After 70 years of construction, combat and growth (September 20^th, 1951 - September 20^th, 2021), the Logistics Department under the General Political Department (GDP), has made many outstanding achievements to build up its glorious tradition of “Activeness - creativeness, dedication - thoughtfulness, safety - thrift, and unity - determination to win. To promote such tradition, the Logistics Department has been implementing synchronously innovative solutions to improve working quality to meet requirements and tasks in the new situation.

In May 1947, the Management Board under the Secretariat Office (presently the Office of the General Political Department) was established with the main task of ensuring working and living conditions for the commanders and Political Department Agency in the Safety Zone. On January 25^th, 2005, GDP Chairman signed Decision No.81/QĐ-CT to recognise September 20^th, 1951 (the establishment the Supply Department) as the traditional day of the GDP’s Logistics Department. The Department’s inception and development are associated with the development of the Vietnam People's Army and the GDP.

Leader of the department checks food processing at GDP's mess

In the coming time, logistics tasks will have a new development with high goals, requirements, difficulties, and challenges. Especially, the complicated and unpredictable developments of natural disasters and epidemics will affect the provision for troops. To complete the task well, along with attaching importance to building a comprehensively strong, “exemplary and typical” unit with a contingent supply cadres and staff of solid political stuff, and high qualifications, and dedication, the Logistics Department has determined to focus on breakthroughs into renovating and improving the soldier service quality.

First of all, to focus on renovating working methods, style, and regimes and standardise the planning work. This is the most important content to improve the quality of supply service. Accordingly, the Logistics Department Party Committee and commanders, divisions, branches, squads, and guest houses have focused on doing well in political education to raise awareness, sense of responsibility, viewpoints, and service attitudes for supply cadres and staff as the basis for renovating and improving  their work quality; implementing the “targey object-centered” perspective and closely adhering to agencies and units to advise and effectively implement supply work; strictly maintaining the orders, regimes, and principles of logistics work at all agencies and units as prescribed; regularly renovate working methods and styles, be responsive, dynamic, creative, and daring and raise awareness and sense of responsibility of cadres, employees, and soldiers for supply work; promote the regularisation and standardisation of the planning work; review and supplement regulations for working and coordinating with agencies and units; and clearly define the powers and responsibilities of each division, branch, squad, and guest house under their responsibilities and duties to create a clear change in the supply work.

Along with renovating the commanding and directing work, the Department continues synchronously implementing measures to improve the quality of provision for troops. In the face of complicated developments of weather and epidemics, increasingly high prices of food and commodities, unstable supply, the risk of food insecurity,... the Department has actively researched and proposed to the GDP’s Party Committee Standing Commission and commanders to renovate the material assurance method under the new financial management mechanism, promote decentralisation, empowering, and socialisation of a number of aspects of logistics, and expand bidding in procurement and sourcing as prescribed; strengthened inspection and supervision and closely combined supply with management, thrift, and prevention of waste and losses to create breakthroughs in ensuring food sources with reasonable prices, clear origin, and good quality; and directed agencies and units to combine outsourcing with promoting internal resources and boosting production and farming for safe and stable food sources to improve the quality of soldiers’ meals and generate incomes for the units.

Regarding subsistence supply, the Department has directed to strengthen the close management, inspection, and supervision of the quality and prices of food before importing to the kitchens; regularly renovated, improved, and processed dishes and maintained reasonable meal structures to ensure food hygiene and safety and improve the quality of soldiers’ meals; and continued  investing in modernising messes and kitchens towards uniformity and regularity, improved the working conditions of the supply staff, and enhanced the soldier service quality. Regarding soldiers' health care, the Department has strongly focused on "Building Five-good military medical units"; well implemented propagation and education on hygiene and epidemic prevention and promoted measures for the Covid-19 control to prevent the pandemic from entering the units; strictly maintained professional order and regimes and done well the management, care, and protection of the soldiers’ health right from the grassroots level; and continued investing equipment and facilities to improve the expertise of the military medical staff, meet the soldiers’ health care requirements, strive to achieve 100% of cadres and employees of the GDP receiving periodical health check-ups annually and maintain a healthy rate of over 99.5%.

Regarding barrack and accommodation, the Department continues directing the implementation of the emulation movement entitled "Building and managing regular, green, clean, and scenic barracks"; accelerating the implementation of approved works and projects under proper orders, procedures, regulations, and rules in basic construction investment, especially key works to avoid scattered and ineffective investments; closely managing and supervising the construction quality and progress of projects and works to prevent corruption, losses, and waste; coordinating with relevant agencies in strictly managing the defence land as prescribed; mobilising internal resources for consolidation of barracks and landscapes to create a bright, green, clean, and scenic environment; sourcing to provide for adequate barrack  tools, electricity, and water to contribute to improving the working and living  quality and conditions for agencies and units, etc. Along with that, the Department has attached great importance to  the fueling and transportation to improve the efficiency of sourcing, management, and use of fuels at all levels and publication of quotas and norms for agencies and units; strengthened the management and inspection of fuel use; strictly maintained the regime of inventory, payment, and settlement of fuels to save 10% of fuel quotas at agencies and units as prescribed; and actively coordinated with functional agencies in completing the planning and investments in improving the capacities for storage, reserve, and management of fuels to meet the requirements and tasks of the GDP in all situations. In transportation work, it has strictly implemented the Regulations on "Management and use of vehicles by agencies and units under the GDP"; focused on improving the quality of preservation, maintenance, and repair and maintenance of technical coefficients of vehicles and machines; organised technical training and driving skill fostering for drivers; and closely coordinated in timely providing means of transport to meet both regular and unexpected transportation needs of agencies and units under the General Department.

Being honored and proud of the tradition of the past 70 years, cadres, employees, and soldiers of the GDP’s Logistics Department strive to fulfill their assigned functions and tasks and improve the soldier servicing quality to contribute to building the GDP comprehensively strong, "exemplary and typical".

Senior Colonel LE QUANG TU, Secretary of the Party Committee, Director of the Department