Technical support plays a role of utmost important deciding combat readiness capability and combat strength of the people’s armed forces and People’s Army.

Over the past years, particularly since the issuance of the Resolution 382-NQ/ĐUQSTW of the Central Military Commission on “the leadership over technical support in the new situation”, the whole military has heightened the spirit of self-reliance, strived to overcome difficulties and made positive and comprehensive changes in the implementation of this work. Notably, units have strengthened their leadership and direction over the implementation of the task of technical support to ensure the availability of weapons and technical equipment for training, rescue, and contingency tasks. Troops’ awareness and responsibility as well as the technical organs’ advisory and leadership capacity have improved.  The structure of the Military Technical Sector has been consolidated. The planned technical programs and targets have been basically achieved. The system of technical depots and technical support facilities in the whole Army has been upgraded and gradually modernized. The tasks of scientific research and military technical personnel training and planning have gained significant outcomes. Noticeably, Technical Sector has made impressive progress in manufacturing and modernizing weapons and equipment, contributing to the enhancement of the Army’s comprehensive capability, combat readiness and strength.

However, there have remained several weaknesses in technical support over the past years. The structure of Technical Sector and technical support facilities has yet to meet the requirements. The quality of technical support of several sectors and units has been limited. There have existed a number of incidents in using weapons and technical equipment.

Senior Lieutenant General Be Xuan Truong delivers speech at the conference on reviewing technical support task in 2016 (photo: qdnd.vn)

The task of building the Army, strengthening defence and safeguarding the Homeland now has new developments and is conducted in the mixture of advantages and disadvantages. Under the Party and the State’s guideline to step up the modernization of the Army, a great deal of hi-tech weapons and technical equipment will be equipped. Meanwhile, we should continue to effectively exploit and use the existing weapons and equipment. To successfully perform the task of technical support and meet the demands of the task of building the Army and protecting the Homeland in the new situation, the whole Army should seriously take various measures, focusing on the following ones.

1. Attaching great importance to and enhancing leadership and direction of party committees and commanders at levels over technical support. Units in the whole Army, first and foremost party committees and commanders at levels, should thoroughly grasp the Party’s military and defence guideline, resolutions and directives of higher authorities on technical support, particularly the Resolution No.382. Accordingly, units should step up political and ideological education, making solid and comprehensive changes in cadres and troops’ awareness and responsibility towards technical support. It is necessary to actively innovate the method of leadership over technical support, the content and the form of propagation and education to make cadres and troops fully understand the important role of technical support in the fulfilment of the Army’s task in the new situation.

Units should review the 10-year implementation of the Resolution No.832, correctly assessing strengths and weaknesses, while continuing to set out guideline and measures. During the process of implementation, it is important to multiply valuable experience, good examples, focusing on overcoming weaknesses. Notably, units should proactively associate the implementation of technical support task with that of the Central Resolution No.8 (11th tenure) on “The strategy to defend the Homeland in the new situation”, the Politburo’s Resolution No.29/NQ-TW on “Vietnam People’s Army’s strategy of equipment”, the 11th Politburo’s Resolution No.6-NQ/TW on “Building and developing defence industry until 2020 and beyond”.

2. Proactively and comprehensively conducting the task of technical support, focusing on improving the quality of technical support of weapons and equipment. Technical support is the whole Army’s task, with the Army Technical Sector as the core force. Thus, Technical Sector, particularly the General Department of Technology, should continue to promote the role as the strategic advisory organ, proactively studying and grasping the situation, and actively giving advice to the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defence on military technical issues.

Units should continue to comprehensively carry out the task of technical support, strictly following the regulations on maintaining and repairing weapons and technical equipment as well as maintaining their technical specifications, with a priority given to those used for combat readiness, training, protection of borders, seas and islands, and rescue. The entire Army must focus on successfully implementing the roadmap for the Program and central goals on technical support. In this regard, it is necessary to focus on technical support of new-generation, post-innovation and post-modernity weapons and technical equipment; actively applying new technology to enhance the quality of repairing, maintaining, and storing weapons and equipment.

To keep abreast with the development of the task, the Army Technical Sector should renovate the system of facilities and factories in the whole military in accordance with the new strategic positioning, while actively mobilizing sources and stepping up the implementation of projects on raising their capability of technical support. In short term, it is necessary to prepare for the implementation of the Project on planning weapon maintenance facilities and the Project on planning the system of weapon depots in the whole Army before these projects are ratified by the Ministry of National Defence.

3. Building strong technical organs and units at levels. This is an urgent and long-term measure for Technical Sector. Over the past years, the whole Army has made positive changes in building and strengthening organizational structure of technical organs and units. However, facing higher requirements set by technical services, particularly the rapid development of science and technology, the innovation and modernization of weapons and equipment, it is necessary to focus on carrying out this work. Thus, Technical Sector should proactively make recommendations to the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defence to consolidate the organizational structure of the Technical Sector in the whole Army. In the time to come, units should continue to carry out the work of planning and building technical active and reserve forces. It is necessary to focus on building and developing the technical personnel with proper quantity, structure and comprehensive quality. To this end, the entire Army should continue to innovate the content, program and form of technical cadres and personnel training. Units should seriously maintain the discipline for technical training  and make it relevant to reality of technical support and the roadmap for Army modernization; while combining technical training and political, ideological education, focusing on training to exploit and master hi-tech weapons and technical equipment. Besides, Technical Sector should study to propose a specialized policy in order to attract high-calibre technical personnel to the Army and create favourable conditions for them to work and fulfill their task.

4. Stepping up military technical research, supplementing and completing the system of normative documents on technical support, meeting the requirements set by the task in the new situation. Technical Sector, with centres and institutes first, should closely work with functional organs of the Ministry of National Defence to speed up scientific research in accordance with Vietnam’s specific conditions. In this regard, it is important to apply scientific and technological advances to the use and maintenance of modern weapons and technical equipment, making a breakthrough in technical services.

Functional organs of the General Department of Technology should be active in reviewing, supplementing and completing the system of normative documents on leadership, direction and management of technical support to meet the development of the task and reality. In short term, it is necessary to focus on innovating technical support, applying new methods of maintaining hi-tech weapons and equipment, and building up a mechanism of collaboration and mobilization of social resources for technical support in the condition of market economy, as well as mechanisms and regulations for international cooperation in the military technical field. Also, it is important to proactively review, adjust, build up, and complete technological regulations, procedures and disciplines in technical support, creating legal framework for technical support.

Moreover, Technical Sector should be the core force in implementing the Campaign of “effectively managing, enduringly, safely, and economically exploiting weapons and technical equipment , and traffic safety”, and be active in implementing the 12th Politburo’s Directive No.5-CT/TW and the “Determined to Win” Emulation Movement, creating momentum for enhancing the quality and the efficiency of technical support, meeting the requirements set by the task of building the Army and protecting the Homeland.

Senior Lieutenant General Be Xuan Truong

Member of the Party Central Committee

Deputy Minister of National Defence