On September 10^th 1974, the General Technical Department (GTD) was founded as a specialized office in charge of counselling, directing, and performing the technical work across the Military. Over the past 45 years of construction, combat, combat support, and development, under the direct leadership and direction of the Central Military Commission (CMC) and the Ministry of National Defence (MND), the GTD and the Military Technical Branch (MTB) have surmounted all difficulties, successfully fulfilled the assigned task, and made great contributions to building the Military, consolidating national defence, and defending the Homeland.

In recent years, the MTB and especially the GTD have well performed their function, proactively advised the CMC and MND on measures for raising the quality and effectiveness of the technical work in each period, and promoted their core role in directing and carrying out this work, thereby making solid progress in the technical work. It should be noted that the MTB has actively contributed to realizing the Party and State’s guidelines on building the revolutionary, regular, elite, gradually modern Military with several forces moving forward to modernity, achieving a fundamental reform in the Military’s materiel and combat strength, and making the Military capable of all tasks, particularly sea and island defence, natural disaster prevention and control, and search and rescue.

Lt. Gen. Le Quy Dam addressing the conference on the Navy’s plan for the technical work in 2020

Currently, the task of Military build-up, national defence consolidation, and Homeland protection has new developments and imposes more demanding requirements on the MTB. Meanwhile, its organizational structure, equipment, and technical support capacity have yet to keep pace with those developments, and the technical support work is confronted with a lot of difficulties and challenges, especially the impacts by the 4^th industrial revolution. To fulfil its assigned task, the MTB continues synchronously taking measures for making itself strong as the basis for raising the quality and effectiveness of the technical work.

To that end, the MTB has consolidated the organizational structure of technical offices and units at all levels, while actively proposing measures for renewing and completing the method of leadership and direction over the technical work. The GTD has continued to grasp the Party’s guidelines on the military-defence task and resolutions and directives by the CMC and MND as the basis for enhancing its capability in research and the quality of giving advice to all-level party committees and commands, particularly at the strategic level on the military technical work. Emphasis has been placed on counselling and directing the restructuring of the MTB and making the MTB “compact, strong, uniformed” at the three levels in line with the reorganization of the Vietnam People’s Army towards 2021 and the particularities of the work of technical support for materiel and especially for the forces moving forward to modernity. The GTD has advised the MND on completing the system of legal documents as the basis for raising the efficiency of leadership, direction, and management of the technical work. Focuses have been placed on renewing the method of technical support and the mechanism for technical operation; supplementing the guiding documents and regulations on the technical work across the Military in accord with the road map for materiel modernization; completing the regulations on the technical work’s standardization and the building of comprehensively strong technical offices and units at all levels; adjusting, building, and completing the technological regulations and procedures for the technical operations; building the targets of technical support for materiel. In addition, the MTB has reviewed and proposed measures for acquiring, producing, and modernizing materiel. It has cooperated with localities in combining economic development with consolidation of technical potential and posture within defensive zones; raising the quality of building the reserve technical force; formulating policies to encourage and mobilize social resources and industries to serve the technical work in the market economy’s condition; working out the mechanisms and regulations for cooperation with civilian establishments in using and repairing hi-tech equipment; fostering international cooperation in the military technical field.

To follow the motto “the technical work must be one step ahead”, the MTB has mobilized resources to improve the capacity and quality of all-level technical establishments. The GTD has advised the MND on upgrading, standardizing, and modernizing the system of technical stations and workshops within the Military. At the same time, it has actively implemented the projects on modernizing technical equipment to improve the technical support capacity of the technical force within the Military, with significance attached to the units which have just been equipped with new-generation materiel and to the forces in charge of protecting border, sea, and island sovereignty. In the medium term, it continues to direct the implementation of the projects approved by the MND, such as the Project on adjusting and supplementing the system of arms depots within the Military in the period of 2018-2025 and beyond, the Project on the system of establishments for repairing materiel across the Military. Moreover, it better implements the projects for military factories to gradually master the technology and improve the capabilities in producing materials and repairing materiel. It step by step upgrades stations and workshops at the strategic and tactical levels and provide them with more modern equipment to enhance their capability in on-spot and mobile repair. Besides, consideration is given to enhancing the capacity of technical depots so as to ensure the absolute safety, maintain and extend the lifespan of materiel, especially new-generation, rare one. The technical force at all levels continues to promote its core role in implementing the key technical programs and targets under the preset road map. Great value should be attached to mastering the work of technical support for hi-tech and modernized materiel; applying the achievements of the 4^th industrial revolution to raising the quality of repair, maintenance and preservation at all levels; maintaining and improving the technical coefficient of groups of weapons under the regulations. The MTB inspects and manages the quality of products, applies advanced standards to testing and supervising the quality of materiel and material repair, production, and acquisition, and cooperates with factories in preparing and manufacturing materials and spare parts, particularly the specialized ones, ensuring the regular repair and combat reserve. All-level technical offices and units, particularly research centres and technical support establishments at the strategic and campaign levels should promote scientific research and technical initiatives and innovations. Priority should be given to applying scientific advances to meeting the urgent demands for repairing and using materiel, especially new-generation one as well as preserving weapons and manufacturing materials in order to achieve a breakthrough in the technical work.

Notably, the MTB continues to build a contingent of hi-calibre technical cadres and employees as a key measure and an urgent and long-term matter. The GTD continues to direct the development of the technical human resources with proper quantity and structure, comprehensive quality, and professional standardization. In this regard, great value should be attached to training and developing a pool of top experts and technicians in the key, hi-tech areas as the core force in the work of technical support, particularly for new-generation weapons and equipment. In the upcoming time, the MTB continues to review and formulate the plan on training and using the technical staff; diversify forms of training and education; align personnel planning, training, and use with the road map for modernizing the Military. The GTD requires offices and units to actively renew the technical training work under the Resolution 765-NQ/QUTW by the CMC; stringently maintain the order for technical training; diversify forms of technical training; continue renewing the content and forms of refresher courses comprehensively, in accordance with the task, groups of technical cadres, technical work, and existing weapons and equipment. Importance should be attached to training on exploitation and mastery of new-generation weapons and equipment and training on safety maintenance during the exploitation process. Moreover, the MTB continues to study and propose special policies to recruit hi-quality technical human resources.

In addition, the MTB continues to step up the implementation of emulation movements and campaigns, with a focus on the Campaign entitled “managing and exploiting weapons and technical equipment in a sustainable, effective, safe, economical manner and traffic safety” in line with the Determination to Win Emulation Movement and the Politburo’s 05-CT/TW on studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, morality, and lifestyle as the basis for raising the quality and effectiveness of the technical work and making technical offices and units comprehensively strong. To do so, technical offices and units should strictly implement the Guidance 2534/HD-KT by the GTD and concretize and make the content of the Campaign relevant to their condition. Due attention should be paid to managing and standardizing technical offices and units as well as their technical work. To make it effective, units should encourage and multiply standard, comprehensively strong technical models; organize technical contests at all levels; upgrade their facilities; strictly maintain the regulations on managing weapons and equipment and ensuring training, traffic, and cyber information safety; encourage troops to more actively, creatively, and effectively the Campaign.

Promoting the tradition of “being proactive, creative, and self-reliant”, the MTB will strive to successfully perform its function and assigned task so as to make significant contributions to the Military build-up and Homeland protection.

Lt. Gen. Le Quy Dam

Director of the GTD