Over the past years, grounded in experience and recorded results of implementing the 11th Politburo’s Directive 03/CT-TW, the Military Region 3’s Party Committee and High Command have grasped and implemented the 12th Politburo’s Directive 05/CT-TW on acceleration of studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s thought, ethics and lifestyle via practical measures, and gained positive results.

With a sense of responsibility, the Military Region’s Party Committee has adhered to the Politburo’s Directive 05, the Central Military Commission Standing Committee’s Directive 87-CT/QUTW and higher echelons’ guidance and direction to develop the Plan 192-KH/ĐU on “enhancing the study and following of Ho Chi Minh’s thought, ethics and lifestyle in the Military Region’s Party Committee during 2016 and 2021”. At the same time, it has directed party committees and organizations at all levels to build and consolidate the assisting staff to implement the Directive, regulations on operation and action plans/programs relevant to their function, tasks and characteristics of the area. Moreover, due regard has been paid to heightening the role of party committees and organizations, and commands at all levels in implementing the Directive; to enhancing the work of propagation and education to raise cadres and troops’ awareness and responsibility; to proactively building, supplementing and perfecting moral standards and targets for the study and the following relevant to each group of troops. Offices and units in the whole Military Region have held political meetings to propagate the role and importance of the Directive 05 to the Party building and the work of training cadres and party members, with a focus on building the determination and taking measures to implement the Military Region’s Party Committee’s Plan 192-KH/ĐU.

To diffuse the value of Ho Chi Minh’s thought, ethics, and lifestyle as the basis to build up cadres and troops’ faith and self-improvement, the Military Region’s Political Department has compiled and published the work “Uncle Ho with the Military Region 3’s military and people” to educate the troops. Offices and units have organized hundreds of dialogues and forums for the youth and built columns for propagation via their system of internal radio, bulletin boards, panels and leaflets, and cultural institutions. Military organs at all levels have closely cooperated with organs for propaganda and education at the same level in formulating regulations for coordination, programs/plans for propagation and education of the Directive 05, while combining the work of propagating and implementing the Directive with activities of national and local great political events and holidays. By means of a sense of consensus, the Military Region has directed party committees and cells, cadres, party members and the masses to combine the implementation of the Directive 05 with that of the Party’s Central Resolution 4 (12th tenure) on the Party building and rectification, develop plans and register for the targets for self-improvement. Units and offices have proactively identified the implementation of the Directive 05 as the centrepiece of the program/plan to implement the resolutions of party congresses at all levels, and included it in regular meetings of party committees and cells, and mass organizations. At the same time, the work of inspecting and supervising the implementation of the Directive by affiliated units’ cadres and party members, particularly key ones has been strengthened.

Following the motto of closely combining the study with the following, and taking the latter as the main one via specific, practical deeds, the Military Region has launched emulation movements and campaigns in the spirit of “self-review, self-correction”  in party cells and committees under the Military Region’s Party Committee as well as provincial-level military party committees, which have gained practical, positive results. In those campaigns, the Military Region has required each cadre and party member to carry out a review of their registered targets for self-improvement specifically and honestly, particularly for the task performance and exemplary role of cadres at all levels. Concerning collectives, it has asked party committees and cells, offices and units to correctly assess their situation, point out weaknesses, causes, and collective and individual responsibility, and set out guidelines and measures to overcome weaknesses to help party committees, cadres and party members adjust their behaviour to meet the requirements set by the Directive 05. As a result, responsibility to set role model by cadres and party members has been increasingly promoted.

Armed forces of Dam Ha district (Quang Ninh province) take part in building new-type rural area

Furthermore, the Military Region’s Party Executive Committee and High Command have focused on leading and directing all-level party committees and commanders to establish and multiply good models and effective approaches, and regularly carry out preliminary reviews to draw lessons and opportunely rectify the signs of deviation. Typical models of combat training and discipline maintenance include the movements of “Staying close to the bases, grasping the situation, giving sound, effective advice”, “good words and actions by cadres and party members”. Typical examples of mass mobilization include the movements “Giving light to rural roads” by Ninh Binh Provincial Military Command, “Assisting children in study” by Hoa Binh Provincial Military Command, “Soup bowl of love” and “Funds for poor patients” by the Military Hospital 5 and the Military Hospital 7 under the Military Region’s Logistics Department, “4 togethers” (eating together, living together, working together, speaking ethnic languages together) by the Economic - Defence Corps 327. Moreover, the Military Region’s armed forces have been active in building new-type rural area, taking part in flood, storm, and forest fire prevention and control,  and conducting the policy work for the people having merits in assisting the revolution and beneficiary families in the area. Commemorating the 70th Anniversary of the War Veterans and Martyrs Day (July 27th, 2017), the Military Region’s armed forces counselled and organized activities to visit and give presents and saving accounts to beneficiary families, medically examine and treat beneficiaries. It is worth noting that in 2017, the Military Region built 255 Houses of Gratitude and 21 Houses of Comradeship, contributing to perpetuating the qualities of “Uncle Ho’s soldiers”.

Thanks to close, uniform leadership and direction, and appropriate, effective measures, the implementation of the Politburo’s Directive 05 has become a revolutionary action movement in offices and units of the Military Region, creating a driving force for building pure, strong party organizations, comprehensively strong armed forces of the Military Region, and strong mass organizations. Since 2015, on a yearly basis, the quality of training, exercises and combat readiness of units in the Military Region has ceaselessly improved. Provincial-level Military Commands have promoted their core role in advising local party committees and authorities on performing local defence and military work. Up to now, 100% of provinces, districts and cities have finished developing the Project to plan defensive zone posture and the Plan to build defensive zone in the 2016-2020 period which have clearly identified the road map and the expenses to build combat works in the defensive zone. Awareness and responsibility of party committees, authorities, sectors, organizations and people towards the tasks of national defence and security, and Homeland protection in the new situation have been raised. According to the result of evaluating party members and organizations annually, in the Military Region’s Party Committee, more than 80% of its party members have successfully and excellently fufilled the task; over 85% of grass-roots level party committees and cells have been assessed as pure and strong; 90% of youth union organizations, women’s unions and labour unions have been assessed as excellently strong. Typical examples include the Staff, Political Department, Logistics Department, Technical Department, Military Commands of Quang Ninh, Thai Binh, Hung Yen provinces and Hai Phong city, Division 395, Economic - Defence Corps 327, Signal Brigade 603, Tank and Armour Brigade 405.

The results mentioned above represent an important prerequisite for the Military Region 3’s armed forces to continue to enhance the study and following of Ho Chi Minh’s thought, ethics, and lifestyle in the upcoming time in line with the “Determined to Win” Emulation movement and campaigns launched by sectors to make a solid change in carrying out the task in offices and units, contributing to successfully fulfilling the two strategic tasks of building and protecting Vietnamese Socialist Homeland.

Maj. Gen. Bui Cong Chuc, Head of the Military Region’s Political Department