Building the all people’s defense posture is an important and the main content of building the all people’s national defense which is relevant and directly affects the mission and Homeland protection. For this reason, upon liberating the South and unifying the country, our Party and State began to organize and deploy forces and defense potential throughout the country in an unified strategy in order to successfully deal with all plots and acts of invasion and sabotage of hostile forces.

In the Central Highlands region, the all people’s defense posture is built in association with the country’s general plan in the direction that economy is closely linked with defense and defense is closely linked with economy; deploy forces and establish defense – economic zones, increase civil residences in border areas, build infrastructure and economic-technical areas, etc. Accordingly, on 20 February 1985, Corps 15 was founded according to the Decision No.68/CT of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers (now the Prime Minister) with the tasks of developing economy in association with strengthening defense and security; stabilizing social life; contributing to the building of the all people’s defense posture in the strategic region of Central Highlands. Fully aware of the assigned tasks, during its establishment and development process, under the direct leadership and direction of the Central Military Commission, the Ministry of National Defense, its Party Committee and High Command have adopted a number of measures to lead the Unit successfully fulfill its economic – defense mission. Its companies, units, working groups, factories are positioned reasonably in the general posture of forces in the Central Highlands, ensuring both economic development and combat readiness. On the other hand, through its operations, the Corps has been proactive in development programs and goals of the State and the localities on labor adjustment, job creation, infrastructure development, resettlement, “hunger eradication and poverty alleviation”, building new style rural areas and socio-political institutions, etc., contributing to the establishment of the economic-defense posture in the border areas.

Maj Gen Dang Anh Dung presents flowers to good laborers in a contest of the Corps

The potential of the all people’s defense posture consists of political, economic, cultural, social, military, security potentials. Fully aware of this, the Corps has implemented a number of measures to enhance those potentials. Its production and business is set as foundation for the development of other potentials. At present, the Corps possesses nearly 41,000 hectares of rubber trees, 350 hectares of coffee trees mainly in remote and border areas of the two provinces of Gia Lai and Kon Tum. Furthermore, it is undertaking some economic projects in Quang Binh province and in Laos and Cambodia. In recent years, the Corps is facing with  difficulties and challenges due to the fall in the price of rubber and coffee, the instability of the market, huge unsold goods, and long severe drought. To cope with the situation, it has adopted various solutions synchronously focusing on the three breakthroughs, namely: business restructuring (in the lean direction), enhancing the quality of human resource, and diversifying its products.

In order to build “firm people’s heart and mind posture”, over the past years, the Corps has persisted on grasping and implementing the Resolution 25-NQ/TW dated 03 June 2013 of the Party Central Committee (XI tenure) on  “strengthening and renewing the Party’s leadership over public work in the new situation” and the Resolution 49-NQ/QUTW dated 26 January 2015 of the Central Military Commission on “Strengthening and renewing the public work in the Military in the new situation”. It has combined production closely with improving living standard of laborers, particularly employing laborers from ethnic minorities. Therefore, from 5,000 laborers in 21 residential areas and 1,717 households in 1990, the Corps has developed a staff of nearly 170,000 laborers and tens of thousands of households in hundreds of residential areas, including 7,154 laborers are ethnics. The newly-established villages not only change the lives of ethnics but also create border belts in the all people’s defense and security posture.

During its production, the Corps has fostered several ways of “association”, such as “Corps associates with province, companies associate with districts and communes, working teams associates with villages, Kinh working households associate with ethnic ones”. Through this mean, companies and units help and support localities in economic and cultural development, building strong political institution, land, capital, plant, seeds, production techniques, and opportunely understand and have settlement for problems and dissatisfaction of laborers and local people. Particularly, the operation of the Corps has changed the lives of several ethnic households, from their thinking and working method to their living and working habits, making them stick to and contribute to the localities and the Corps. For this reason, despite difficulties mentioned above, the Corps and its companies still maintain stability in organization, staff, production, and productivity, making its laborers more contented and earning the consensus of people with the Party’s guidelines and the State’s policies and laws and further fortifying the “people’s heart and mind posture”.

Central Highlands is a strategic region in defense and security where hostile forces regularly carry out their acts of sabotage by inciting and seperating the ethnic and religious communities with the aim to undermining the national unity bloc and destabilizing political security. For this reason, the Corps has to regularly carry out its military, defense and security tasks successfully. First and foremost, it focuses on briefing and grasping the Party’s guidelines, viewpoints, target and direction of the mission of Homeland protection. Then, it thoroughly carry out force deployment and participation in building defence zone and adhere to regulations on combat readiness. Its offices and units regularly screen the on-the-spot combat plans and plans for safeguarding political security in the locality; positively practice combat plans. The Corps has always been active in coordinating with local military commands, with Public Security and Border Guard forces in the region in pursuant with the Decree 77/2010/NĐ-CP of the Government to build plans for combat readiness, protecting production, people’s lives and property in the areas of its projects; participating in defence zone exercise, maintaining political security and social safety and order; struggling to defeat all plots and acts of sabotage of hostile forces to protect people’s peaceful lives.

 Facing the security complications in the region and problems emerge during its accomplishment of defense – economic tasks, the Corps has actively coordinated with provincial and district party committees and authorities to agree on measures for settlement. In particular, it has always been proactive in propagating for local people about the Party’s viewpoints and guidelines, the State’s policies and laws; plots and schemes of sabotage of hostile forces. The close coordination and responsible participation of the Corps has become an important factor contributing to the stability and development of the locality.

It can be said that, Corps 15 is one of the success stories in implementing defense – economic tasks. It has proved the appropriateness, effectiveness, and necessity of the Party, State and Military’s guideline on implementing the model of economic development in combination with defense and security strengthening, especially in remote and border areas, of the Military. In the coming years, in order to sustain its stability and development, the Corps wishes to receive subsidies from the Party, State, the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defense, particularly some specific mechanisms and policies. Moreover, it also hopes to get some priorities of local party committees and authorities in capital subsidy and synchronous, comprehensive and enduring mechanisms, policies.

Thoroughly grasping resolutions of the Party and the Central Military Commission, the directives and orders of the Ministry of National Defense, cadres, soldiers and workers will promote the revolutionary heroism and self resilience, overcome difficulties and challenges to fulfill its mission. The Corps will pay special attention to the coordination with local party committees and authorities and people to build the all people defense posture increasingly strong and bring about economic prosperity, political and social stability and defense and security strength for the Central Highlands region.

Major General Dang Anh Dung

Commander of the Corps