Responding to the requirements and task of safeguarding the Fatherland in the new situation, Military Region 5 (hereinafter referred to as the Military Region) Party Committee and Command have attentively led and directed the synchronous implementation of guidelines and solutions for building the politically strong armed forces, being the foundation for improving the overall quality and combat power to successfully accomplish all assigned tasks.

Building the Vietnam People’s Army in general, the  MR5’s armed forces in particular politically strong, is a basic principle, an urgent and cross-cutting issue. Therefore, the Military Region’s Party Committee and Command have continuously grasped and concretised the seniors’ resolutions and directions, made many synchronous, practical guidelines and solutions; paid attention to leading and directing the comprehensive implementation of contents of building the Military Region’s armed forces politically strong, contributing to improving the awareness, building the political stance, strengthening the ideological battlefield; building the comprehensively strong “exemplary, typical” units, the pure and strong party organisations; improving the overall strength and the combat power of the Military Region to meet the tasks and requirements of safeguarding the Fatherland in the new situation. In any situations, the Military Region’s armed forces have always remained united, unified and loyal to the Fatherland, Party, State and the People; heightened the spirit of self-reliance, resilience, proactively overcome difficulties, received and well accomplished all assigned tasks.

MR5's leader encourages the militia in the defensive area exercise held by Khanh Hoa province in 2023

Currently, the task of safeguarding the Fatherland, building the Military and the Military Region’s armed forces adept, compact and strong, and the situations in the operating areas have set new requirements and high demands for building the politically strong offices and units. The side effects of the market economy have negatively affected the building of the political-spiritual strength for the Military Region’s armed forces. Some cadres and soldiers still have troubles in their family life, showing signs of discouragement, sluggishness and reluctance to work. Moreover, the hostile forces have enhanced the “peaceful evolution” activities, the plot of “depoliticising” the Military; they have considered the location of the  Military Region in general, the Central Highlands in particular as the key points of sabotage, etc. This has posed new challenges and requirements for the task of building the  Military Region’s armed forces politically strong, which needs the full awareness and synchronous, comprehensive and effective solutions including some of the main contents as follows:

Firstly, strengthening the leadership of the party committees and organisations; raising the roles of all-level party committees and commands in implementing synchronously and effectively solutions for building the Military Region’s armed forces politically strong. To build the Military Region's armed forces comprehensively strong, “exemplary, typical”, capable of accomplishing all assigned tasks, it is necessary to prioritise the consistence of principle and continuously strengthen the Party’s absolute, direct and all-round leadership over the Military Region’s armed forces. Hence, the party committees and organisations at all levels need to strengthen their comprehensive leading ability and combat power; enhance the self-criticism and criticism; combine the building of the pure and strong party organisations with the comprehensively strong, “exemplary, typical” offices and units; heighten the pioneering and role model of cadres and party members; maintain the principle of democratic centralism, collective leadership and individual accountability; enhance the inspection, supervision and discipline observance; strictly grasp and implement the seniors’ resolutions, directions, etc. on building the Military politically strong; pay attention to raising the awareness and responsibility, renewing the thinking and working manners in the leadership and direction by the party committees and commands at all levels over this important task; concretise into guidelines and solutions for leading, directing and building programmes, plans suitably with each level, party and commanding organisation, and the task requirements. On implementing, it is necessary to be responsible, determined and focused on key points, overcome the weaknesses; bring into play the aggregated strength of organisations and forces, especially the contingent of cadres at all levels, among them, political cadres and offices play the core roles in building the Military Region’s armed forces politically strong in all three fields of ideology, organisation and activities.

MR5's armed forces help local people in disaster relief

Secondly, improving the quality and effectiveness of the political and ideological education, making the drastic changes in the awareness and responsibility in implementing the tasks, enhancing the “resistance” and “immunity” for cadres and soldiers to prevent the penetration and invasion of negative thoughts. It is necessary to seriously grasp and implement Direction No. 2423-CT/QUTW, dated 09 November 2023 by the Central Military Commission on “Renovating and improving the quality of the political education in the new period”, pay attention to reforming drastically, comprehensively and synchronously the education contents, forms and methods; elevate the national awareness, patriotic spirit connected with the socialism; build and strengthen the viewpoint, political spirit, responsibility, determination and effort to overcome difficulties and hardships for cadres and soldiers in their task performance. To gain the effectiveness, the political offices at all levels need to closely coordinate with the staff agencies to build programmes and plans, and conduct the political education in a united, close and practical way. Units need to proactively manage the contents, compose political documents for all participants, making sure both the programme frames and the solutions for the real problems of the units; attentively break through improving the political learning, combined with renovating and improving the quality of other forms of political education; apply flexibly, creatively and effectively educational forms and methods, actively implement and well manage the application of the information technology in the political education; at the same time, attentively investigate and solve all the ideological problems of cadres and soldiers; proactively follow the grassroots, forecast and orient the soldiers’ ideological situation, timely repair the weaknesses and shortcomings; enhance the inspection and learning from experience of the political and ideological education; direct the implementation of the modelling and multiplying the role models; completely eliminate the expressions of irresponsibility, formalism, dishonesty and untimeliness. Annually, functional offices give detailed instructions, opportunely discover and solve difficulties and shortcomings in order to improve the effectiveness of the political and ideological education in offices and units, at the same time, bring into play the overall strength in struggling against and preventing the hostile forces' “peaceful evolution” activities and the plot of “depoliticising” the Military, making contribution to protecting the Party’s ideological foundation, struggling against wrong and hostile viewpoints, and maintaining the battlefield of the Party’s ideological foundation among the Military Region’s armed forces.

Thirdly, building the contingent of cadres who are models of morality, lifestyle, high responsibility and effective working; building the contingent of political cadres and offices who play a key role in building the Military Region’s armed forces politically strong. Cadres play as the backbones of building the strong Military Region’s armed forces. Therefore, the party committees at all levels need to make attentive leadership and direction in building the contingent of cadres in accordance to standards and structure, morality and talents, inheritance and development, combined with reforming the methods, discovering, selecting and appointing cadres; regularly check and plan the cadres at all levels, combine the building of leading cadres with the one of all-level party committees, assuring the suitable age and firm sources of successors; attentively build the contingent of political cadres in terms of quality, capacity and prestige, especially the ability of advising and organising the implementation of the party and political work, guiding and checking the juniors’ implementation; well bring into play the leading role of politics and factor of solidarity in the party committees, party organisations and units. Basing on the planning and reality, the party committees at all levels need to evaluate the quality and the level of task completion of the political cadres to have the suitable plans of education and training; at the same time, firmly struggle against any manifestations of ideological, ethical, and lifestyle degradation and the “self-transformation”, “self-evolution” internally, making sure that the contingent of cadres and party members plays a key factor in building the Military Region’s armed forces politically strong.

Together, it is necessary to build the political offices at all levels  comprehensively strong and correctly functioning; fully playing as the consultative and permanent organs to assist the party committees, political commissars and commanders in directing, guiding and checking the organisation of the party and political work; attentively reform the working methods and manner to be scientific and practical with the real activities; improve the working quality and effectiveness to meet the task requirements in the new situation.

Fourthly, well-functioning as an army ready for work, building the strong political-economic-social foundation in the localities. This is an important solution, directly maintaining the socio-political stability of the country from the grassroots level and strengthening the unity between the military and the people, at the same time, creating the favourable conditions for units to manage, educate and train soldiers, and successfully accomplish the assigned tasks. Therefore, it is necessary to continue to fully grasp the Party’s military and defence viewpoints and guidelines, enhance the synchronous implementation of solutions, improve the overall quality and the combat readiness for the Military Region’s armed forces to be the keys in doing the military and defence tasks and building the all-people national defence in the locality. The cores are to build the solid Military Region’s and all-level defence zones; maintain the political security, social order and safety, and create the favourable conditions for the local socio-economic development. Together, offices and units need to closely coordinate with the local party committees, governments, unions and socio-political organisations, and the forces in the locality to comprehensively implement the public relations; pay attention to building the strong political foundation; proactively and actively develop the economy and society; eliminate hunger, eradicate poverty, join hands to build the new-style rural areas and civilised urban areas; prevent and overcome the natural disasters; promote the patriotic emulation movements and campaigns in the whole military and country with many models, creative and effective solutions, contributing to maintaining and enhancing the flesh-and-blood relationship with the people, through which continuously beautify and shine the qualities and images of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers” – Military Region’s Soldiers in the new situation, deserving to be the loyal and reliable political and combat forces of the Party, State and the local party committees, governments and people.

Lieutenant General TRINH DINH THACH, Political Commissar of the Military Region