Raising people’s awareness, eradicating hunger, reducing poverty, preventing and controlling natural disasters and epidemics, and building a strong grass-roots political system, etc. are the regular and central tasks of the Provincial Border Guard (PBG) of Gia Lai in learning and following Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality, and style. Therefore, the qualities of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers” are promoted, contributing to building a firm “people’s hearts and minds posture”, thus protecting national territorial sovereignty and border security in the area.

Nurturing and fostering the close relationship between the army and the people

Being imbued with President Ho Chi Minh’s teachings to the Border Guard “We must rely on the people to operate. When the people are organised and united, we can do anything”, Gia Lai PBG’s officers and soldiers try to strengthen and maintain solidarity with the local people, rely on them to perform tasks, be ready to overcome difficulties and hardships to “unite and help the local people”, thus building a firm “people’s hearts and minds posture”, which serves as a basis for protecting national territorial sovereignty and border security in the area. Currently, Gia Lai is in the process of border demarcation and marker planting with Cambodia. The province has to face with some difficulties, such as complex terrain, underdeveloped infrastructure, and low-quality lives of local people, especially the ethnic minorities. There are also potential complicated factors hidden in political security, social order and safety as the hostile and reactionary forces often take advantage of “national” and “religious” issues to incite and divide the great national unity bloc.

In order to strengthen the solidarity with the local people and mobilise them to successfully implement the Party’s guidelines, the State law and policies following Uncle Ho’s teachings “….With good mass mobilisation, everything will be successful”, the PBG’s Party Committee and Command attach importance to comprehensive leadership and direction on mass mobilisation, which is carried out by agencies and units with various contents and forms suitable to the task characteristics and requirements. This task is operated under a unified mechanism, including regular and close coordination between the units and the localities, thus promoting synergy in task implementation. Under the motto of focusing on the grassroots, the PBG’s officers and soldiers, especially the forces directly engaged in mass mobilisation, regularly follow the grassroots, actively advise, and coordinate with local party committees and authorities to deal with difficult and complicated issues happening in people’s daily life. Each officer and soldier always uphold the spirit of self-reliance, resilience, industriousness, and creativity, thus overcoming all difficulties and challenges. Besides, they also share happiness and sorrow, maintain a close relationship with the local people to fulfil all the assigned tasks, deserving the trust of the local Parties, authority, and people. The image of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers” patrolling the border day and night, going to every alley, knocking every door, checking everyone to propagate the prevention and control of the Covid-19 pandemic as well as the image of teachers and doctors with green epaulettes have been imprinted in local people’s minds. With the dedication and perseverance in sticking to the villages, helping the local people of the PBG, the appearance and life of the local people have positively changed day by day; unsound customs, social evils, illegal migration and border crossing, etc. have been gradually eliminated; the majority of people do not listen to the distortion and incitement of hostile forces. The PBG has also actively participated in self-governing movements to protect national borders and markers, security and order in border areas. The attachment, closeness “eat together, live together, work together, and speak the same language” with the local people of the PBG’s officers and soldiers has constantly embellished and fostered the “blood and flesh” relationship between the army and the people in border areas, being a firm and reliable force of the province’s Party committees, authorities, organisations, and the local people.

Coordinating with local people and militia in patrolling and guarding the country's border

The qualities of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers” shine through practical actions

The qualities of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers” are not something far-fetched and abstract, yet they are associated with and expressed through practical actions each of soldier and each unit when fulfilling their responsibilities and tasks. Stationing in an underdeveloped area with uneven intellectual level of ethnic minorities, unsound customs and practices, and lack of access to information, the PBG Party Committee and Command identify stepping up propaganda and mass mobilisation, especially for ethnic minorities in border areas as the central regular task to make people understand, believe, follow and help the soldiers. Apart from regularly directing and guiding party committees and units to develop propaganda plans and outlines in accordance with the practical situation on the areas, local people’s lives, activities, customs and practices, especially those of ethnic minorities, the PBG also actively coordinates with local departments, agencies, and organisations to step up propaganda and dissemination of the Party’s and State’s guidelines and policies on border guard, national defence and security; mobilise people in border areas to well observe the Party’s guidelines, the State’s laws and policies as well as to actively participate in crime prevention and control, protect national territorial sovereignty and border security. Whenever there is a new guideline or policy, all levels and forces need to be involved with close leadership and direction to make it accessible to the people. Whenever there is an issue in the villages, Border Guard officers and soldiers need to present timely, visit each household, and meet each person to grasp, mobilise and thoroughly solve that issue. These actions have strengthened the people’s trust in the Party, the State, building a firm “people’s hearts and minds posture” in the area.

Being well aware of the role of local party committees and authorities in socio-economic development and the improvement of people’s lives, the PBG actively participating in building, consolidating and improving the operational effectiveness of grass-roots political systems. Importance is attached to concretising and effectively implementing Decision No. 370-QĐ/TU issued on 2^nd November 2021 by Gia Lai Provincial Party Committee on the promulgation of “Responsibilities, authorities, duties, and working relationships of party members of the Border Guard station participating in activities of border villages”, Directive No. 681-CT/ĐU issued on 8^th October 2018 by the Border Guard’s Party Committee on assigning party members in charge of households in border areas. This acts as an important factor, favourable condition and a bridge connecting the PBG with local party committees, authorities and people. To promote that result, in the coming time, the PBG continues to promote the advisory work to the local party committees and authorities in building grass-roots political capacity and a clean and strong grass-roots political system, which is operated in an orderly and effective manner, meeting the requirements and tasks in the new situation.

Activities to promote socio-economic development and eradicate hunger have always been closely watched and regularly directed by the PBG’s Party Committee and Command. Units actively and proactively advise local party committees and authorities to well implement the tasks and measures for socio-economic development and to promote activities to help the local people develop the economy, eradicate hunger and reduce poverty by specific and practical models and programmes. Particularly, in implementing Directive No.12-CT/TU issued on 13^th February 2018 by the Standing Board of Gia Lai Provincial Party Committee on building “new-style villages among ethnic minorities”, Ia Nan Border Guard station has advised Ia Nan commune to select, pilot, and actively bring Son village to the new destination in March 2019. There has been 13 in 39 ethnic villages in the province’s border areas meeting the new-style village standard. Successfully implemented programmes and models, such as “Bringing children to school - Adopted children of Border Guard station”, “Affection kitchen”, etc. have contributed to helping children with extremely difficult situations go to school. At the same time, coordinating with local party committees, authorities, agencies, and organisations to build “Houses of gratitude”, “Border shelters”; closely cooperating with Women’s Unions of Gia Lai province and Ho Chi Minh city to implement the programme “Accompanying women in border areas” via good activities, helping many people to overcome their difficulties and escape poverty. Military - civilian stations in border communes not only examine, treat and provide free medicines to local people but also actively coordinate with commune health stations to propagate and mobilise the local people to eat and live hygienically, and guide them how to prevent and control diseases, thus improving their quality of life.

At the same time, the PBG actively helps the local people prevent and control natural disasters and epidemics; proactively develop plans to respond to natural disasters, fires, epidemics; assess disaster risks and the people’s capacity for prevention and response to develop and practice plans suitable to each area; well implement the motto “4 on-spots”, mobilising hundreds of officers and soldiers to participate in the prevention and control of natural disasters, epidemics, fires, search and rescue, forest fires; timely help the local people to overcome the consequences of natural disasters to stabilise their lives and minimise the damage to lives and property. On the front lines of fighting against the Covid-19 pandemic, by actively advising and coordinating with local party committees, authorities, departments, agencies, and organisations to well implement propaganda, advocacy, and drastic measures via effective and creative methods, the PBG, together with other forces, have made an important contribution to quell outbreaks in the area, protecting people’s health.

By taking specific and practical actions, the Gia Lai PBG has helped promoted the qualities and image of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers”, thus creating trust and affection among local people, which contributes to the building of firm “people’s hearts and minds posture” and “all-people border guard posture” in the strategic area of the Central Highlands.  

Colonel, RO MAH TUAN, Political Commissar of the Provincial Border Guard Command