In recent years, to fulfil the tasks of training, combat readiness, and protection of the airspace of Ha Noi – “the heart” of the country, the Party Committee and Commanders of the 361^st Air Defence Division have focused on leading and directing the comprehensive implementation of all aspects of work. Among these, the work of legal dissemination and education, management, and strict adherence to state laws and military discipline is a pivotal breakthrough. With resolute leadership and direction, the implementation of measures has led to significant transformation in the awareness, responsibility, and actions of officers and soldiers in adhering to the state laws and military discipline, contributing to building a comprehensively strong, “exemplary and typical unit” that fulfils all assigned tasks.

Currently, in line with the Party’s and State’s policy of advancing the Air Defence and Air Force straight to modernity, the prioritised investment in the 361^st Division includes procuring of new and modern weapons and equipment. This priority poses increasingly comprehensive and demanding requirements for training, combat readiness, personnel management, logistics, weaponry, and technical equipment. Meanwhile, the Division’s stationing areas are vast and complex (consisting of urban, rural, plains, highlands, and mountainous regions). Moreover, the political security, order, and social safety situations in several localities within the Division’s jurisdiction are undergoing complicated development. Furthermore, ongoing adjustments to organisational structures and personnel arrangements according to the Army’s reorganisation plan for the 2021 – 2030 period and beyond have a great impact on the thoughts and feelings of officers and non-commissioned officers, especially those serving in units undergoing mergers or reorganisation. Faced with this situation, to fulfil assigned tasks, the Division’s Party Committee and Commanders focus on implementing comprehensive and synchronised measures. Among these measures, continuing to promote legal dissemination and education stands out as a breakthrough.

Commandant of the Division visit visual aids for legal education of Regiment 257

Following this policy, the Division’s Party Committee and Commanders prioritise leadership and direction to enhance the awareness and responsibility of party committees and commanders at all levels regarding this crucial task. Practice has shown that the primary cause of recent violations throughout the Army in general and within the Division in particular is the incomplete understanding and inadequate responsibility of certain party committees and commanding officers regarding legal dissemination and education, regularity building, and discipline management. There has been a lack of resolute and appropriate measures to prevent, combat, and resolve these violations, resulting in a persistent situation of legal and disciplinary infractions within their respective agencies and units. Therefore, the Division’s Party Committee and Commanders continue leading and directing units to thoroughly grasp superiors’ resolutions, directives, and instructions regarding legal dissemination, regularity building, discipline management and maintenance. This includes Directive No. 624-CT/ĐU, dated 08 August 2022, issued by the Standing Committee of the Air Defence - Air Force Party Committee on “Intensifying regularity building and discipline management within the Air Defence - Air Force” and Directive No. 379-CT/ĐU, dated 08 September 2023, issued by the 361^st Division’s Standing Committee of the Party Committee on “Improving the quality of regularity building and discipline management until the end of 2023 and beyond”. Based on reality, the Division requires that in regular resolutions and conclusions of party committees and party organisations, the task of legal dissemination and education, regularity building, and discipline management and maintenance be identified as a breakthrough and focal point of leadership. It emphasises accurately assessing the actual situation of law and discipline observance within their own agencies and units by identifying strengths, weaknesses, and causes. Besides, they should determine ways to overcome limitations and weaknesses to improve the quality of this task in the future. Based on this, political commissars, junior political commissars, and commanders can concretise these directives into programmes and plans and implement them uniformly in their units. Importance is attached to solving weaknesses, vulnerabilities, and complicated issues in legal dissemination and education and discipline management and maintenance, particularly units stationing in difficult areas, carrying out dispersed, small-scale tasks, and newly established or reorganised agencies and units. Additionally, regular evaluations of leadership and direction results serve as criteria for analysing and classifying officers and party members and for annual commendations and awards. This process fosters unity in understanding, responsibility, and action among party committees, commanders, officers, and party members, thus achieving genuine and substantial transformations in regularity building and discipline management within each agency, unit, and the whole Division.

Given the uneven levels of understanding among soldiers and the dispersed nature of units, with small and remote teams beyond the direct management of commanders, the Division directs agencies and units to actively innovate the content, programmes, forms, and methods of legal dissemination and education. In addition to completing 100% of the prescribed content and programmes, agencies and units, based on practical situations, focus on disseminating and educating on laws and legal documents relevant to the daily activities of soldiers. They proactively provide information, orient ideology, foster consensus, and ensure high unity among officers and soldiers, especially concerning sensitive and complicated issues, to prevent them from violating laws due to a lack of legal knowledge. Agencies and units should effectively use materials compiled by the Air Defence - Air Force Service and the Division, with specific contents and measures for discipline training, regularity building, prevention of serious disciplinary violations, and the struggle against social evils. They integrate education with promoting the image of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers”, the qualities of “Outstanding Air Defence - Air Force Soldiers”, and contemporary ethical standards closely aligned with the realities of agencies and units. On a monthly basis, based on superiors’ reports on disciplinary violations, the Division directs its agencies and units to promptly disseminate information, draw lessons, orient ideology, and foster strong transformation in awareness, responsibility, self-discipline, self-cultivation, adherence to State laws, military discipline, as well as superiors’ directives and orders.

Implementing the model "one law a week, one legal question a day" at Regiment 250

Units actively innovate, diversify, and creatively apply various forms and methods to enhance appeal and persuasion. Additionally, they maintain and promote the effectiveness of activities such as the Day of Political, Cultural, and Spiritual Aspects, Law Day, the “psychological, health, and legal counselling team” initiative, and models like “One law per week, one legal question a day” to disseminate, educate, and orient ideology and actions for military personnel. Currently, agencies and units are earnestly implementing political and ideological activities on the Theme “Enhancing soldiers’ awareness and responsibility towards themselves, their families, comrades, and units”. These activities aim to instil a high sense of responsibility in soldiers in fulfilling their duties, fostering comradeship, and fulfilling responsibilities to their families and themselves. During the implementation process, the Division emphasises the integration of legal education and law and discipline observance with promoting learning and following Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality, and style and the Campaign “Promoting traditions, dedicating talents, deserving to be “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers” in the new era. It also places great emphasis on the exemplary role of officers and party members, especially members of party committees and commanders at all levels, in fostering ethical qualities, lifestyles, legal awareness, and discipline observance. Through these efforts, it aims to foster high unity in ideology, awareness, and action, building disciplined habits and cultural lifestyles, strictly adhering to the State laws, military discipline, and regulations of units among officers and soldiers.

Legal dissemination and education work only brings effective and sustainable results when closely integrated with regularity building and discipline management and maintenance. Therefore, the Division directs agencies and units to strictly adhere to regulations and disciplinary regimes. Functional agencies are directed to review and accurately assess the level and capacity of commanding and management officers, especially regarding their sense of responsibility, the ability to command, manage, and handle situations, and the maintenance of daily and weekly routines to ensure uniform implementation. Based on this foundation, the Division can devise measures to train and develop its officers, particularly platoon and company-level officers, on methods of management, maintenance, and handling of legal and disciplinary violations within their agencies and units. Additionally, officers always engage with soldiers, serving as role models in training, law and discipline observance, and regularity building. In personnel management and disciplinary management, adhering to the spirit of “Being resolute, determined, thorough, regular, continuous, breakthrough, and decisive”, the Division directs agencies and units to proactively implement synchronised measures to grasp the thoughts and social relations of soldiers. It emphasises the roles of soldiers in mobilisation and protection and enhances democratic dialogue activities. Besides, it coordinates with soldiers’ localities and families to grasp their thoughts, promptly detect unusual signs, and take preventive measures to avoid positivity and surprise. The Division strengthens inspection and supervision to timely detect violations and decisively handle them without covering up or concealing, in accordance with the Ministry of National Defence’s Circular No. 143/2023/TT-BQP, dated 27 December 2023, on disciplinary regulations in the Vietnam People’s Army. The 361st Division strives to ensure no officers of soldiers are involved in social evils, to prevent serious disciplinary violations, and to maintain less than 0.2% of minor regulations. Most importantly, the Division ensures safety in all of its activities, contributing to enhancing the overall quality, combat readiness capacity, and firm protection of the airspace of the beloved capital city of the country, worthy of the tradition of a Heroic Unit.

Senior Colonel TRUONG MANH PHUONG, Political Commissar of 361^st Division