Promoting compliance with State law and military discipline is a matter of significant importance to the military in general and the 5th Military Region in particular. Being aware of this issue, over the past few years, the Military Region Party Committee and Command have constantly strengthened their leadership of management and education to improve military personnel’s compliance with State law and military discipline. Party committees and commanders of departments and units concentrate on leading comprehensive realization of this work by means of many measures, most notably the enhancement of quality of political education, legal popularisation, ideological management, and strict maintenance of military personnel’s behaviour and style as well as good order in departments and units. At the same time, attention is paid to ensuring strict adherence to safety rules in training, drilling, and joining in road traffic and effectively bringing into play the role of sectors and forces in propaganda and preventing the influence of social evils on units.
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| Legal dissemination at the Division 315 |
Additionally, the Military Region maintains regular inspections carried out by party committees and commanders at all levels as provided by regulations; timely prevents and resolutely deals with violations. It also promotes investment in building barracks; effectively leverages cultural institutions, military clubs, cultural and sport activities to create a healthy environment, contributing to reducing violations of the State law and military discipline in the armed forces. However, given the scattering of departments and units on a vast area, negative impacts of the dark side of society, development of information technology, etc., there are potential risks of soldiers’ violation of law. Consequently, it is necessary to adopt many measures to promote compliance with the State law and military discipline, most notably the following basic contents.
First, there needs to tap the role and responsibility of party committees and commanders at all levels for leading and directing the management, education, and training of soldiers. This work must be regarded as vital content in leadership resolutions of each party committee and organisation, which put forwards peremptory, comprehensive measures suitable to each type of departments and units. On such basis, the commanders materialise into regulations and plans and adopt these regulations and plans closely and effectively in their own units. Therefore, it is necessary to clearly delegate and devolve responsibility to each organisation and individual. More importantly, there needs to leverage the commanders’ responsibility for managing and inspecting soldiers’ use and maintenance of weapons and equipment as well as their compliance with regulations on “alcohol consumption” and “traffic safety.” Commanders and political commissars must ensure similarity, harmony, and synchronicity in promoting good order; attach importance to keeping to daily and weekly working schedules; enhance the management of strength at break time and days off, in groups performing separate tasks, in independent units, and so forth. They also must detect, prevent, and thoroughly address manifestations of peremptoriness, patriarchy, abuse of authority and position, inconsiderateness about soldiers’ life, irresponsibility for the management of units, etc., which leads to persistent preach of discipline. When major incidents occur in units, commanders and political commissars must seriously review to identify reasons, attribute responsibility, and take strict disciplinary measures.
Second, promoting propaganda and education with the aim to improve soldiers’ awareness of law and discipline. This is a fundamental solution that plays a decisive role in disciplinary management, education, and training in grassroots unit. Successful adoption of this solution will contribute to developing soldiers’ sense of self-discipline. In fact, if this work is done effectively, there will be fewer or even no serious violations of discipline in units. During the implementation process, it is necessary to adopt many flexible, creative measures suitable to realities of units and characteristics of subjects. Attention is paid to selecting content of propaganda and education to ensure succinctness, comprehensibility, and suitability. Propaganda and teaching methods must be flexible, creative, and aligned with realities of units, annual movements, and campaigns. Units are requested to successfully carry out “Legal Day,” “Year of Exemplary Regular Manual,” “Year of Discipline and Law,” and “Year of Traffic Safety”; bring into play the role of psychological consulting groups; step up studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, morality, and style in connection with effectively implementing the campaign of “Promoting tradition, devoting talent, deserving to be Uncle Ho’s soldiers” in the new era. It is necessary to take greater care of investment in material infrastructure and cultural institutions; comply with regulations on the establishment and use of law bookcases; and effectively manage, exploit, and use digital libraries in units to contribute to directing information in cyberspace. Units regularly publicise discipline violations of officers and soldiers in connection with analysing causes to timely guide ideology and draw experience.
Third, stepping up managing and orienting ideology in association with strictly preserving discipline and good order. To orient ideology correctly and convincingly requires comprehensive ideological management according to the motto of “three togethers, five grasps.” This means that units must firmly understand officers’ and soldiers’ political identity, family background, and social relations, especially those with unstable psychology and changeable behaviour and habit at sensitive time such as private business, independent mission, leave, and so on. These are moments when soldiers’ psychology undergoes changes. When the corps of cadres at all levels are dispersed, management in units usually falls into neglect, which results in the feeling of freedom, relaxation, and violations of discipline.
For the sake of good management, prediction, and settlement of ideological situations, party committees and commanders at all levels must give soldiers confidence; truly adore soldiers and their juniors; eliminate bureaucracy and abuse of authority and position; refrain from using power of rank and position to force the juniors to submit themselves unconditionally; and care for comrades’ difficulties. They are to collaborate regularly and closely with soldiers’ families, local party committees, authorities, sectors, and unions; encourage and help those in need; timely warn about and prevent social evils from penetrating into units; and bring into play the overall power of relations to encourage and assist soldiers in properly resolving emerging problems. The grasp, management, and direction of soldiers’ ideology must be in line with close maintenance and management of regulations and good order, especially daily, weekly working schedules, implementing everything in its own time and associating people management with work management.
Fourth, promoting cadres’ and party members’ role and responsibility for setting bright examples as well as those of organisations in the management, education, and training of soldiers. To raise soldiers’ sense of self-compliance with discipline and law requires cadres at all levels to be shining examples of words and actions; really attach to their juniors and soldiers; oppose all manifestations of arbitrariness to training and compliance with discipline, words without deeds, and lack of exemplariness in adhering to the State law, military discipline, and regulations of units. Special importance is attached to tapping the leading role of mass organisations and councils of military personnel in units. Firm grasp of psychological characteristics and age ranges serves to apply teaching methods creatively and effectively to enhancement of law and discipline compliance. It is necessary to help soldiers to develop survival skills, ability to cope with pressure, difficulties, and deal with problems arising from their life; regularly care for cadres’ and soldiers’ material, spiritual life.
Fifth, promoting democracy must go hand in hand with inspecting, detecting, and dealing with violations of law and discipline in a strict, accurate, timely manner. The more absolute democracy is the stricter discipline is. Furthermore, the nature of military discipline is the agreement between self-consciousness and strictness. Consequently, promoting soldiers’ sense of self-compliance with law and discipline requires cadres at all levels to closely combine management and training of self-compliance with discipline and strict, timely punishment of violations. Party committees and commanders at all levels take initiative in analysing and predicting discipline situation in their units; take strict, timely disciplinary measures.
The management, education, and training of soldiers are always influenced by many factors, which brings about both opportunities and challenges. This reality requires party committees, commanders, and political commissars at all levels to apply the above-mentioned measure in a flexible, creative, effective manner to improve officers’ and soldiers’ compliance with the State law and military discipline, contributing to making the armed forces of the 5th Military Region comprehensively strong, capable of successfully completing any assigned tasks.
Senior Colonel Nguyen Ngoc Le, Head of Political Department, Military Region Military School