Located in the Red River Delta - Hanoi - Hai Phong - Quang Ninh key economic region, Hai Duong holds a very important position in the defensive posture of the Military Region 3. Over the past years, thoroughly grasping the Party’s military and defense viewpoints and policies, armed forces in Hai Duong province have closely coordinated with local departments, agencies, and mass organizations in advising the Party committees and authorities to lead and direct the good performance of military and defense tasks in general and building defensive zones in particular and achieved multiple important results. In 2019, the Province Party Committee, People's Council, and People's Committee led and directed the successful organization of the defensive zone exercise. Through the exercise, the leadership capacity of the Party committees, the level of management and administration of authorities and the advisory role of local agencies, departments, and mass organizations in the defensive zone activities were improved to create a premise to build the national defense and all-people defense posture associated with the solid people's security posture, contributing to maintaining political security, social order, and safety in the locality.
Thoroughly grasping and strictly implementing the Military Region High Command’s Directive on the organization of the defensive zone exercise and drawing on experience from previous one, the Province Military Command advised the Province Party Committee, People's Council, and People's Committee to develop and implement exercise programs and plans in a scientific manner and consistent with the characteristics of the area, combat tasks, and abilities of all aspects of the locality. During the exercise, the participating forces promoted their roles and responsibilities, took initiative in overcoming difficulties, and well performed the preparation to ensure that the exercise took place as plan. Despite some limitations, the exercise was assessed to be successful by the Steering Committees at all levels. In particular, the province focused on thoroughly grasping, deploying, creatively and effectively applying Resolution No.28-NQ/TW of the Politburo (the 10th Tenure) and Decree No.21/2019/NĐ-CP of the Government on defensive zones. From the practice of preparation and implementation, the Province draws some main lessons as follows:
Firstly, to propagandize and educate cadres, Party members, and people to firmly grasp the Party's viewpoints and policies, the State's policies and laws on defense and security, especially the defensive zone exercise task. This is an important content to improve the quality of military and defense work performance, directly the defensive zone exercise task to achieve practical efficiency. Therefore, the local Party committees and authorities, of which the armed forces play as a core, carried out a strong and comprehensive renovation of the contents, forms, methods of propaganda and education in accordance with the awareness of each object, characteristics, and tasks of the locality. For the contingent of cadres, Party members, and people to gain basic knowledge about military, national defense, and security and firmly grasp the purposes and requirements of the exercise in the spirit of Resolution No.28-NQ/TW, the National Defense Law, the Militia and Self-Defense Force Law, the Reservist Mobilization Ordinance, Decree No.21/2019/NĐ-CP, ... the Province focused on propagating and educating on the role and importance of the Province defensive zone exerccise to bring the armed forces and people into a state of war combat readiness to handle national defense and security situations, struggle to defeat sabotage conspiracies and tactics of hostile forces, and firmly protect the area. The Province also directed the Provincial Military Command to coordinate with the Provincial Party Commission Propaganda and Education Board, the Department of Information and Communications, the Provincial Radio and Television Station, and the radio stations of districts, cities, and towns to conduct propaganda and education on military and defense tasks and defensive zone exercise with various forms and measures. In addition to conferences, seminars, local festivals, and publishing news and articles on the mass media, the Provincial Military Command also cooperated with the Youth Union and the Women's Union to organized cultural and arts activities, and contests on the knowledge about the armed forces and the tradition the “Eastern” homeland, etc. At the same time, more than 200 slogans, banners, and posters were made to reflect the results of military and defense activities as well as the defensive exercise task. Through propaganda and education, the awareness and sense of responsibility of the contingent of cadres at all levels and branches were enhanced to unify and focus on leading, directing, and promoting the synergy of the whole political system to fulfill the exercise task.
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| A preparatory meeting prior to the exercise |
Secondly, to do well the preparation of exercise from plans and documents to the assurance of facilities. The Provincial Military Command actively advised the Provincial Party Committee and People's Committee to lead and direct from construction and implementation of resolutions, issuance of directives and plans, and establishment of Steering Committee to surveying and building of exercise, consultation with the functional agencies of the Military Region, reporting to the Provincial Party Committee Standing Commission, the Military Region High Command, and the General Staff Department for approval. Based on the Provincial Party Committee's resolutions and directives and the approved exercise intention, the Steering Committee established the Organization Committee, sub-committees, and staff to participate in the exercise. At the same time, to formulate plans, issue decisions and regulations, and determine the time to complete the preparation work. The Provincial Military Command cooperated closely with departments, committees, and branches in researching and developing the exercise documents. In the process of development, the military agency played the focal role in coordination, and evaluation to help the departments, agencies, and branches draft the documents in a uniform, synchronous, righteous manner in accordance with the combat advisory work and the functions, tasks, and socio-economic conditions of the Province.
During the exercise, due to the requirements of the task, the assurance of means and facilities was huge, by the forces participating in the exercise were active in doing well the preparation work. Under the motto that “the authorities and people complete together” and with internal resources, the Province mobilized more than ten thousand working days to level and build battle grounds, rear bases, logistics - technical bases, practice areas, etc. In this exercise, the Province directed to construct military works in the defensive zone combined with major items in the battle grounds and apply information technology to build operational maps (3D), online image transmission (Led screen) for leadership, command, and administration. On the other hand, through the exercise, the Provincial Military Command did a good job of mobilizing the mass, visiting, giving gifts, providing health check-ups, and allocating free medicines to beneficiaries in Cong Hoa ward, Chi Linh city, that contributed to strengthening the solidarity and unity of the armed forces and people and enlisting the assistance of the people in performing the task. The rehearsal services were also conducted carefully. In addition to ensuring full and smooth sound, light, and communication system in halls, practices area, and visitor areas, the Provincial Military Command also cooperated with the Public Security to perform well the task of ensuring security and safety during the exercise, and, at the same time, directed the good management and confidentiality of documents in accordance with regulations.
Along with the preparation of facilities, the Province focused on training, fostering, and improving the advisory capacity for officials at all levels and branches, especially key officials and experts of departments, branches, unions, and armed forces. The Provincial Military Command and the Department of Public Security worked closely with the Steering Committee in organizing training and retraining for cadres and officials in the exercise lineup. The contents were mainly focused on advisory work, combat operation consultation, compilation of documents, and actions of the units in the exercise. In addition to concentrated training and retraining, the Province also took advantage of the superior’s guidance and instruction to conduct direct fostering through the process of compilation of documents, practice, performance of tasks, ... ensuring all the participants were thoroughly familiar with the method of preparation and practice. For the remaining forces, training on each issue, each stage, and each combat readiness situation was organized to timely rectify and learn from mistakes under the motto “fixing from mistakes”. If there were too many mistakes, retraining would be organized until mastering.
Finally, to renovate the contents and methods of operating mechanisms to associate reasonings with reality and adhere to the exercise intention. Thoroughly grasping the Politburo's Resolution No.28-NQ/TW and based on the approved exercise intention, the exercise lineup creatively applied in practice through meetings of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Commission, the Defense Emergency Steering Committee, the Provincial Public Security Party Committee, the Provincial Military Party Committee, the Provincial People's Council, and the Provincial People's Committee taking place in accordance with the order, principles, and contents. Chairpersons led the meetings flexibly to go straight to the main contents and emerging issues and directed, concluded, and assigned work in a close, scientific, and clear manner to promote the spirit of democracy and collective intelligence in discussions. The implementation of the content of civil defense and operation of the mechanism of turning the locality into wartime were focused and ensured principles. Officials attending the meetings fully demonstrated the roles, functions, and responsibilities with brief and focused reporting contents and appropriate solutions that were close to the tasks of the departments, agencies, and sectors. The military and public security agencies played a key role in identifying, evaluating, and advising the Party committees and authorities in leading, directing, and administering defense and security issues in a resolute, flexible, creative, and practical manner.
In the practical exercises, the exercise lineup studied, thoroughly grasped, and flexibly applied the contents of the National Defense Law; Decree No.01/2019/NĐ-CP of the Government stipulating the organization of elaboration of plans and measures to implement defense mobilization; Decree No.02/2018/NĐ-CP of the Government detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the National Defense Law regarding the defense emergencies, military discipline restriction, and curfew; and Circular No.21/2013/TT-BQP of the Ministry of Defense on the implementation of military discipline restriction. The exercise scenarios were elaborated carefully and scientifically in accordance with principles and close to reality. As the participating forces closely and smoothly coordinated, the exercise process ensured the absolute safety of people, weapons, equipment, and technical facilities. Through practical exercises, the results of technical and tactical training and the combat coordination of the main forces and the local armies with and the militia and self-defense forces were properly assessed, and the commanding organizational capacity and qualifications of Provincial armed forces officers and soldiers were trained. New features in practical exercises were that the Provincial armed forces collaborated with the 395 Division in attacking the airborne enemy; the Provincial Public Security practiced handling situations relating to protesting public servants on duty, terrorist capture, or hostage freeing wisely and flexibly; and Gia Loc district practiced military discipline restriction; Hai Duong city mobilized reservists in the right process.
These results and experience are the basis for Hai Duong Province’s armed forces to continue working with the Party Committee, the authorities, and the people to build a locality that is strong in politics, wealthy in economy, and solid in defense and security to contribute to well performing the task of building and defending the Fatherland in the new situation.
Senior Colonel Nguyen Huy Thang, Member of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Commission, Commander in Chief of the Provincial Military Command