Law propagation, dissemination and education serve as an important content for the management of troops’ observance of State law and Army discipline. Perceiving that, over the past years, the Engineer Arm’s Party Committee and Command have focused on leadership and direction over the implementation of this work throughout synchronous measures relevant to characteristics of the Engineer force. Consequently, there have appeared positive changes in awareness, lifestyle, discipline and law practice of cadres and troops from offices and units of the Arm. They always fully understand that “Discipline is the power of the Army”, living and working under the Constitution, State’s law, Army’s regulations, unit’s rules. Those achievements have contributed to maintaining and promoting the Engineer force’s tradition of “successfully initiating roads”, and building pure, strong Party Committee and comprehensively strong Arm.

Exchange activities of the Arm held for its raw recruits

Grasping and executing higher authorities’ ordinances, directives, programs and plans, basing on its functions and annual tasks, the Arm’s Party Committee has directed its party committees at all levels to include law propagation, dissemination and education in their leadership resolution and clearly identify that it is a focal point of the work of political, ideological education and discipline management. In the resolution, it is necessary to clarify goals and requirements, content, programs, measures and assignment to ensure that this work be closely, frequently led and directed. Accordingly, commissars, political commissars, commanders, political organs at levels should draw up plans for the implementation of the work relevant to condition of each office, unit and school. The Arm’s Party Committee has requested that during the process of implementation, units should promote the role of organizations, forces and means, first and foremost the Council for Coordination in Law Propagation and Education, key cadres, political organs, political cadres, and cadres in charge of the work. Moreover, it is important to attach law propagation, dissemination and education to political, ideological education, and the implementation of the “Determination to Win” Emulation Movement, campaigns of the Party, State and Army, particularly the Party building and rectification according to the Resolution of 12^th Party Central Committee’s 4^th Plenum, acceleration of studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morals and lifestyle according to the 12^th Politburo’s Directive No.5-CT/TW, the Campaign “Promoting tradition, devoting talent, deserving to be Uncle Ho’s soldiers”. On the basis of higher authorities’ regulations and guidance, in 2017, the Arm’s Command has directed its Political Department - the Standing Advisory Organ of the Arm’s Council for Coordination in Law Dissemination and Education to draw up and promulgate the Plan 263/KH-BTL on law propagation, dissemination and education, and the Program to execute Prime Minister’s Decision 1464/QĐ-TTg on ratifying the Project “Preventing and suppressing gender-based violence during 2016-2020 and vision until 2030”.

In the first 6 months of 2017, units have seriously implemented the preset Plans and Programs; the average strength for study has reached 98.7%. Training courses were mainly on: Communiqué 4097/TB-TH of the Department of Propaganda and Training on “the ideological situation and the practice of State law and Army discipline in 2016”, Circular 192/2016/TT-BQP of Defence Minister on “prescribing the adoption of types, procedure and duration of punishment and jurisdiction over punishment within the Ministry of National Defence”, Civil Code 2015, Law on Military Service 2015, Law on Professional Military Personnel and Defence Officials 2015. Moreover, it has focused on the Government’s Decree 220/2013/NĐ-CP on accusation and resolution to accusation within the Vietnam People’s Army, the Government’s Decree 70/2015/NĐ-CP detailing and guiding the implementation of some articles of Law on Health Insurance regarding the Vietnam People’s Army, Vietnam People’s Public Security and persons being responsible for cipher activity, Defence Minister’s Circular 218/2013/TT-BQP guiding complaint and settlement of complaints within the Army, Defence Minister’s Circular 143/2014/TT-BQP regulating the training work, labour safety and hygiene in the Army. Units in cooperation with the Arm’s functional agencies and stationed localities conducted propaganda and education on prevention and control of drugs, prostitution, HIV and social evils among students in the area, greatly contributing to building safe and stable areas.

Also, the Arm’s Party Committee and Command have frequently completed the structure of the Council for Coordination in Law Dissemination and Education. Annually, basing on directives, programs, plans and guidance of higher authorities, the Council suggests the Arm’s Party Committee and Command lines and measures for law dissemination and education, assigning its members to work with functional agencies to direct, guide, inspect and execute the work within the Arm. At the same time, it reviews, supplements and completes regulations and plans for operation, promoting the role of commissars, political commissars, political offices and cadres at levels in guiding and inspecting the implementation of the work, while organizing training courses and experience exchange activities to enhance the efficiency of this work. Notably, great importance has been attached to forming teams of law lecturers at all levels, particularly at grass-roots level. These teams are under the direct leadership of same-level party committees and organizations and the direction of commissars, political commissars and commanders, and operate according to plans made by political offices. Members of these teams are cadres who posses credibility, good command of law and teaching methodology.

To bring law propagation, dissemination and education to daily life of its troops, the Arm has directed units to actively renew and diversify forms of the implementation, with the form of law study as the basic one. Accordingly, as for officers and professional personnel, brigades and equivalent units hold training courses. Battalions and companies with full strength hold annual training courses for non-commissioned officers and soldiers. Units of the Arm have frequently supplemented and renewed system of panels and slogan billboards, while promoting the role of mass media and internal radio systems in law propagation, dissemination and education, prevention and control of drugs, prostitution, HIV, and propagation of smoking evils and traffic law. They have also included law propagation, dissemination and education in cultural and spiritual meetings, youth forums, mass art festivals, the emulation movement “effectiveness, order and discipline, determination to win”, the campaign “Managing and exploiting weapons and technical equipment successfully, enduringly, safely, economically, and Traffic Safety”. Mass organizations in cooperation with twinned units in stationed area have organized exchange activities staging content of traffic order and safety with the message “Youth and traffic culture”.

The Arm has requested that its cadre staff, particularly key cadres posses considerate conduct, match their words with action and be really examples in self-improvement and discipline practice. Cadres and troops performing their task independently or working in small teams separating from higher authorities’ direction and management should heighten self-awareness of observing State law, Army discipline and regulations of the Arm. Throughout realities of operation, there have appeared creative, effective models, such as “Everyday an article of law to study”, “Training field newspaper box”, and “pocket-sized draft”. As for the model of “everyday an article of law to study”, commanders of units would include the content of that article in bulletin board and panels for troops to study. The “Training Field Newspaper Boxes” have been designed in a lean, light, easy-to-carry manner. The model of “Pocket-Sized Draft”, indeed, is a “Dictionary of Soldiers” or a “Manual of Soldiers” including necessary content of law, army regulations, etc., making it easy for them to carry and study by themselves, contributing to raising their awareness of observance of discipline and building conduct of revolutionary soldiers.

The Arm has always seriously maintained the “Law Day” and operation of “Law Book Shelf” and “Law Book Section”. Basing on their situation, tasks, and groups of soldiers, units hold the “Law Day” once a month in accordance with reality, directives and guidance of higher authorities. The “Law Day” focuses on introduction of new legal documents and information of the discipline situation in the whole military and units of the Arm, while holding democratic talk on measures for prevention and minimization of discipline violation in offices and units. To produce the effectiveness of Law Book Shelves and Sections, units have proactively exploited higher authorities’ sources of materials, used those materials alternately, bought and collected materials from individuals, meeting troops’ demands for study and reference. Units have raised responsibility of cadres and manager staff towards management of materials, setting up a movement of reading law books and newspapers. Moreover, the Arm has stepped up the building of regularity and cultural environment as well as the improvement of its troops’ material and spiritual life.

Executing the above-mentioned lines and measures, in the first 6 months of 2017, the Arm’s observance of observance has witnessed positive changes, particularly in training, observance of traffic law, greatly contributing to fulfilment of all assigned tasks.

Snr. Col. Le Xuan Cat

Commissar of the Arm