Policy work towards the military and military families is an integral part of the Party’s and State’s policy work. It is also a significant content of party work and political work in the military, contributing to creating a great spiritual political motivation for the entire military to successfully fulfill all assigned tasks and building a politically strong military. Capitalising on the achieved results, departments and units need to promote this important work to meet the requirements and tasks of building the military and protecting the Fatherland in the new situation.

Being imbued with the teachings of President Ho Chi Minh: “The power of the military lies in skillful education, sound policies, and strict discipline,” and the guidelines and policies of the Party, the law of the State as well as the resolutions and directives of the Central Military Commission (CMC), the Ministry of National Defence (MND), the General Department of Politics (GDP), party committees and commanders of departments and units regularly pay attention to leading, directing, and coordinating effective implementation of policies towards the military and military families; continuously improving the spiritual material life of officers and soldiers and stabilising their families, contributing to enhancing the overall quality and combat strength of the military and making a worthy contribution to the struggle for national liberation, unification of the country, and construction and firm protection of the socialist Vietnamese Fatherland.

Doctors of Military Hospital 103 conduct free medical check and medicine provision for policy beneficiaries in Dien Bien province

Currently, the entire Party, people, and military are vigorously striving to successfully implement the Resolution of the 13th Party Congress, laying the foundation for the country to enter a new era, i.e. an era of rise, development, and prosperity. The cause of building the military, strengthening national defence, and safeguarding the Fatherland, especially the requirements and tasks of adjusting the organisation of forces and building an “strong, compact, elite” military to advance towards modernity in the spirit of the Resolution No. 05-NQ/TW, dated 17 January 2022, of the Politburo in association with streamlining the apparatus according to the Resolution No. 18-NQ/TW, dated 25 October 2017, of the Party Central Committee (12th tenure), the Decree No. 177/2024/ND-CP, and the Decree No. 178/2024/ND-CP of the Government, have made new demands, requiring the enhancement of policy work towards the military and military families through a comprehensive set of policies and solutions, most notably the following ones.

First, it is necessary to increase awareness and strengthen the leadership and direction of party committees and leading cadres at all levels, sectors, and forces on policy work towards the military and military families. This is a fundamental solution, the starting point for all subsequent activities, and the determinant of innovation, quality, and effectiveness of policy implementation towards the military and military families in the new situation. Therefore, there is a need to continue to do well in propaganda work, deeply grasp the resolutions, directives, and conclusions of the Party as well as the laws and legal normative documents on military, national defence, protection of the Fatherland, etc., making all levels and sectors clearly realise the necessity, importance, basic content, requirements, and new difficulties and challenges of the task of safeguarding the Fatherland and new developments in the functions and tasks of the military. This provides a firm foundation for creating a high consensus and unity in the promulgation and implementation of social policies towards the “special labour sector” and military families as well as the “gratitude” movement in the new situation. Party committees, party organisations, departments, and units set out leadership policies and measures, formulate implementation plans to ensure scientificness, “Party-mindedness,” lawfulness, and suitability for reality of the country and military as well as the characteristics of each department, unit, and locality. It is important to promote inspection, supervision, and preliminary and final reviews to maximise the efficiency of policies in the process of building the military, strengthening national defence, and safeguarding the Fatherland, ensuring that the Party’s guidelines, the State’s policies and law, and the military’s regulations are fully, correctly, and effectively implemented.

Second, there is a need to reform plan formulation and improve the quality of research, advisory, and policy implementation work. This is a series of interrelated steps and regular, central activities which directly determine the enhancement of policy work towards the military and military families. Accordingly, to innovate and improve the quality of plans require departments and units to proactively grasp the situation, collect information comprehensively and substantively, and focus on developing 5-year, annual, quarterly, monthly work plans, plans according to tasks, themed plans, etc., ensuring scientificness and high feasibility. They are also requested to promote summarisation of practice, research, addition, and perfection of the theory of policy work towards the military and military families; raise the quality and effectiveness of advisory work and coordination of implementation; properly resolve the relationship between long-term, basic goals and immediate requirements; place emphasis on researching, proposing, and concretising the Party’s guidelines, the State’s policies and law  towards the military and military families through policies in the relevant codes and laws related to the military and military families; firmly grasp situations to proactively and actively develop regulations and policies to meet new requirements and tasks of the military. In the short term, it is necessary to promote research and formulation of regulations and policies to facilitate the process of adjusting the force organisation, building a “strong, compact, elite” military according to the Resolution No. 05-NQ/TW, dated 17 January 2022, of the Politburo, and streamlining the apparatus according to the Resolution No. 18-NQ/TW, dated 25 October 2017, of the Party Central Committee (12th tenure). Departments and units are to continue to research to propose to implement salary reform, special allowances for the armed forces, and related regulations and policies according to the Resolution No. 27-NQ/TW, dated 21 May 2018, of the Party Central Committee (12th tenure); research and propose to improve regulations and policies for military personnel undertaking unique tasks, new tasks, and tasks in strategic areas, remote and border areas, at sea, on islands, and overseas; propose mechanisms and policies to attract, encourage, and use talents, those with significant contributions, scientific staff, skilled workers, and high-quality human resources in the military. They are also requested to research, review, supplement, and perfect policies on social insurance and health insurance for the armed forces, ensuring suitability for the military’s unique activities; research to amend and supplement some preferential policies towards war invalids, sick soldiers, martyrs’ spouses and offsprings, and people with meritorious services to the revolution, the work of searching, gathering, and identifying martyrs’ remains, “gratitude” activities, and so forth.

A martyr's remain memorial and burial ceremony conducted by Binh Phuoc province

Third, the comprehensive strength of all levels, sectors, departments, units, and localities in reforming and enhancing quality of policy work towards the military and military families should be harnessed. This is an important solution, requiring objectivity and being the driving force of the process of innovating social policies in general and policy work towards the military and military families in particular. Therefore, based on the assigned functions and tasks, departments and units need to uphold political responsibility and actively coordinate closely with agencies, commissions, and sectors of the political system to constantly care for and ensure increasingly better spiritual and material life for the beneficiaries, creating an important leverage in the cause of building and protecting the Fatherland. In the short term, it is necessary to concentrate on bringing into play the comprehensive strength, mobilising and effectively using social resources in implementing policies towards military families and “gratitude” activities, and paying attention to caring for people with meritorious services and heroic Vietnamese mothers. There is a need to regularly stick to practical situations of the country and the military as well as the capabilities and conditions of each department and unit to promote coordination with organisations, forces, and localities in determining content and flexibly and creatively applying measures and good models in implementation, ensuring the full promotion of the roles, responsibilities, initiative, and activeness of all levels, sectors, forces, and localities as well as consensus of the whole society in realising policies towards the military and military families. International cooperation in policy work must also be promoted and focused on search and gathering of martyrs’ remains, resolution of post-war issues, exchange of experience, application of new technologies, and assistance of necessary tools and equipment to conduct policy work.

Fourth, departments and cadres responsible for policy work are to be further developed to meet requirements and tasks. It must be affirmed that building strong departments and cadres responsible for policy work is always a key, objective issue, organically affecting the entire process of reforming and improving the quality and effectiveness of policy work. Departments and units, therefore, need to regularly strengthen bodies and cadres undertaking policy work at all levels in terms of quantity, structure, and quality according to regulations on organisation and staffing. The education and training of cadres must be carried out through practical activities in association with promoting the study and following of Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality, and style; implementing the Movement of Promoting Tradition, Devoting Talent, Deserving to be “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers” in the new period; realising resolutions, directives, and conclusions on building and rectifying the Party, regulations on what party members must not do, and regulations on setting an example, creating an educational environment for training cadres responsible for policy work who possess revolutionary moral qualities, in-depth expertise, and the ability to advise party committees and commanders as well as instruct departments and units to perform assigned tasks.

Policy bodies and the corps of cadres responsible for policy work at all levels uphold the spirit of self-study, self-cultivation, and training to improve revolutionary moral qualities, knowledge, and skills; firmly grasp the general directions, viewpoints, principles, and law on social policies; have practical experience; deeply understand and share the needs and aspirations of policy subjects; are dedicated, passionate, meticulous, and caring; are not reluctant or self-serving. All actions are for the common goal of serving officers, soldiers, policy subjects, and the people. It is important to promote administrative reform, digital transformation, standardisation of work processes, etc., to better implement policies for the military and military families.

Fifth, the inspection and supervision of policy work towards the military and military families must be enhanced. Inspection, supervision work is an activity which plays an important role in improving the quality and effectiveness of policy work. Therefore, it is necessary to focus on inspecting and supervising issues related to awareness, responsibility, advisory capacity, and coordination of implementation; tasks, authorities, and working methods and styles of party committees, commanders, and policy bodies and cadres at all levels. The inspection and supervision must be regular, adhere to principles, and stick to the grassroots, combine regular, periodic inspection and supervision with unplanned one, among specialised bodies within and outside the military. Wrongdoings, petitions, and complaints must be dealt with decisively without letting them linger on adversely affect the Party’s guidelines and the State’s policies and law on the military and military families.

The policy on the military and military families is an important part of policy work; reflecting the deep concern of the Party and State for officers, soldiers, defence civil servants, and defence workers on active duty, beneficiaries of the policy towards military families, and those who have contributed to the cause of national liberation, unification of the country, and the construction and protection of the Fatherland. Therefore, party committees, departments, and units need to uphold responsibility, continue to improve the quality of policy work towards the military and military families; constantly care for and ensure increasingly better spiritual material life for the beneficiaries, contributing to successful realisation of the goal of building a modern, elite, regular, revolutionary People’s Army; strengthen national defence to firmly safeguard the socialist Vietnamese Fatherland in the new situation.

Major General DOAN QUANG HOA, Director General of the Policy Department