Making a pool of strategic staff cadres equal to the mission is of decisive significance to the General Staff’s fulfillment of its function and assigned task. To meet the requirements set by the Military building and the Homeland safeguarding in the new situation, a focus must be placed on leading and directing this work closely, effectively.

The General Staff – Organ of the Ministry of National Defense (MoD), founded on September 7, 1945, is the highest-level commanding and coordinating institution of Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) and Vietnam’s Militia and Self-Defense Forces. Over the past 73 years of building, fighting and maturing, under the direct leadership of the Central Military Commission (CMC) and the MoD, the General Staff has always successfully fulfilled the assigned task, greatly contributing to the cause of national liberation and reunification, and Homeland building and defending. In the revolutionary phases, to accomplish the assigned task, the General Staff and its Party Committee have always valued the building of a contingent of both “red and “expert” cadres.

It should be noted that since the issuance of the Party’s Central Resolution 3 (8^th tenure) on “The cadre strategy in the era of accelerating national industrialization and modernization”, the General Staff and its Party Committee have adopted measures to build its staff. It has regularly carried out the work of personnel planning, particularly commanders at all levels in accordance with regulations and procedures, under the motto of “changeable and open”, fearlessly including high-quality young cadres in the personnel planning, thereby ensuring the inheritance between generations of cadres. During the process of building the staff, party committees at all levels have closely followed the procedure for cadre rotation while selecting and sending potential cadres to units in a bid to give them opportunities to improve themselves in new positions and enhance their command and management capability. The organizational structure of offices and units at all level has been opportunely consolidated both qualitatively and quantitatively. The work of training cadres has been closely combined with the work of planning, arranging and using cadres in order to bring into play the staff members’ talent and intelligence. Importance has been attached to recruiting cadres to the General Staff, with priority given to those who have virtues, leadership and command capability, and experience at grass-roots level in accordance with regulations and procedures.

Consequently, up to now, the General Staff has managed to build a contingent of strategic staff cadres quantitatively and qualitatively with proper structure and basic qualifications. The number of cadres who hold bachelor’s degree and above has been ceaseless increased. Most of the staff members have been trained and challenged in units, even engaged in or served combat, with political stuff, typical ethics, pure lifestyle, comprehensive knowledge, professional competence and capabilities to conduct research, make forecast and give advice to leaders and commanders on reviewing and making policies at strategic level. Moreover, they have effective working method and style and always strive for self-improvement to satisfy the particularities and mission requirements of a strategic organ as evidenced by their task performance of their tasks, particularly in counseling, giving instruction on and directing the implementation of the tasks.

Sr. Lt. Gen. Pham Ngoc Minh visits the Brigade 87 (Department of Electronic Warfare)

Nowadays, the task of military build-up and Homeland protection has many opportunities and advantages while facing various intertwined difficulties and challenges. The General Staff is continuously made “compact, solid”; its task is increasingly heavy and demanding, including new issues to be studied and resolved. Meanwhile, the number of cadres experiencing combat gradually decreases; young cadres have been provided with basic training but lack field experience; knowledge, capability, prestige, and responsibility of several cadres have yet to meet the mission requirements. To overcome those weaknesses and improve the quality of a contingent of strategic staff cadres, the General Staff Party Committee will focus on the following measures.

First, heighten a sense of responsibility of commanders at all levels towards the building of strategic staff cadres. Party committees at all levels should grasp higher echelons’ directives and resolutions, particularly the CMC’s Resolution 769-NQ/QUTW on “Building a contingent of cadres for the period 2013-2020 and beyond”, the Regulations on personnel work amended and supplemented in 2011, the General Staff Party Committee’s Resolution 10-NQ/ĐU on “Leading the work of building a contingent of cadres until 2015 and beyond”. It is important to closely follow the leadership and direction of the CMC, the MoD, and the General Staff as well as operations of the units in the whole military and requirements for a contingent of strategic staff cadres in the new situation in order to set out contents, guidelines and measures properly, effectively. It is necessary to perceive the principle in which party committees lead the personnel work and manage cadres at all levels. During the course of implementation, it is vital to heighten a sense of responsibility of party committee members and promote the role of commanders and competent organs in order that the personnel work would be carried out in accordance with regulations and procedures. At the same time, due attention should be paid to consolidating the organizational structure of organs in charge of the personnel work qualitatively and quantitatively. Awareness and responsibility of cadres in charge of the personnel work, particularly their political stuff, morality, lifestyle, professional competence, and working method and style, must be enhanced.

Second, successfully conduct the work of training and recruiting cadres to the General Staff. Training cadres represents a matter of importance to cadres’ task performance. Thus, party committees should be active in diversifying types of training; selecting and dispatching cadres with virtues, great ability and fitness, particularly key cadres and potential young ones to study at universities inside and outside the military; and rotating positions of cadres to improve their field knowledge. Party committees at all levels should closely combine the work of training cadres with that of using cadres, improve their working method and style, and continue to grasp and implement the CMC’s Resolution 86-NQ/ĐUQSTW, dated March 29^th, 2017, on education and training in the new situation. Until 2020, the General Staff strives to have 98% of its staff members holding bachelor’s degree and above, with good command of foreign languages and information technology.

Besides, during the process of recruiting cadres to the General Staff, it is necessary to observe criteria and standards set for cadre title as well as regulations and procedures for the personnel work. Significance should be attached to cadres who were ever unit commanders, and young ones who have good ability, high academic degree and capability to carry out research. Each unit and office must develop plans on the number of their staff members as the basis to selecting, appointing and recruiting cadres while taking responsibility for the quality of cadres recruited to the units and offices.

Third, successfully carry out the work of personnel planning. On a yearly basis, party committees should review, supplement and adjust the personnel planning ratified in the early tenure while courageously adding young cadres who have virtues, outstanding ability and prestige to the contingent of strategic staff cadres, meeting the mission requirements in both short and long terms. It is important to proactively plan human resources from afar, combine the development of on-spot human resources with the discovery of human resources from units in the entire military, associate the planning of commanders with that of party committee members, and overcome the shortage of cadres, particularly key cadres at all levels. By the end of the tenure, party committees must review the work of personnel planning and hand over this work to new party committees to ensure the continuation and inheritance.

Fourth, correctly, fairly assess cadres. Party committees should renew the method to evaluate cadres according to each period and task in an objective, democratic, public, fair and comprehensive manner as the basis for planning, arranging and using cadres, while eliminating general, inconsistent evaluation. To this end, units at all levels should enhance the work of inspection and supervision, heighten a sense of responsibility of party committees, promote the role of commanders and competent offices in proposing positive measures to accurately assess cadres, and associate the evaluation of cadres with that of party members. At the same time, it is necessary to take the result of implementing the 12^th Politburo’s Directive 05-CT/TW on studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s thought, ethics and lifestyle, and the Party’s Central Resolution 4 (12^th tenure) on the Party building and rectification as the basis for annual evaluation of cadres. Also, it is vital to proactively prevent negative practices, such as bribery for job and promotion, partiality, and group interests in the personnel work. And it is important to resolutely dismiss cadres who work half-heartedly, ineffectively or have bad morality and lifestyle, and low prestige.

Building a contingent of “passionate, high-caliber” strategic staff cadres represents a matter of utmost importance which will provide the basis for the General Staff – MoD’s Organ to raise its status and prestige and accomplish the assigned tasks, contributing to making the VPA increasingly strong.

Sr. Lt. Gen. Pham Ngoc Minh, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the VPA

Secretary of the Party Committee of the General Staff – MoD’s Organ