As an integral constituent of the Vietnam People’s Army, reserve forces have a civilian status but are ready for mobilisation to safeguard the Fatherland when necessary. Therefore, continuing to build mighty reserve forces is of strategic significance in building up a modern Army and is the responsibility of the entire Party, Army, and political system in cementing the national defence capabilities to meet the task requirements of safeguarding the Fatherland.

Over the years, the National Assembly, the Government, and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) have issued multiple legal documents on reserve force as a legal basis for all levels, branches, localities, and military units to implement. MoD has advised the Party and the State and directly led and guided the implementation with numerous synchronous measures to achieve the pivotal legal basis. Notably, the implementation of the Prime Minister’s Decision on assigning the target on building and mobilising reserve forces for ministers, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, provinces, and cities under the Central Government, the General Staff has advised the Minister of Defence to issue Decision on assigning planning targets on the size, types of organisation, and the number of reserve units; and planning targets on receiving reserve forces and regulations on mobilisation in each combat readiness state. This breakthrough lays a foundation for the building of mighty reserve forces in almost all agencies, organisations, businesses, and localities with full regimes on enrolling, managing, re-examining, inspecting, and maintaining reservists, and reserved technical facilities. The General Staff has regularly directed agencies, units, and local authorities to improve the quality of training reserve forces. The training focus has been placed on enhancing their qualifications and knowledge of military and national defence; cadres’ competence in managing and training reservists from sections to battalions; simultaneously, speeding up the renewal of training contents, forms, and methods. Agencies, units, and local authorities successfully organise annual one-sided, two-leveled command exercise on mobilisation with many hypothetical situations that are close to actual combat and provincial and city defence areas; combine mobilisation and receiving reserve units in training and exercises; ensure the regimes and policies for reservists and their families thereby encouraging reserve forces to accomplish tasks, contributing to improving the overall quality and combat strength of the Army.

However, the building of reserve forces still exposes several weaknesses. The awareness of several party committees, local authorities, agencies, organisations, and units for this task is still limited. The propagation and dissemination of relevant legal documents in localities, especially in remote areas, highlands, and ethnic minority areas, are still inadequate. The role and responsibility in directing, administering, and organising the implementation have left much to be desired. Enrolling, managing, re-examining, etc. reservists, reserved technical facilities at several localities and units have not been paid much attention to. The coordination between units and localities is still poor.

Deputies of the National Assembly vote for the Law on the Reserve Force

In the forthcoming years, although peace cooperation, and development still remain the main trend, the global and regional situation will experience rapid, complicated, and unpredictable shifts; local wars, armed conflicts, disputes over territory, marine resources, islands, etc. still occur in numerous regions. The situation in the East Sea and Southwest still has many potential risks that lead to instability. As for our country, after 35 years of reform, potentialities in economy, national defence, security, foreign affairs, etc. have been strengthened, thereby lifting the position and prestige of our country, etc. However, we also encounter multiple difficulties and challenges including economic backwardness and traditional and non-traditional security threats; hostile forces have stepped up “Peace pacification”, “self-evolution and self-transformation”, and “depoliticisation” of the Army with cunning tricks. Therefore, the cause of constructing and safeguarding the Fatherland has set out higher and weightier demand. It is required that the whole Party, People, and Army keep on cementing defence-security capabilities and building a solid all-people national defence posture. In particular, the building of mighty reserve forces which is a strategic and consistent policy of the Party and the State must be comprehensively conducted with multiple synchronous and effective measures. To that end, branches, local authorities, and units at all levels must well implement the following measures.

Firstly, strengthening the grasp and implementation of the Party’s viewpoints, guidelines and the State’s policies, laws on this pivotal task. This is the most crucial measure to build reserve forces since only through accurate orientation, full awareness, clear motive and grave responsibility, determination and complete unity can be achieved during the implementation, especially in the complicated and unpredictable situation of the world and region. Accordingly, branches, local authorities, agencies, and units in the Army, especially party committees, cadres, and party members should thoroughly grasp the Resolution of the 13^th National Party Congress, Resolution No. 05-NQ/TW issued on January 17^th, 2022 by the Politburo (13^th tenure), Resolution No. 230-NQ/QUTW issued on April 2^nd, 2022 by the Central Military Commission on the structure of the Vietnam People’s Army (the VPA) in the 2021-2030 period and forthcoming years, Law on the Reserve forces. In particular, focus should be placed on the viewpoint that the building of mighty reserve forces is a salient task under the leadership of party committees, the administration of local authorities, and advisory agencies. On that foundation, measures for leading and directing can be proposed to fit localities and their capabilities. To obtain great effectiveness, it is necessary to renovate methods for leadership, direction, operation, and organisation. Particularly, adhering to the leadership of the Politburo, the Central Military Commission, and the plans of the MoD on the structure of the VPA in the 2021-2030 period and forthcoming years, the General Staff should keep on researching and advising about structuring “adept, lean, and strong” Army. It is necessary to uphold principles in building and mobilising reserve forces with sufficient quantity and reserved technical facilities and ensuring secrecy and safety in accordance with laws and plans ratified. Simultaneously, propagation and education should be promoted so that branches, armed forces and people from all social strata can be fully aware of the position, roles, and strategic significance of building reserve forces in the new situation, thereby determining their responsibility and consensus in performing this pivotal task.

Secondly, the building of mighty reserve forces should be tied to the implementation of defence-security targets and tasks in each locality and the whole country. On the foundation of abiding by the Constitution and law, especially the Law on Reserve forces and the direction of the Government, branches and local authorities are required to associate the building of reserve forces with the construction of all-people national defence, all-people national defence posture and security posture, especially the building of solid defensive zones, consolidation of national defence and security, and socio-economic development in localities. To that end, it is necessary to bring into play the synergy of the whole Party, People, Army, and political system, in close combination with building all-strong grassroots. In particular, importance should be attached to enhancing the competencies of cadres of reserve forces and military cadres in communes and wards, especially remote localities and foreign-invested enterprises.

Military agencies at all levels should proactively advise local party committees and authorities to better their works of enrolling and managing reservists and reserved technical facilities. Coordination with regular units should be strengthened to inspect and arrange reservists in units as stipulated. To fix the structural imbalance between reservists and non-commissioned officers, it is necessary to mobilise and train reserve forces right after their enlistment,  allow non-commissioned transfer for discharged soldiers, and train reserve officers especially in localities short of human resources. Inspection should be conducted to dismiss or appoint reservists as the commanders of reserve units. During the implementation, all levels and branches from the Central to grass-roots level must strengthen their inspection and supervision and well conduct after-action reviews. It is important to bring into play the role of specialised cadres and strengthen coordination between military agencies at all levels and local organisations to advise, propose, and organise the implementation effectively. Functional agencies should apply scientific and technological achievements and the experience of other nations to build nighty reserve forces to satisfy task requirements in the new situation.

Thirdly, accelerating the renewal of training contents, schemes, and methods for reserve officers and reservists. This crucial and consistent content functions as the momentum for improving the quality of reserve forces in the new situation. In the current context of the socialist-oriented market economy, the demanding task of reservist mobilisation for safeguarding the Fatherland in all situations becomes increasingly significant. All levels, branches, and local authorities should proactively check, supplement, and propose numerous measures for improving the quality of training reserve officers. In the immediate future, it is necessary to recruit and approve reserve officer training courses, herein strictly implementing general norms and specific norms for each category of trainees to ensure firm political zeal, knowledge, qualifications, and appropriate age with sufficient quantity and increasing quality. Military schools and academies in charge of training reserve officers must strictly follow plans and actively renovate methods and forms of training so that the contingent of reserve officers are equipped with command competence, specialised techniques, and professional qualifications in accordance with their responsibility and tasks.

Training reserve forces requires the “fundamental, practical, and steady” standardisation of training programmes and contents; the combination of military training, political education, self-discipline, and the building of political zeal for cadres and soldiers. Particularly, units and localities must attach importance to training contingent of cadres from reserve forces and train non-commissioned officers; promoting practice, command exercises, live-fire tactical exercises, drills in defensive areas, combat readiness, etc. to improve competencies in command, tactics, and coordination in combat. People’s committees in provinces and cities under the Central Government should map out plans to mobilise all resources and concentrate on the building and strengthening of training facilities in accordance with the law.

In line with the aforementioned contents and measures, branches and units in the Army should implement party work and political work in building reserve forces, strengthening leadership, and paying attention to the building of regular forces and reserve units. It is important to mobilise all sources, invest in training fields, and upgrade facilities to ensure annual reserve force training courses. Simultaneously, plans on purchasing equipment and technology to serve for registering and managing reservists, which contributes to the building of mighty reserve forces to meet the task requirements of building and safeguarding the Fatherland.

Lieutenant General NGUYEN VAN NGHIA, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army