Being founded in the renewal period with countless challenges and hardships, with their fortitude and determined-to-win spirit, generations of cadres, soldiers, workers and labourers of the Corps 15 have worked diligently, creatively and devoted their whole youth to the Corps, ethnic minority communities in the Central Highlands, contributing to making a new face of a border region of the country.

The Central Highlands are characterized by vast areas of basaltic soil which is suitable for growing industrial trees. However, due to the consequences of war, the majority of the land is contaminated by unexploded ordnance, toxic chemicals, uncultivated and short of fresh water. Moreover, local ethnic minority groups in the Central Highlands suffer from bad customs, and lack productive cultivating methods, hence their living standards are extremely low which badly affects defence and security situations. To overcome the problem, our Party decided to deploy troops to the area for socio-economic development associated with defence and security strengthening. Grasping their mission, units of the Corps are all located in far-flung, remote and border areas with various hardships and difficulties in climate, traffic, and security. In addition, the experience and managerial level of its managers are, to some extend, limited; the defence – economic model was unprecedented while its capital, machinery and vehicle are inadequate. However, with its strong determination, the Corps gradually overcome the hardships, perfected its structure and run its operations smoothly to successfully realize the defence – economic goals and build strong grassroots political systems and firm defensive areas, contributing to maintaining political security, social safety and order in the region.

Implementing the socio-economic development goals, the Corps has closely coordinated with localities in their areas of operation to make plans of defence-economic zones and plans for agricultural production. In the 1985 - 1990 period, in just a short time, it has successfully realized two important goals of expanding production and building hundreds of residential areas together with maintaining political security in the entire border line of northern Central Highlands. Since 1991, it has actively changed the command model to self-control and business model. Besides the two main products of rubber and coffee, it has gradually begun producing consumer manufactured goods, well meeting the market demands. To date, it has planted over 44,000 hectares of rubber, over 300 hectares of coffee, 70 hectares of rice; built 6 rubber processing factories with total output of about 40,000 tons/year, 1 fertilizer plant with a capacity of over 10,000 tons per year; employed thousands of local ethnic people.

Sr. Col. Sy presents food for needy people

In the implementation of military and defence tasks, the Corps has regularly paid attention to building its armed forces strong. Annually, it conducts suitable training and exercises with the plans of building defensive areas; signing and carrying out regulations for coordination with the Public Security Force, Military and Border Guards of Gia Lai, Kon Tum, Quang Binh provinces; deploying self-defence posts in critical position and dispatch patrol groups to guard the campus and assets of the units, and national border landmarks. At the same time, it has actively grasped the situation, resolutely combated against the hostile and disruptive forces; prevent illegal religious practices and border crossing; flexibly settle the emerging issues to maintain political security, social safety and order, contributing to firmly protecting the security and sovereignty over the border.

Promoting the friendship and solidarity tradition with the Lao People's Democratic Republic and the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Corps has actively implemented a number of foreign affairs activities with good results. Its projects in Laos and Cambodia have employed thousands of local people, developed infrastructure and helped local people develop agricultural production. Together with infrastructure and economic development, it has also focused on mass mobilization and special propagation work; grasped the political security situation; persuaded people to abide by guidelines for socio-economic development and build friendship and solidarity. Moreover, it has also helped our friends build and consolidate their grassroots political systems; regularly carried out social welfare activities in a thorough manner, contributing to building a border of friendship, peace and prosperity.

In recent years, due to the fall in price of rubber latex and coffee and limited investments in the production and infrastructure, the Corps underwent financial imbalances and impasses in some of its production and business operations hence the living standards of its labourers are adversely affected. Facing the situation, it has opportunely reassessed its resources and adjusted production plans; conducted restructuring and coordinated with its partners for a more effective utilization of its resources.

In the coming time, thoroughly grasping the guidelines of the Party, State, Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defence on the economic production of the Military, the Corps will focus on the following measures:

1. Strengthening political and ideological education to make its cadres and staff politically steadfast, morally pure, united, highly skilled, industrious, creative and enthusiastic.

2. Grasping the areas of operation, building its forces comprehensively strong. Enhancing the quality of training, exercising; coordinating closely with other forces to opportunely settle the situations and get ready to fight in emergencies, contributing to maintaining political security, social safety and order in the localities, creating solid grounds for its productions and businesses.

3. Implementing the guideline of the Military participating in economic production, the Corps will actively study and build oriented, legal, flexible and effective production and business plans. Further facilitate the study and application of science and technology in its production to improve its product quality; actively coordinate with its partners to make new products to meet the market demands and create more jobs and improve income for its labourers.

4. Building the close relationship with local party committees, governments and people; fostering the synchronous coordination in all aspects of work; strengthening mass mobilization work and implementing policies on ethnicity and religion; conducting social welfare work; renovating the rural areas and participating in hunger eradication and poverty reduction, etc.

5. Basing on the achievements gained in the defence diplomacy, focusing on enhancing the quality and effectiveness of its projects in Laos and Cambodia; maintaining the close relations with the governments and people of the projected localities; adhering to the laws and regulations of neighboring countries to contribute to consolidating the fine tradition and cooperation between our Party, State, Military with the Parties, States and Militaries of Laos and Cambodia.

Promoting the tradition of “persistent with goals; overcome all hardships; stick to the people; creative and industrious; united and determined to win”, cadres, soldiers and labourers of the Corps 15 will strive for successfully accomplishing all assigned tasks, contributing to building the strategic and critical area of the country increasingly firm in politics, rich in economy, and strong in defence and security.

Senior Colonel Hoang Van Sy, Commander of the Corps