To step up the implementation of the Campaign for “managing and exploiting weapons and technical equipment in a good, durable, safe, economical manner and traffic safety”, contributing to increased quality of technical work and fulfilment of mission requirements of building the military and defending the Fatherland, the General Department of Technology (GDT) has been adopting many solutions. Of note, the study and following of President Ho Chi Minh’s teaching always draw the special attention from cadres and soldiers in the entire branch.

Over the past few years, on grasping and realising Directive No. 50/CT-BQP, dated 10th January 1998, of the Ministry of National Defence (MND) on further accelerating the Campaign for “managing and exploiting weapons and technical equipment in a good, durable, safe, economical manner and traffic safety”, (thereinafter referred to as Campaign 50), the GDT, which is the Standing Body of the MND’s Steering Committee 50, has actively advised the Central Military Commission (CMC) and MND to lead, direct, and directly instruct departments and units in the entire military to effectively carry out the Campaign, making significant contribution to resolution of strategic issues regarding technical equipment support for the military. Although the technical branch in the entire military must both manage, maintain, and repair a majority of weapons and technical equipment, used for many years, degraded, and lacked inchronicity, and exploit and master new, modern ones at the same time, it has formulated and introduced many regulations and procedures for exploitation and use of weapons and technical equipment. Of note, weapons and technical equipment with strict safety requirements are closely verified in line with procedures and regulations, ensuring absolute safety. Additionally, greater attention is paid to labour safety. Traffic safety has witnessed considerable progress. The number of safe trip of military vehicles, in particular, always exceeds the target. More importantly, the implementation of the Campaign always associates with stepping up studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, morality, and style, which creates positive effects and pervasiveness and contributes to enhanced technical research and development and budget saving.

In addition to the above-mentioned positive results, there remain shortcomings and limitations during implementation of the Campaign 50. The application of science and technology to the management, exploitation, and mastery of weapons and technical equipment, especially the high-tech ones is carried out on a modest scale. Violations of regulations on training, working safety, protection of classified information, and traffic safety have decreased but remain unstable. The risk of losing safety remains inherent in some departments and units. In the coming years, requirements of safeguarding the Fatherland in the new situation place higher, heavier demands, especially the fulfilment of the objective of basically building an adepth, compact, strong military by 2025, building some modern services, corps, and forces by 2030, and building a modern military from 2030 onwards as stipulated by the Resolution of the 13th Party Congress. To meet those requirements, in the time to come, apart from focusing leadership of making a breakthrough in adjusting force organisation, the GDT Party Committee and Commanders are committed to enhancing the implementation of Campaign 50 by means of practical, synchronous solutions, of which the realisation of Conclusion No. 01-KL/TW, dated 18 May 2021 of the Politburo (13th tenure) on continuing to carry out Directive No. 05-CT/TW on “stepping up studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality, and style” is identified as the most important one.

Chief of the GDT check the maintenance of military equipment at Warehouse K19

On the basis of the position and role of weapons and technical equipment in building a powerful military, strengthening national defence, and winning the war, when he was alive, President Ho Chi Minh once said that “You need to preserve weapons, equipment, and vehicles well; save ammunition and petrol; hold people’s human and material resources in high esteem; teach soldiers how to preserve weapons and equipment well and save every round and rice seed without wasting them”. On being imbued with Uncle Ho’s teaching, the GDT Party Committee and Commanders concentrate on leading and directing departments and units to further promote propagation and education about the Campaign aimed to foster cadres’ and soldiers’ motives, responsibility, and sense of diligence, thrift, self-reliance, and resilience. Accordingly, the GDT request its departments and units to enhance reform of contents, forms, and methods to conduct propagation and education about the Campaign 50 in a practical, grassroots-oriented, close-to-subject direction, especially those who directly manage and exploit weapons and technical equipment. The contents of propagation and education focus on clarifying the necessity, position, and significance of the Campaign 50 in accomplishing the political mission of building “exemplary, representative,” comprehensively strong units. Contents, goals, targets, and requirements in implementing Campaign 50 must be associated with the theme of traffic safety every year. To improve the effectiveness of propagation and education, the GDT concentrates on leading the development and maintenance of columns about the Campaign in the Technology and Equipment Magazine, the News Portal, and the Military Science Bulletin. Attention is paid to propagation about performance of departments and units, popularisation of good experience and creative, effective ways, and encouragement of prominent examples. It also requests departments and units to step up studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality, and style in close connection with the Determination to Win Emulation Movement and the Campaign of promoting tradition, devoting talent, deserving to be Uncle Ho’s soldiers in the new situation.

On deeply grasping Uncle Ho’s teaching: “Regarding leadership, cadres must truly unite, have a deep understanding of work, and exercise practical and comprehensive leadership”, party committees and commanders at all levels of the GDT need to enhance leadership and bring into play the core role of the technical branch in the implementation of the Campaign. On perceiving resolutions and directives of higher echelons on technical work, most notably Resolution No. 1656-NQ/QUTW, dated 20 December 2022 on leading teachnical work through 2030 and beyond and the Conclusion on the preliminary summation of the 5th Campaign in the 2015 – 2020 period, the GDT requests technical departments at all levels to leverage their core role and proactively advise party committees and commanders at the same level to strengthen organisation and enhance operating effectiveness of Steering Committee 50; review implementation programs and plans in order to timely supplement targets and implementation methods in the 2020 – 2025 period and beyond, ensuring feasibility and suitability for the situation. It is necessary to promote collaboration in the system of Steering Committee 50 from the General Department to grassroots levels, ensuring interconnectedness, unity, and effectiveness; improve advisory capacity and coordination among the Standing Bodies of Steering Committees 50 at all levels, regarding them as the core elements to maintain and advance all activities of the Campaign. There is a need to improve and effectively run the organisation, operation mechanism of Steering Committees 50 at all levels in the direction: “Party committees and party organisations put forth resolutions. The commanders have work plans. Steering Committees 50 at all levels map out their programs of action. Mass organisations have their own action movement. The branch has targets for emulation. Individuals register to implement the Campaign”. To guaranteer a smooth, close operation mechanism, the GDT directs its departments to successfully leverage their advisory role in proposing contents and guiding measures according to respective fields and directly carry out the Campaign with weapons and equipment under their management and exploitation. The technical departments must play the central role in coordination and creating drivers of fulfilling assigned goals and targets.

“Conducting emulation means patriotism, and being patriotic people we should conduct emulation”. Uncle Ho’s teaching is always grasped and applied by party committees and commanders at all levels of the GDT to enhanced reform, quality, and effectiveness of emulation in achieving goals of the Campaign. On the basis of 6 major contents and targets in the 2020 – 2025 period put forth by the MND’s Steering Committee 50, the GDT requests its departments and units to set targets suitable for their characteristics, functions, and missions. It also directs branches and mass organisations to work out concrete contents of operation and prove their vanguard and creativeness in the implemention of the Campaign, ensuring closeness to typical features of each branch and mass organisation. To develop the Campaign in depth, the GDT continues to direct its departments and units to step up building “exemplary models” and “exemplary units” and multiplying prominent examples in each target; formulate and carry out the implementation plan in the 2023 – 2025 period and each year. In the short term, the GDT concentrates on standardising and regularising professional management work in the entire military; proactively implement the program and plan for developing e-government, striving for digital government in the technical branch in the 2022 – 2025 period with a vision for 2030. It conducts management, maintenance, repair, and extend lifespan of technical equipment synchronously; consolidates the system of technical support bases and carry out technology-intensive investment projects according to plans; continues to execute the project on “Ensuring road traffic order and safety in the military in the 2021 – 2030 period and vision 2045”.  The GDT attaches importance to leadership of leveraging models of “Youth’s warehouse” and “Warehouse 20 – 10” of the Department of Military Weapons in the management and safety protection of warehouses as the well as the model: “Each person does a good thing a day” of the Arm Technology Department in bringing into play technical refinement initiative.

In addition to the abovementioned contents and solutions, to make new breakthroughs, the GDT makes every effort to establish exemplary models for key contents of the Campaign, new, difficult contents, and weaknesses in technical work in units deploying in remote areas. It conducts in-depth preliminary summings-up and summations to timely detect and address limitations as well as disseminate and exchange good experience, striving for successfully achieving goals and targets of Campaign 50 in the 2020 – 2025 period, meeting mission requirements of building the military and safeguarding the Fatherland in the new situation.

Major General PHUNG NGOC SON, Deputy Chief and Chief of Staff of the General Department of Technology