Over the past 75 years of construction and development, Militia and Self-Defence Department has obtained a lot of brilliant achievements and built up its tradition of “loyalty, creativity, unity, and determination to win.” Bringing into play that glorious tradition, the Department’s Party Committee and Command have been synchronously adopting various measures to build a strong Department capable of meeting its task requirements in the new period.

After the National Resistance Day, on February 12th, 1947, National Militia Office was founded. That marked a significant milestone for the establishment of the present-day Militia and Self-Defence Department (MSD) as a strategic staff office in charge of directing militia and self-defence work, the building of the Militia and Self-Defence Force (MSF), and several other important missions. Immediately after its foundation, the National Militia Office helped the Ministry of National Defence (MND) to issue documents on functions, tasks, and system of all-level militia and self-defence units and guerrilla units as the basis for building and unifying the MSF and the guerrilla force nationwide.

To meet the more demanding requirements set by the resistance war against French colonialists, the MSD opportunely gave advice on unifying the MSF and the guerrilla force nationwide, while providing instructions for localities on building and developing the mass armed forces, political bases, logistics bases, and revolutionary bases. It organised training courses for the militia and guerrilla force and the local force. As a result, those forces stepped up operations to destroy traitors in the areas under the enemy’s control and annihilate more than 230,000 enemy troops. They cooperated with the main force to make significant contributions to victories in Border Campaign (1950), Hoa Binh Campaign (1951), Northwest Campaign (1952), and especially Dien Bien Phu Campaign (1954) that “resounded across five continents, shook the globe,” and gloriously ended the resistance war against French colonialists.

In the resistance war against the U.S., for national salvation, the MSD continued advising and directing localities to mobilise tens of thousands of young volunteers and conscripted labourers to reinforce the South battlefield. It gave advice on combining the force building with the development of guerrilla warfare and local people’s warfare, establishing “combat bases,” “guerrilla belts,” and “anti-US belts,” aligning political struggle with armed struggle, and fighting the enemy by all weapons and in all three strategic regions, thereby thwarting the enemy’s strategy to herd the population, form “strategic hamlets,” and pacify rural areas. At the same time, it directed the militia and guerrilla force to both take part in production and fight the enemy. The militia and guerrilla force cooperated with the local force in pinning the enemy down, shooting down hundreds of enemy aircraft, and sinking a lot of enemy vessels as the basis for the main force to conduct key, strategic battles to defeat strategies, plans, and “search and destroy” operations of the U.S. and Saigon puppet regime, thus greatly contributing to the Great Spring Victory of 1975 that completely liberated the South and unified the country.

In the Homeland construction and protection, the MSD has continued giving advice on successfully implementing the Party’s guidelines and the State’s laws and policies on the MSF, defence and security education, and defence work at ministries, sectors, and localities as well as on building a “strong, extensive” MSF. As a result, the MSF has always promoted its core role in building the all-people national defence and the posture of all-people national defence and cooperated with the Military and the Public Security Force in protecting local party committees and authorities as well as the people’s life and assets. With its special achievements, the MSD has been twice given the title of “Hero of the People’s Armed Forces” and many other noble rewards by the State and the MND.

Commander of the MSD inspecting the work of COVID-19 prevention and control at Linh Trung ward, Thu Duc city (photo: dqtv.vn)

In order to satisfy the requirements set by the Homeland protection and the building of the three-category armed forces nowadays, the MSD’s Party Committee and Command will always promote the heroic tradition and synchronously take measures to determinedly successfully fulfil all assigned missions.

First, build a strong MSD in terms of politics, ideology, morality, organisation, and personnel as the basis for successfully fulfilling all assigned tasks. As a strategic office of the Central Military Commission, the MND, and the General Staff tasked with giving advice on militia and self-defence work, defence and security education, and defence work to ministries, sectors, and localities, the MSD is determined to build a pure, strong Party Organisation and an “exemplarily, typically” comprehensively Unit. To that end, the MSD’s Party Committee and Command will educate cadres and party members on political zeal and absolute loyalty to the Homeland, the Party, the State, and the people. Cadres and party members shall have a pure, healthy lifestyle, competence in militia and self-defence work, responsibility for and dedication to their job, and a close-knit bond with the people to fulfil their task. Due attention will be paid to enhancing the Party building, political education, ideological management, and inspection and supervision work, carefully recruiting cadres to the MSD, and building a contingent of “both red and expert” cadres to meet the task requirements of a strategic staff office. Consideration will be given to bettering the leadership capacity and combativeness of all-level party committees and organisations under the Party Central Committee’s Resolution No.4 on the Party building and rectification. In the medium term, emphasis will be placed on consolidating all-level party committees for the 2022-2025 tenure to ensure their political qualities and professional competence, raising the quality of emulation and commendation work, the Determination to Win Emulation Movement, campaigns, and the study and following of Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, ethics, and lifestyle, and stepping up mass mobilisation, policy work, internal political protection, and democratic activities within offices and units in order to create unity and successfully fulfil all assigned tasks.

Second, give advice and direction on militia and self-defence work for the Homeland protection. It is necessary to continue advising the Central Military Commission, the MND, and the General Staff on issuing legal normative documents and military administrative documents and directing offices, units, and localities to effectively perform militia and self-defence work and build a high-quality “strong, extensive” MSF in accordance with each locality, office, organisation, and unit’s tasks and particularities. Significance will be attached to working towards measures for building and managing the MSF, raising the effectiveness of this force’s operation, implementing the Project on “organising and training the MSF, and ensuring policies and entitlements for this force in the period of 2021-2025,” and training the MSF’s standing, mobile, coastal, air defence, artillery, chemical, and medical units. Due regard will be paid to organising training courses and exercises to increase the MSF’s synergy and combat readiness, improving coordination in natural disaster and epidemic prevention and control and search and rescue, safely, flexibly adaptating to and effectively controlling COVID-19 pandemic. It is essential to effectively implement projects on the MSF, with a focus on the project to “build standing militia squadrons capable of taking part in defending national sovereignty over seas and islands in the new situation.” Besides, it is important to build militia and self-defence models and raise the quality of operation of the MSF’s key combat positions along land borders, self-defence units within enterprises, and commune-level military party cells to ensure that the MSF will always be an absolute loyal, reliable political and fighting force of local party committees, authorities, and citizens and promote its core role in building localities and the all-people national defence.

Third, focus on raising the quality of defence and security education. To that end, great value will be attached to consolidating all-level defence and security education councils and their standing agencies, further equipping students with knowledge of defence and security, and disseminating knowledge of defence and security to all people. It is necessary to cooperate with offices, units, localities, and relevant forces in developing sectorial and national plans for defence and security education system in the period of 2021-2025, with a vision towards 2045. Emphasis will be placed on bettering the quality of defence and security education centres and faculties, stepping up inspections of defence and security education, maintaining statutory regulations on making reports of defence and security education, and carrying out reviews to draw lessons and raise the quality and effectiveness of defence and security education.

Fourth, intensify measures to improve the quality of defence work at ministries, sectors, and localities. Due attention will be paid to consolidating and completing operational statutes of military commands of ministries and sectors, and directing ministries, sectors, and localities to cooperate with the MND and all-level military agencies in performing military-defence task, building the all-people national defence, and combining socio-economic development with defence and security under statutory regulations. At the same time, importance will be attached to organising conferences and refresher courses to improve knowledge and skills of cadres in charge of defence work at ministries, sectors, and localities. It is essential to continue strictly, effectively maintaining meetings between the MND’s Standing Agency for defence work and military commands of ministries and sectors. Due regard will be paid to conducting reviews, inspections, re-examinations, and investigations to opportunely handle violations of laws on national defence and make a huge positive change in defence activities of ministries, sectors, and localities.

Last but not least, emphasis will be placed on maintaining regulations on delivering reports of defence work to the MND via the MSD as the Standing Agency as the basis for intensifying measures to overcome weaknesses, improve the quality of defence work at ministries, sectors, and localities, and create the synergy for making the people’s armed forces and the all-people national defence increasingly strong and capable of firmly protecting the Socialist Vietnamese Homeland.

Lt. Gen. PHAM QUANG NGAN

Director of the MSD