Deeply imbued with President Ho Chi Minh’s teaching, which tells that “Ideological leadership is of utmost importance … If thoughts and actions are both unified within and outside the Party and from higher to lower echelons, we will definitely gain victory no matter how challenging tasks may look”; over the years, under the leadership and direction of the Politburo and the Secretariat, especially the Central Military Commission (the CMC), the Ministry of National Defence (the MND), and the General Political Department (the GPD), agencies and units throughout the Army have concentrated on leading, directing and performing ideological work which results in multiple encouraging outcomes. This contributes to the protection and maintenance of the Party’s ideological foundation, constructing a revolutionary, regular, elite, and step-by-step modernised People’s Army to deserve the absolutely loyal and trustworthy political force and combat force of the Party, the State and the People. In the forthcoming time, the global and regional situations are forecast to be complicated and unpredictable with numerous factors causing instability. Armed conflicts and territorial disputes keep on their fierce occurrence, which affects many countries. The trend of warfare utilising high-tech weapons and remote warfare becomes popular, which establishes new requirements and challenges in building soldiers’ combat morale and confidence in victory. As for our country, in addition to the advantages, we also encounter multiple difficulties and challenges. Hostile forces continue their sabotage against the Party, the State, and the Army through various conspiracies and tricks. As for the Army, the task of safeguarding the Fatherland has witnessed increasing development and requirements; the entire Army are accelerating the implementation of Resolution No. 05-NQ/TW issued on January 17^th, 2022 by the Politburo (13^th tenure) on “Structuring the Vietnam People’s Army in the 2021-2030 period and the following years”; the families of cadres and soldiers face numerous difficulties which have a direct influence on the inner thoughts and ideology of cadres and soldiers. Therefore, agencies and units in the entire Army are required to innovate and enhance the quality and effectiveness of ideological work through the fundamental measures below.

General Luong Cuong delivers his speech at the review of party work and political work of the year of 2022

First, strengthening the leadership and direction of party committees, commissars, commanders and political agencies at all levels for ideological work. The quality and effectiveness of ideological work reflect the attention of the party committees, commanders and functional agencies at all levels. The constant leadership and direction of the party committees and commands is the most crucial factor to improve the quality and effectiveness of ideological work within agencies and units. Party committees, commissars, politicians and commanders at all levels must regularly study and master the guidelines, viewpoints, resolutions, directives and instructions of the Party, the CMC, the MND, and the GPD on ideological work, especially Regulation No. 775/QC-CT issued on May 12^th, 2022 by the Head of the GPD on “The management of military men’s thoughts; the grasp and orientation of public opinion with the Vietnam People’s Army”. Accordingly, military men are able to foster their awareness of the position and pivotal role of ideological work; map out plans and actively keep track of the situation of missions of agencies and units, the training, combat readiness and activities of soldiers to propose guidelines and measures for leadership and direction in accordance with resolutions of party committees and programmes and plans of the commanders; ensure that ideological work take a further step and ideological work must take place wherever soldiers are. It is important to promote the central role of political agencies at all levels in advising, directing, guiding, and implementing; intensify inspection and promptly correct shortcomings and inadequacies; well perform after-action reviews, commendation, and the management of the quality of ideology in agencies and units. The annual results of ideological work should become a criterion to assess the quality of cadres, party members, and organisations; promptly commend and reward typical individuals and collectives that have effectively conducted ideological work in agencies and units. It is also necessary to bring into play the synergy of organisation and forces in implementing ideological work; avoid imbalance implementation between higher and lower echelons, formalism, or entirely leaving ideological work to political agencies and cadres.

Second, continuing the radical innovation in contents and flexibly applying forms and methods to conduct ideological work. Party committees and commanders at all levels especially political cadres must thoroughly grasp and well implement the principles and processes of ideological work: grasping, managing, forecasting, orienting, and solving issues concerning ideology from the grassroots. Party committees and commanders must always adhere to the practice and principles and flexibly and creatively apply the contents and forms of conducting ideological work to ensure initiative, practicality, promptness, and effectiveness at all levels, branches and fields, and suitability to the subjects, locations and tasks of each force. The content of ideological work must be conducted across the board, but with focus and specific objects. Importance should be attached to regularly reviewing and firmly grasping the quality of internal politics; proactively fostering and enhancing the capacity to conduct education, administration and counsel and provide psychological and legal assistance and methods of solving ideological problems for contingents of cadres, especially cadres in units. It is necessary to intensify management whose focus is on soldiers’ family backgrounds, health, lifestyles and relationships. Documents should be flexibly and effectively applied to identify disciplinary violations, unsafety, and abnormal psychological disorders and suggest measures for handling. When detecting arising complicated and sensitive problems concerning ideology, the party committees and commanders at all levels are required to lead, direct, and accurately and promptly handle to form a consensus on ideology and actions, and maintain the stability of agencies and units.

Third, continuing to improve the quality and effectiveness of political education. Agencies and units should bring into play the results of the Project on "The innovation of political education in units in the new period" and continue to improve the quality and effectiveness of political education through appropriate content and measures; in which, the focus is on renewal of organising and learning the Party's resolutions and directives to ensure political orientation, combat strength and persuasion in each content. It is necessary to bring into play the propagation and education so that cadres and soldiers can be deeply imbued with Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh's thoughts, the Party’s guidelines, the State’s policies and laws, especially the Resolution of the 13^th National Party Congress and the Resolution of the 11^th Military Party Congress. The focus is placed on new perceptions in the task of safeguarding the Fatherland; constant propagation and education so that the soldiers can be deeply conscious of the nature, conspiracies and tricks of hostile forces; the Party's views on partners and adversaries of the Vietnamese revolution. Ideological orientation toward complicated and sensitive issues of public concern should be actively conducted to form a broad consensus and unity in the entire Army. Additionally, the units should accelerate the education of traditions of the country, the Party, the Army and the units; diversify educational forms to honour lofty ideals, patriotism, the will to fight and win and overcome all difficulties, hardships and dangers; courage, tenacity, wisdom, and creativity in combat and work, etc. to spread the tradition and qualities of "Uncle Ho's soldiers" to generate powerful motivation, stimulate aspiration, confidence, and pride for cadres and soldiers to accomplish all assigned tasks.

Fourth, stepping up the fight to protect the ideological foundation of the Party, and refute wrongful and hostile viewpoints. Leaders and commanders at all levels must thoroughly grasp and well perform Resolution No. 35-NQ/TW issued on October 22^nd, 2018 by the Politburo (12^th tenure) on “Strengthening the protection of the Party's ideological foundation, and fighting and refuting wrongful and hostile viewpoints in the new situation”. It is required that "with its conditions and capabilities, more than any branches, the Army must take the lead in fighting more strongly against wrongful and hostile viewpoints, not only in the press but also inside the organisation and in society and absolutely allow no wrongful views to arise in the Army". It is necessary to bring into play the role of Steering Committee 35 - the core force in actively fighting and refuting wrongful viewpoints and ideologies of hostile forces, reactionaries and political opportunists. News agencies must proactively take the lead, keep track of political and historical events and grasp the tricks of hostile forces to publish timely and effective fighting articles and works. Simultaneously, agencies and units must ensure technical and technological means, carry out technical solutions to enhance the effectiveness of fighting against wrongful and hostile viewpoints on the internet and social networks; "accelerate the application of scientific and technological achievements in service of propagation and preservation of ideological security in the cyberspace".

Fifth, concentrating on ideological work in the implementation of the Party's resolutions and directives, especially the Resolution on structuring the Army until 2030 and the following years to lay a foundation for the building of a compact, lean, powerful and modern Army. Resolution No. 05-NQ/TW issued on January 17^th, 2022 by the Politburo (13^th tenure) and Resolution No. 230-NQ/QUTW issued on April 2^nd, 2022 by the CMC on “Leading the organisation of the Vietnam People’s Army in the 2021-2030 period and the following years” is of paramount significance to the Army. However, this is also a problem that has multi-dimensional effects on the thoughts, feelings, and ideology of cadres and soldiers of the entire Army. Therefore, in line with promoting ideological work in task implementation, agencies and units must closely follow the implementation of this Resolution to produce timely and effective solutions to maintain ideological stability. Party committees and commands at all levels are required to intensify education and dissemination to create a shift in awareness and responsibility of organisation and forces, particularly party committees and organisations and presiding cadres at all levels in performing the Resolution. On that foundation, it is important to strengthen measures to grasp and manage the thoughts of cadres, personnel and soldiers; promptly solve arising problems, and ensure internal unity. ideological work should be closely combined with organisational and policy work in each stage and step of the process of arranging and adjusting the organisation. Together with ensuring the implementation of current policy work, agencies and units should keep track of the excessive quantity of cadres, actively research, and propose solutions to reach a high consensus and ensure that after the adjustment or merger, the whole Army must maintain stability; combat power must be stronger to better satisfy the task requirements.

Sixth, bringing into play the role of organisations and forces in conducting ideological work. Party committees and commanders at all levels should determine guidelines, measures, and plans to lead and direct ideological work to ensure the role of organisations and forces; in particular, focus should be put on close coordination between agencies and units, families and localities to conduct ideological work. Contingents of cadres at all levels, especially at grass-roots levels must pay close attention to the unit to understand the soldiers' inner thoughts, aspirations, difficulties, concerns, etc., and promptly resolve them. At the same time, the principles of organisation and activities, especially the principle of democratic centralism must be strictly observed; Every cadre and party member, especially leaders and commanders at all levels, must always "self-examine and self-correct" so that in any situation, the qualities of " Uncle Ho’s Soldiers” are still well preserved. The role of mass organisations and the Military Council must be effectively promoted during the implementation of the Regulation on Democracy at grass-roots levels to ensure publicity, objectivity, fairness and real democracy in all fields of operation of agencies and units to build a "clean" environment, create a strong spiritual motivation, stimulate all officers’ and soldiers’ striving and training. Close combination of building a clean and strong party organisation, all-powerful, "exemplary and typical" agencies and units with taking care of soldiers’ material and spiritual life to lay a solid foundation for enhancing the effectiveness of ideological work.

In the new situation, due to the requirements and tasks of building a compact, lean, and powerful Army, it is necessary to innovate and enhance the quality and effectiveness of ideological work in the entire Army. Party committees, commanders, commissars, and political agencies at all levels must attach much importance to leading, directing and implementing ideological work to build the Army with political strength, absolute loyalty to the Fatherland, the Party, the State, the People, and the Socialism to victoriously accomplish all assigned tasks.

Lieutenant General TRINH VAN QUYET, Member of the Party Central Committee, Member of the Central Military Commission, Vice Chief of the General Political Department of the Vietnam People’s Army