Brigade 950 (under Military Region 9) is a composite unit of multiple branches, tasked with training and combat readiness to protect Phu Quoc Island and maintain political stability, order, and social safety within the area by coordinating with other forces. Besides, it has the tasks of firmly defending the Southeast Sea of the Fatherland and participating in disaster response as well as search and rescue operations. These are demanding, challenging, and complex tasks, especially given the complicated developments of maritime and island security. Besides, the Brigade was newly established in 2014, operating in dispersed locations far from higher echelons’ command and leadership while there are numerous challenges posed to families of officers and soldiers. These are the factors that have a significant impact on their thoughts and emotions, thus affecting the Brigade’s task completion. Given this context, in addition to enhancing solidarity and building high determination in combination with synchronising all aspects of work, the task of building a clean and strong party committee that deserves to be the core of unity and leadership for the Brigade is of utmost importance, implemented through various effective directives and measures by the Brigade’s Party Committee and commanders. Therefore, the leadership capability and combat strength of party committees and organisations at all levels are constantly enhanced. These party committees and organisations have thoroughly grasped higher echelons’ resolutions and directives and concretised them to fit the Brigade’s situation, and proposed policies and measures to lead agencies and units to successfully accomplish the assigned political tasks. For five consecutive years from 2019 to September 2023, the Brigade consistently excelled in its central political tasks, namely training, combat readiness, regularity building, and logistics and technical assurance, thus ensuring its overall safety. The officers and party members have strong political will and sufficient moral qualities, lifestyles, capacities, and qualifications to meet the requirements, being ready to receive and successfully fulfil all assigned tasks. On a yearly basis, through assessments, mass organisations and military councils were rated as clean and strong; 100% of party committees and organisations fulfilled their tasks well or excellently; at least 90% of party members accomplished their tasks well, in which 12% to 15% did with excellence; the Brigade’s Party Committee was recognised as clean and strong for several years while the Brigade was classified as a comprehensively strong, “exemplary and typical unit, being honoured with one Emulation Flag and two Certificates of Merit from the Ministry of National Defence, and 9 Certificates of Merit from the Military Region 9’s High Command as well as other prestigious awards.
To achieve the above results, the Brigade has focused on building a robust Party Committee in terms of politics, ideology, and moral standards. Accordingly, the Brigade’s Party Committee, along with the party committees and party cells at all levels, has intensified the work of political education to ensure that officers and party members have a clear understanding of the Party’s objectives and ideology, the tasks of the Brigade and the Brigade’s Party Committee, the situation of the stationing area, the subversive plots and tactics of hostile forces, etc. To deepen this work, the Brigade has implemented various forms and methods of education, with a key emphasis on thoroughly grasping and effectively implementing the Project entitled “Innovating political education in the new period”. Moreover, leaders and commanders at all levels have attached importance to effectively carrying out ideological work, innovating content and methods of implementation, especially the “5 initiatives” in ideological work executed by party cells; closely combined “building” with “countering”, the ideological work with organisational and policy works, and the persuasive education with administrative measures, where prevention through education and persuasion is of paramount importance. Besides, the role of organisations and forces in managing and educating officers and party members is maximised to enhance their discipline and ideology.
In tandem with political education, the Brigade’s Party Committee places significant emphasis on building exemplary party committees and organisations at all levels with high moral standards. It consistently grasps and strictly implements resolutions and directives regarding Party building and rectification, with a focus on Conclusion No. 21-KL/TW dated October 25, 2021, of the Central Executive Committee (13th tenure) on promoting the building and rectification of the Party and the political system. Additionally, the Brigade’s Party Committee is resolute in preventing and strictly handling officers and party members who degrade in political ideology, ethics, and lifestyle and display signs of “self-transformation” and “self-evolution”. In addition, the Brigade’s Party Committee promotes studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality, and style associated with the Campaign entitled Promoting traditions, devoting talents, deserving to be “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers” in the new period and Resolution No. 847 of the Central Military Commission on promoting the qualities of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers”. Indeed, it takes the initiative in resolutely countering individualism in the new situation, which encourages “self-reflection” and “self-correction” among officers and party members. Consequently, party committees and organisations at all levels, as well as officers and party members of the Brigade, remain steadfast in adhering to Marxism - Leninism, Ho Chi Minh’s thought, the Party’s guidelines and viewpoints; clearly recognise and distinguish partners and adversaries, staying vigilant against the plots and tricks of hostile forces and exhibiting a high sense of responsibility in fulfilling all assigned tasks.
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| Reviewing three years implementing Conclusion No. 01-KL/TW ò the Politburo (13th tenure) and two years implementing Resolution No. 847-NQ/QUTW of the Central Military Commission |
Furthermore, the Brigade attaches importance to building a well-organised Party Committee that maintains the principles and discipline of party meetings and to enhancing the quality of officers and party members. In light of Conclusion No. 111-KL/QUTW dated February 12, 2019, of the Central Military Commission on continuing to enhance the leadership capabilities and combat strength of grassroots party organisations and the quality of military officers and party members in the new period, the Brigade’s Party Committee focuses on directing agencies and units to regularly consolidate party committee and organisations to ensure sufficient structure, quantity, and enhanced quality; attaching the building of typically clean and strong party organisations to the building of comprehensively strong, “exemplary and typical” agencies and units. Presently, 21 out of 25 (85%) party cells have party committees, all full-strength combat company party cells have party committees, and all the party member development plans are carried out as scheduled. Moreover, it attaches importance to the training and enhancement of knowledge, capabilities, methods, working styles, and practical experience for party secretaries and party committee members at all levels, especially their ability to formulate resolutions and concretise them. The Brigade’s Party Committee requires party committees and organisations at all levels to adhere to the principles of democratic centralism, collective leadership, and individual accountability; strictly maintaining the regimes and routines of party meetings, promoting self-criticism and criticism, and upholding the fighting spirit of officers and party members. Regularly amending and improving working regulations and leadership guidelines for party committees at all levels, especially regarding critical tasks, to ensure tight and principled adherence.
Recognising the pivotal of officers in building a typically clean and strong Party Committee, the Brigade’s Party Committee thoroughly grasps and effectively implements Resolution No. 109-NQ/QUTW dated February 11, 2019, of the Central Military Commission on “Building teams of military officers, especially those at the campaign and strategic levels to meet the task requirements in the new situation”. The Party Committee meticulously adheres to higher echelons’ principles, regulations, procedures, and guidance concerning cadre work, ensuring democracy and transparency. Organising votes of confidence according to regulations while actively reviewing and supplementing the planning of commanding officers. In addition, the Brigade’s Party Committee successfully carries out the evaluation, training, utilisation, mobilisation, appointment, promotion, and pay rise for officers, with an emphasis on the identification and selection of appropriate candidates for training and enhancing the competence of newly graduated officers. As a result, the cadre teams at all levels have a rational structure and enhanced quality (94.25% with college and university degrees); over 95% of officers perform their tasks well or excellently each year; 86.15% of reserve officers are placed in reserve units.
On the basis of thoroughly grasping the requirement of “Strongly innovating the leadership style, working methods, and working practices of Party’s leading agencies from the Central to grassroots levels”, the Brigade’s Party Committee enhances education for party committees and commanders at all levels to ensure a proper understanding and effective resolution of work-related relationships between party secretaries and commanders, between chief leaders and deputy leaders, between superiors and subordinates; between collectives and individuals; between policies and their implementations, all based on the Party’s organisational principles and activities, thus maintaining unity and solidarity in leadership, command, and consensus within the units. To enhance the leadership effectiveness of party committees and organisations at all levels, the Brigade’s Party Committee emphasises the elevation of Party nature and principles in party meetings and activities, ensuring directional, practical, and effective leadership. It also resolutely struggles against and strictly handles manifestations of opportunism, undemocratic practices, autocracy, bureaucracy, and “credit mania”. Additionally, it continuously refines working styles and scientific, principled working methods and leverages the roles and responsibilities of officers and party members such as taking actions, setting examples for the public, and being responsible to the units. Through these efforts, officers and party members overcome passive working styles that lead to delays in task fulfilment, thus completing their tasks quickly and effectively.
In line with the motto of “leadership must entail inspection, leadership without inspection is considered powerless leadership”, the Brigade’s Party Committee enhances the effectiveness and efficiency of inspection, supervision, and strict adherence to Party discipline. To achieve this objective, the Brigade directs party committees and organisations at all levels to strictly implement higher echelons’ regulations, decisions, rules, procedures, and guidance regarding inspection and supervision work in the spirit of “Enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of inspection, supervision, party discipline, and strict control of power” and the principle of “expanded supervision and focused inspection”. Regarding the subjects of inspection and supervision, the focus is on party organisations, agencies, and units with low task performance rates, officers and party members showing signs of violating moral standards and lifestyles, and especially party organisations and key officers holding important positions where violations are likely to occur. The content of the inspection emphasises the leadership’s results in carrying out political tasks and party building work, associated with addressing shortcomings and limitations in party building and rectification efforts; studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality, and style aligning with each position and task. The inspection process is carried out strictly, impartially, and objectively, with prevention as the main priority. After the inspection, each group and individual develop plans, identifying content, measures, and timeframes to address the highlighted weaknesses and limitations. Simultaneously, the Party Committee proactively identifies and strictly disciplines party members who violate rules in accordance with principles and procedures. This helps party organisations and members clearly recognise their strengths and weaknesses, enabling timely measures for improvement and correction.
Over the past years, the measures to build a typically clean and strong Party Committee serve as precious lessons for Brigade 950 to inherit and promote, thus contributing to building a comprehensively strong, “exemplary and typical” unit that successfully completes all assigned tasks.
Senior Colonel HUYNH VAN PHUOL, Brigade’s Political Commissar