirements of force scale and organisation, function, and mission, the Brigade has been facing new demands in every aspect, especially the cadre work. “Cadre work is the key element of the key task and the root of everything,” said Uncle Ho. The Brigade Party Committee, therefore, concentrates on leading serious implementation of regulations, processes, phases, and steps, ensuring democracy and transparency in cadre work. Of note, it focuses on reviewing, supplementing, adjusting, and carrying out the planning, use, and appointment of management and command cadres in accordance with reality; leverages the responsibility of party committees and leading cadres at all echelons for managing and training cadres; appraises cadres in an objective, correct manner; associates cadre evaluation with cadre appointment; pays attention to implementation of cadre policy. Thus, the Brigade has had a corps of cadres with proper quantity, structure, high quality, comprehensive knowledge and skills, good health, unity of thought and action, and ability to overcome difficulties, play their exemplary role at anytime and anywhere, and accomplish of all assigned tasks.

Democratic centralism is a fundamental principle that directs all of the building and operation of the Party. “All party members, levels, and organisations are reunited according to a specific principle. It is democratic centralism,” said President Ho Chi Minh. Operational reality of the Brigade has proved that where and when the principle of democratic centralism is applied well, the unit is united and completes its tasks and vice versa. Thus, strict exercise of this principle is considered the foundation and key to the building of a pure, strong, representative Brigade Party Committee. Party committees and party organisations subordinate to the Brigade Party Committee always maintain meeting regulations strictly in line with established principles, statutes, and processes; regularly review to timely adjust and improve their leadership and working regulations, especially those relating to pivotal working aspects as provided by Instruction No. 1224/HD-CT, dated 27 July 2022, of the General Department of Politics. Of note, the principle of democratic centralism is carried out in accordance with the Party Regulation and the principle of self-criticism and criticism, thereby promoting solidarity and unity within the Party Committee. All major, sensitive issues that are prone to shortcomings and corruption are approved by party committees and part cells collectively before implementation. Each party member always heightens the responsibility for straightforward self-criticism and criticism, honesty, and objectivity; resolves to defend the right and dares to reject the wrong. Working style and method of the corps of cadres and party members, especially the members of party committees and leading cadres at all levels, are reformed drastically. Collective intelligence is leveraged during task execution, notably in the construction of combat structures in difficult, complex areas. Relationships in the unit, especially those between leadership and management and command, between collectives and individuals, and between policy and implementation are all properly resolved on the basis of the party meeting principle and the motto: “the higher echelon sets the example for the lower one to follow actively.” Assignment of members of Brigade Party Committees and commanders to quarterly party meetings of subordinate party committees and party cells are routinely maintained.

Being the founder and trainer of our Party, President Ho Chi Minh used to attach importance to inspection and control in connection with leadership activities of the Party. According to him, leadership must go hand in hand with examination. Skillful examination definitely leads to fewer shortcomings later. Skillful control definitely reveals all shortcomings. Being imbued with his instructions, the Brigade Party Committee always attaches importance to and effectively conducts inspection and supervision. On the basis of deeply grasping resolutions, statutes, regulations, decisions, conclusions, and instructions of higher echelons on the inspection, supervision, and discipline work, the Brigade Party Committee concentrates on serious leadership of inspection, supervision plans under the motto of proactiveness, combat, education, and effectiveness. Accordingly, the inspection, supervision work is carried out regularly and routinely without waiting for things to happen. Proactive self-inspection of party committees, party cells, and party members is to be leveraged effectively. When investigating violations, it is necessary to clearly identify the type, nature, degree, damaging effect, and cause; defend the right and the good while struggling against the wrong and the bad, thus creating momentum for educating cadres and party members and enabling them to realise and remedy their shortcomings and limitations. This does not aim to find their faults and discourage them from striving for attainments. Content of inspection and supervision of party organisations focuses on leadership of the building of party committees and party cells, training, compliance with order, discipline, the principle of democratic centralism, and leadership statutes, and education, management, and training of party members. As for party members, the inspection and supervision are concentrated on quality and effectiveness of performing duties and missions, self-study for advancement, preservation of ethics and lifestyle of party members, compliance with the regulation on things that party members are not allowed to do, and implementation of the Resolution of the 4th Plenum of Party Central Committee (13th tenure) in connection with stepping up studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, morality, and style. The proactiveness, closeness, and effectiveness of inspection and supervision have contributed to enhanced capacity and combat power of party organisations, quality of party members, building of a pure, strong, representative Brigade Party Committee, and accomplishment of all tasks. This provides a vital foundation for the 299th Brigade Party Committee to further promote implementation of Conclusion No. 01 through new, creative, effective ways, contributing to the building of comprehensively strong, exemplary, representative unit, capable of meeting requirements and missions in the new situation.

Colonel NGUYEN VAN LUYEN

Brigade Commissar