Mass mobilisation is one of the central political functions and tasks of the economic-defence corps. Being aware of that and imbued with Uncle Ho's teachings, Forestry Enterprise 155 promotes mass mobilisation through effective and appropriate measures and methods to contribute to improving the people's material and spiritual life and building and consolidating a solid all-people defence posture at the country's border area.

Forestry Enterprise 155 (under Economic - Defence Corp 327, Military Region 3) performs its tasks in two communes of Dong Van and Dong Tam, Binh Lieu District, Quang Ninh Province. The Forest Enterprise’s operational area is large with divided and complicated terrains and difficult traffic conditions. The local population mainly consists of Tay and Dao ethnic groups (accounting for 96%), who are unevenly distributed with low educational level and many difficulties in life. Meanwhile, natural disasters, epidemics, and the border security situation have multiple destabilising potentials, etc. influencing the performance of tasks of the Enterprise.

To fulfill the assigned political tasks, imbued with Uncle Ho's teachings that “If we have the people, we can do any great job, no matter how difficult it is. Without them, nothing will be done”, the Forest Enterprise Party Committee and commanders have synchronously implemented multiple solutions to lead and direct the promotion of mass mobilisation through effective and practical measures and methods. This has always been considered the most important content as performing well the task will contribute to improving the material and spiritual life and creating favourable conditions for people to feel secure in producing, building strong economic - defence zones, key infrastructures, and local political bases and increasingly firm defence area posture and potentials, and maintaining political stability and social order and safety at the border area of the Fatherland.

Thoroughly grasping and strictly implementing the superiors’ resolutions, directives, and instructions on mass mobilisation work, particularly Directive No.472-CT/QUTW issued on May 21st, 2020 of the Central Military Commission “On strengthening the leadership and direction in improving the efficiency of mass mobilisation work of economic - defence corps in the new situation”, the Forest Enterprise Party Committee and commanders have focused on leading and directing to promote propagation to raise awareness and sense of responsibility for the people in abiding by the Party's viewpoints and guidelines and the State's policies and laws. This is the most important content and requirement of mass mobilisation work in general and the basic solution for the Forest Enterprise to well fulfill the functions and tasks of an economic - defence corp. Therefore, by learning and following Uncle Ho's teachings that “We must find a way to clearly explain to every person that as it is their interests and duty, they should be eager to fulfill”, the Forest Enterprise has selected propagation and education content suitable to the people's awareness and intellectual levels so that the people, especially ethnic minorities, could understand, remember, and implement. Attention has been paid to propagating and educating to raise awareness and create high consensus in implementing the Party's viewpoints and guidelines, the State's policies and laws, and the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defence’s resolutions and directives on closely combining economy, culture, and society with defence and security and vice versa. In 5 years (2016 - 2021), the Forestry Enterprise organised nearly 200 visits of young cadres and intellectuals to villages and hamlets to propagate to over 800 people about the National Border Law, Border Line Regulations, Marriage and Family Law, Women and Children Trafficking Prevention and Combat Law; actively coordinated with Hoanh Mo 23 Border Guard Station in propagating and mobilising the people to prevent encroachment and invasion, illegal exploitation of forest products, and border crossing, etc. As a result, the vast majority of cadres, soldiers, and local people were properly aware of the Party's viewpoints and guidelines and the State's policies and laws; strengthened the military-civilian solidarity; always clearly recognised, raises vigilance, and actively fought against the plots and tricks of hostile forces, reactionaries, bad elements, opportunists; and actively participated in maintaining political security and social order and safety, building safe areas, consolidating a strong defence and security posture, and maintaining national border sovereignty.

Young voluntary intellectuals instruct ethnic poeple on rice cultivation

In implementing tasks in remote, mountainous, and border areas with low economic growth and high poverty rate, the Forestry Enterprise has closely coordinated with the local Party committees and authorities in promoting economic development and improving the people's living standards in the economic-defence project areas. Adhering to Binh Lieu (Quang Ninh Province) Economic - Defence Zone’s master plan approved by the Ministry of National Defence, the Forestry Enterprise has actively cooperated with the local Party committees and authorities in surveying and developing strict and scientific plans and programs for socio-economic development in association with strengthening defence and security in the project areas. Under the funds mobilised from different sources, the Forest Enterprise has focused on the building of socio-economic infrastructures and basic construction investments, such as transportation, irrigation, essential works for immigration, population expansion, production development, forest plantation and protection, etc. to create a new look for the locality. Along with that, the Forest Enterprise has also organised the effective implementation of the Government's Project 174 on “Encouraging young intellectuals to volunteer to work in economic - defence zones in the 2010 - 2020 period” and the scheme on organising production, economic construction, economic management, and investment management in association with implementing the emulation movement entitled “The Army join hands in building new rural areas”. So far, it has completed hundreds of works, including about 140 hectares of natural forests and more than 530 hectares of border belt forests planted, taken care of, and protected; nearly 1,000 hectares of protective forests and forestry land handed over to the locality, and one model of agroforestry built with a total amount of over one billion dongs. In particular, the Forestry Enterprise has coordinated with the locality in surveying, planning, and building 41 new houses for immigrants and residents and propagating, mobilising, and supporting the on-spot relocation and separation of 41/174 households to live stably, confidently stick to the village, and actively produce and develop the economy, that has contributed to eradicating uninhabited areas and creating solid “fences” on the borderline.

To contribute to improving the people's living standards, the Forest Enterprise has promoted the implementation of projects on hunger eradication and poverty reduction, particularly those on production stabilisation and development. As funded by the superiors, the Forest Enterprise has surveyed and deployed for nearly 70 households to participate in projects on poverty reduction, production support, and population stabilisation. Implementing the Scheme on “Vocational training for rural laborers until 2020” under Decision No.1956/QĐ-TTg issue on November 27th, 2009 by the Prime Minister, it has organised courses on vocational training for more than 210 local labourers and forestry extension training for 145 people, built nearly 30 livestock barns far away from houses, etc. Under the motto entitled “Telling the people to understand and doing for the people to believe and follow”, the Forestry Enterprise has directed production groups and teams and nearly 50 young intellectuals to volunteer to learn the ethnic languages to bridge the spreading, fostering, and improvement of knowledge on application of science and technology in agricultural and forestry development for the people; directly go to the villages and hamlets to perform the motto of four-together (eating together, living together, working together, and speaking ethnic languages together) to propagate and mobilise the local people to practise the new cultural lifestyle, help people develop and expand production, organise agricultural and forestry extension, consult knowledge, and transfer and apply science and technology in animal husbandry and cultivation; and implement the integration of poverty reduction projects and building of plot models of household economy with a total amount of nearly 800 million VND to contribute to reducing the poverty rate from over 40% to less than 10%.

In associating socio-economic development goals with building the Forest Enterprise into a good model of mass mobilisation, the Party Committee and commanders have cooperated with the local Party committees and authorities to well perform social affairs and take care of building and consolidating the strong local political base. Accordingly, it has regularly improved the quality and effectiveness of movements, such as “Border warm clothes”, “School milk”, “The Youth with the border spring”,... by mobilising nearly 400 sets of clothes, blankets, books, school supplies, and many meaningful gifts that have brought joy to the people, especially children in the border areas. The Forestry Enterprise has also sponsored 12 children in difficult circumstances with 15 kg of rice/month/child and organised visits and presented gifts to policy families, people with meritorious services to the revolution, and families with special difficulties on holidays and Tet. Regarding the program of combined military-civilian medicine, the Forest Enterprise has organised three training courses for 104 turns of village nurses; provided medicine cabinets for 9 border villages, worth nearly 400 million VND; coordinated with Military Hospital 7 in providing free medical examination and medicine to more than 400 policy beneficiaries and disadvantaged families; and conducted medical examination and treatment for more than 4,100 turns of compatriots; regularly surveyed and grasped the situation in the area where the units are stationed to advise and assist the locality in building and strengthening Party committees and authorities at all levels; consolidated and improved the operational quality of mass organisations; and coordinated with local Party committees and authorities in organising training courses on military and defence knowledge for more than 300 local officials and disseminating the Border Law to nearly 800 household heads. During field trips for mass mobilisation, the Forestry Enterprise’s cadres and soldiers have performed several practical jobs to contribute to strengthening infrastructure and creating favourable conditions for production and daily life of the people. Facing the complicated developments of the epidemic, the Forestry Enterprise has closely coordinated with local departments and agencies in organising extensive propagation on the Covid-19 and mobilising and assisting the local people in vaccinating, which has contributed to effectively controlling and repelling the epidemic and has been highly appreciated by the local Party committee, authorities, and people.

The achievements in the mass mobilisation work of Forest Enterprise 155 have directly contributed to helping people improve their lives and feel secure in economic development, preservation of land, villages, political security, and social order and safety; strengthening the national great unity bloc  in strategic areas of the Fatherland; and enhancing the image and qualities of “Uncle Ho's Soldiers” in the new period.

Colonel PHI VAN DUONG, Commissar of the Forest Enterprise