Over the past years, under the leadership and direction of the Military Region Party Commission and High Command, the Determination-to-Win Emulation movement among the Armed Forces of Military Region 2 has always followed the political tasks of agencies and units, creating great motivation for officials and soldiers to successfully complete all assigned tasks.

In the Determination-to-Win Emulation movement among the Armed Forces of the Military Region, there have been several new models with rich and creative contents and forms which are increasingly in-depth, essential, and effective, directly contributing to improving leadership capacity and fighting power of party organizations. They have also encouraged officials and soldiers in the Military Region to actively cultivate, train, and well perform the work of training and combat readiness and created positive changes in regular construction and observance of the Army’s disciplines and State laws.

The distinctive feature of the Determination-to-Win Emulation movement among the Armed Forces of the Military Region is that such movement is closely linked to the Patriotic Emulation movement; the implementation of Directive No.05-CT/TW of the Politburo (the 12^th Tenure) and the 4^th Party Central Resolution (the 11^th and 12^th Tenures); and the Campaign on "Promoting tradition and dedicating talent to be worthy of Uncle Ho's soldiers" and programs, namely "The Army joint in hands to build new rural areas", "Hunger eradication and poverty reduction" , "Recompense and Gratitude", etc. Along with promoting the Determination-to-Win Emulation movement, agencies and units have also actively coordinated with the local Party committees and authorities in well performing military and defense tasks; actively participated in overcoming consequences of natural disasters, floods, and search and rescue; built a strong political base; and well implemented the policy work. At the same time, they have also actively involved in twinning and coordinating with Lao People's Army units to help the people of Northern Lao provinces build secure and safe villages and hamlets and coordinated to organize the Vietnam-China border friendship exchange program to practically build the border line of peace, friendship, cooperation, and development. Through the Determination-to-Win Emulation movement, numerous typical and advanced collectives and individuals of the Military Region’s Armed Forces have been honored and rewarded by all levels, branches, and localities. It is a vivid evidence that shows the vitality and effectiveness of the movement among the Military Region’s Armed Forces.

Besides the achieved results, awareness of a part of officials and soldiers on the position and role of emulation and commendation work, and the Determination-to-Win Emulation movement, however, has not been really adequate. Moreover, the role model detection, fostering, and replication has not been given sufficient attention while the reward is not timely. These limitations, which  have partly reduce the effect and efficiency of the Determination-to-Win Emulation movement among the Military Region’s Armed Forces, require the Party committees and commanders at all levels to soon learn from experience and take remedial measures.

Lt Gen Phung Si Tan checking the firing range of Phu Tho Provincial Military Command in June 2019 (Photo: baoquankhu2.com.vn)

In the coming time, the military and defense missions are posing an increasing demand for the Military Region’s Armed Forces. Besides the advantages, there are many difficulties and challenges in the Military Region as the ethnic minorities' life is still facing many difficulties; border security issues, transnational crimes, free migration, natural disasters, floods and storms, and illegal evangelical activities are still complicated. Meanwhile, hostile forces continue to take advantage of the issues of ethnicity, religion, democracy, human rights, or cyberspace, etc. to provoke, entice, and bribe the people to form "hot spots" that destabilize political security, social order, and safety or create bad publicity to promote "self-evolution" and "self-transformation" among the Military Region’s Armed Forces. Facing such situation, in order for the Determination-to-Win Emulation movement to continue to be maintained, reinforced, and developed, the Military Region’s Armed Forces should focus on synchronous implementation of a number of basic solutions as follows.

Firstly, strengthen the leadership and direction of the Party committees and commanders at all levels for emulation, commendation, and Determination-to-Win Emulation movement. In order for the movement to win its purposes, the Military Region requests the Party committees and commanders at all levels to focus on leading and directing propaganda and education for officials and soldiers to firmly grasp the Party's views and guidelines and the resolutions, directives, and instructions of the higher levels on emulation and commendation and the Determination-to-Win Emulation movement to create strong changes in understanding, awareness, and responsibility of officials, soldiers, and defense workers and employees, especially those heads of units at all levels and arouse the sense of self-awareness, creativity, and spirit of overcoming difficulties and hardships to build perseverant and continuous striving motives for each collective and individual to successfully complete all assigned tasks. At the same time, attention should be paid to caring, fostering, and constantly improving the capacity of advising, directing, and guiding the emulation activities of political agencies, and councils (teams) of emulation and commendation at all levels. Importance should also be attached to building mass organizations (Youth Union, Women's Union, Trade Union, etc.) to create a favorable environment for the development of emulation and commendation movements.

Secondly, continue to innovate the contents, forms, and measures to implement the emulation and commendation work and the Determination-to-Win Emulation movement in accordance with the characteristics and tasks of each unit. With the goal of aiming at the grassroots level, the Determination-to-Win Emulation movement of agencies and units should focus on improving the quality of planning and innovating the organization methods and measures to ensure that the emulation movements develop substantially, continuously, and firmly, avoiding formalism, show-off, and credit-driven practice. In the process of organizing the implementation, it is necessary to attach the regular emulation to the peak and campaign emulation and focus on breakthroughs in extraordinary tasks, long-term weaknesses, and hard and new work that require high determination and effort. The contents of the emulation movements should be combined with the contents and requirement of Directive No.05-CT/TW of the Politburo on promoting learning and following Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, morality, and style; 4^th Central Party Committee’s Resolution (the 12^th Tenure) on building and reorganizing the Party; and campaigns and emulation movements of the sectors (advisory, political, logistic, technical, financial, etc.) and mass organizations, etc to create a synergy to bring the movement to a new height. In particular, attention should be put on promoting the implementation of the Campaign "Promoting tradition and dedicating talent to be worthy of Uncle Ho's soldiers ", Directive No.53-CT/ĐU of the Military Region’s Party Commission on raising responsibility of heads of units all levels among the Military Region’s Armed Forces to create strong changes and improve the quality and effectiveness of the implementation of "Three breakthroughs" in training, maneuvers, and combat readiness, staffing, discipline, regular construction, and effective application of information technology in direction, commanding, and administration of tasks. Agencies and units need to create more forms of emulation in order to create a positive and breakthrough change to successfully complete regular and extraordinary political tasks.

Thirdly, focusing on detecting, fostering, and replicating advanced examples. Agencies and units need to keep abreast of Plan No.510/KH-CT on "Building and replicating advanced examples in the Army" and Plan No.471/ KH-CT on "Propagandizing emulation movements, advanced examples, and new models in the implementation of military and defense tasks” of the General Department of Politics. It is also necessary to proactively build up plans for fostering and building advanced examples to closely follow reality with clearly purposes, requirements, and contents and high feasibility. Concurrently, various forms of propaganda should be applied, including visits, talks, exchanges, organization of the Determination-to-Win Emulation meetings and advanced example honoring to  create spreading and extensive effects.

Fourthly, strictly implementing the regulations on commendation. It is necessary to perform the work of commendation to put such work in order, ensuring publicity, democracy, fairness, accuracy, right people, right jobs, right achievements, and timeliness. In reviewing emulation and commendation titles, agencies and units should keep abreast of the standards,  guidelines, regulations, and results of implementing emulation targets of each collective and individual as registered. Special importance should be attached to commending collectives and individuals with outstanding achievements in extraordinary tasks, training, preventing and combating storms and floods, searching and rescuing, etc. to remedy improper commendation and deviations in emulation and commendation.

Finally, closely combining the Determination-to-Win Emulation among the Military Region’s Armed Forces with the patriotic emulation movement in the locality. Agencies and units, in addition to continuing to promote the effective implementation of the movements such as "The Army joint hands to build new style rural areas", "The Army joins hands for the poor, for no one left behind", "Raising children’s steps to school", ... need to actively coordinate with the local Party committees and authorities to participate in hunger eradication and poverty reduction programs, strengthen the building of a strong grassroots political system and prevention natural disasters and search and rescue. For the local armed forces, it is necessary to promote the role of advising the Party committees and authorities at the same level to lead and direct the construction of the province and district defense areas in depth and more firmly and attach socio-economic development with strengthening national defense and security. Border Guard and economic-defense units, basing on their functions and tasks, should well implement propaganda and mobilization of people to strictly abide by the Party's guidelines and policies, the State laws and regularly follow and master the areas to actively support the people in developing their economy through creative and practical models to improve the material and spiritual life.

Along with that, the Determination-to-Win Emulation movement should be also aimed at implementing defense foreign affairs, attaching defense diplomacy to people's diplomacy. Through good organization of specific activities, such as shared patrol and friendship and defense exchange between the authorities and people of the local areas on both sides of the border and coordination in martyr grave searching and collection…, it will contribute to upholding political security, strengthening national defense, enhancing strategic beliefs, and promptly discovering, preventing, and smashing all the conspiracy of enemy forces to protect the areas and maintain national sovereignty in all situations.

Lieutenant-General Phung Si Tan, Commander of the Military Region