Continuing to promote studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality, and style according to Conclusion No. -1/KL/TW dated May 18, 2021, of the Politburo (13^th tenure) is a crucial and enduring aspect for the entire Party, people, and military. By thoroughly grasping this spirit, Naval Squadron 128 under the Navy, with its determination, dynamism, and creativity, has taken numerous comprehensive measures, both fulfilling national defence and security tasks and actively participating in the country’s socio-economic development process.

The Naval Squadron 128, which is formerly known as the Armed Fishing Unit, was established on October 12, 1971, to meet the requirements of further improving the maritime management capabilities of the Navy while creating a foundation for the Navy to fulfil the task of combining economic development with national defence.  Throughout over half a century of construction, fighting, production, business, and development, the Naval Squadron 128, also known as the Single-member Limited Liability Company 128, has overcome all difficulties and challenges to attain numerous outstanding achievements, enhancing the tradition of “Being united and creative; overcoming difficulties; maritime protection, profitable production, and effective management”.

Currently, the tasks of protecting national sovereignty over seas and islands, building a comprehensively strong “exemplary and typical” Naval Squadron, integration, development, and the restructuring and rearrangement of enterprises are setting increasingly high and comprehensive requirements for the Naval Squadron 128. Meanwhile, there are difficulties for the Naval Squadron, including the large operational area, unsynchronised equipment, ships, and vehicles, fierce competition in business activities from other enterprises, etc. To successfully fulfil the assigned tasks, along with thoroughly grasping and implementing the resolutions and directives of the Party, the Central Military Commission, the Ministry of National Defence, directly from the Navy’s Party Committee and High Command on military and national defence work, the Naval Squadron 128’s Party Committee and commanders determined that it is necessary to continue to lead and direct to promote studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality, and style as outlined in Conclusion No. 01-KL/TW of the Politburo (13^th tenure). This will create a powerful transformation in terms of perception, ideology, and actions for officers, soldiers, and workers in carrying out their duties. During this process, besides maintaining a high level of political determination, the Naval Squadron 128 applies a comprehensive range of measures, focusing on the key aspects as follows:

Firstly, strengthening education and raising awareness among officers, soldiers, and workers about the importance of studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality, and style. This is a crucial and decisive aspect aimed at motivating officers and soldiers to study and follow Uncle Ho’s thought, morality, and style, especially in terms of self-reliance, self-strength, and arousing the desire for a prosperous and happy country. The Naval Squadron 128’s Party Committee and commanders have enhanced guidance for agencies and units, particularly those on long-term maritime missions for safety assurance of national oil and gas facilities at sea, search and rescue operations, and response to oil spills. Accordingly, these agencies and units flexibly incorporate the study and application of Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality, and style into annual political education plans. This process aims to unify the perception of officers, soldiers, and workers of the Naval Squadron, making them understand that Marxism - Leninism and Ho Chi Minh’s thought serve as the ideological foundation and guiding compass for the Party’s actions and that Uncle Ho’s thought, morality, and style act as the driving force and a tremendous source of strength for the Party, the people, and the military to unleash their internal strength to overcome difficulties and challenges, thus successfully implementing the Resolution of the 13^th Party Congress. Studying and following Uncle Ho’s example should become a regular and continuous practice for party organisations, agencies, units as well as officers, soldiers, and workers. Additionally, units focus on thoroughly grasping and strictly implementing Resolution No. 847-NQ/QUTW dated December 28, 2021, of the Central Military Commission on promoting the qualities of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers” and resolutely combating individualism in the new situation. They also prioritise specialised topics on studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality, and style, ensuring suitable and appropriate content, timing, and quality for each target group within the unit. During the implementation process, the Naval Squadron 128 attaches importance to the application and contextualisation of these principles according to the specific characteristics and tasks of their agencies and units. This aims to achieve unity and understanding and responsibilities among party committees and commanders at all levels, as well as party members and the masses, towards the assigned duties and tasks, while upholding the spirit of serving the country and the people, deserving the title of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers - Navy Soldiers”.

The squadron present flags to fishermen

Secondly, closely combining studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality, and style with implementing political tasks of units. Based on the assigned tasks and the five characteristics of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers” and the ten manifestations of individualism summarised in Resolution No. 847-NQ/QUTW, the Naval Squadron 128 supplements and perfects the six criteria of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers - Navy Soldiers” in the new period to make them suitable to the characteristics, functions, and assigned tasks. The party committees at all levels continue to supplement plans to strengthen the study and application of Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality, and style, aligning them with the implementation of the unit’s programmes and action plans. It is necessary to select key contents, with an emphasis on the breakthrough stage of “Enhancing the effectiveness of controlling and managing maritime areas and the quality of proposing recommendations”; innovating and improving the quality of patrols and reconnaissance; being ready to carry out search and rescue missions, respond to oil spills, protect and assist fishermen in coastal areas and islands; “Renewing and improving competitive capacity; developing and maximising the effectiveness of new sectors”; focusing on the main sectors that bring high economic efficiency; combining sustainable development with the task of national defence and security. Each individual draws up their commitments and registers striving plans linked to their assigned responsibilities and task; regularly reporting their process so that the party cells can monitor, inspect, and supervise. The registered striving plans focus on enhancing awareness and responsibility in the implementation of the unit’s political tasks; promoting the exemplary role of officers and party members; enhancing the quality of political education, combat training, and protection of maritime sovereignty; strengthening discipline and regularity, practising thrift, combating corruption and wastefulness, etc. During the implementation process, each agency, unit, and party member elevate their responsibility for studying and following President Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality, and style under the motto of “the superiors set good examples for their subordinates to study” and “party members take the lead, and the masses follow”. To make it effective, the Naval Squadron 128’s Party Committee and commanders require party committees, political commissars, junior political commissars, and political agencies to enhance their leadership and direction and to promote the pioneering and exemplary role of officers and party members, particularly the commanding officers. Actions should go hand in hand with words and are carried out effectively in accordance with the set plans and action programmes. This serves as one of the criteria for evaluating, rewarding, and assessing the performance of officers, the quality of party members and youth union members, etc. At the same time, leaders and commanders at all levels are required to proactively grasp the situation, make accurate forecasts, provide proper orientations, and promptly handle ideological issues right from the grassroots level.

Thirdly, promoting the pioneering and exemplary role of officers and party members, especially the commanding officers at all levels. The units under the Naval Squadron 128 have to station over a wide area and execute long-term missions at sea while carrying out offshore fishing activities, supporting and protecting fishermen, and supervising fishing operations independently without higher echelons’ leadership and direction. Consequently, the Naval Squadron 128’s Party Committee and commanders require that the leaders and commanders of units demonstrate steadfast ideology and correct viewpoints while daring to think, act, and take responsibility. Additionally, they should adopt a leadership and commanding style that is scientific, democratic, and closely connected to the practice so that they are truly the nucleus of unity that unite and unleash collective intelligence. Indeed, they should be serious in self-criticism and criticism, resolutely defending the right actions and fiercely combating the wrong ones. Regularly organising effective political “self-reflection and self-correction”, self-criticism, and criticism sessions that help officers, party members, and the masses to accurately assess their performance so that they can promptly overcome limitations and shortcomings. Therefore, the leaders and commanders can clearly identify their role models in studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality, and style, “setting examples, taking the lead, being resolute in their work, and implementing the motto of “talk the talk, walk the walk”. Moreover, they should train and cultivate themselves while maintaining their moral qualities and lifestyle; proactively overcome difficulties to excel in fulfilling their assigned tasks; being willing to sacrifice themselves to firmly protect the sacred national sovereignty over seas and islands, thus setting shining examples for subordinate officers and soldiers to follow.

Finally, it is crucial to strengthen inspection and supervision of the implementation of Conclusion No. 01-KL/TW associated with the work of Party building and rectification. To make this process effective, the Party Committee, Inspection Committee, and all-level party committees and party cells should proactively formulate inspection and supervision plans of party organisations and party members based on their functions and tasks that are linked to the inspection and supervision of studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality, and style. Importance is attached to nurturing and cultivating political qualities, moral qualities, organisational discipline, and the performance of tasks, in order to timely detect signs of violations, thus rectifying, preventing, and resolutely handling collectives and individuals with distorted thinking and misconducts. It is necessary that the Naval Squadron 128’s Party Committee and commanders strengthen the inspection of the implementation of Conclusion No. 01-KL/TW in agencies and units as planned and ad hoc. The supervising role of mass organisations over party organisations, officers, and party members in fulfilling their responsibilities, especially the leadership of party committees and commanders at all levels, should be well utilised through study, work, meetings, and performance of tasks. Additionally, good work should be carried out in preliminaries and summaries that assess the study and application of Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality, and style; timely recognitions and rewards should be given to collectives and individuals who have achieved outstanding results by devising innovative models and effective approaches, thereby promoting the dissemination of studying and following Uncle Ho’s example.

Besides the aforementioned measures, the Naval Squadron 128’s Party Committee and commanders guide party committees and commanders at all levels to leverage their dynamism and creativity to flexibly apply Conclusion No. 01-KL/TW in accordance with their task requirements, making the study and application of Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality, and style a self-motivated need and a regular practice for organisations and individuals, help them to actively nurture and cultivate themselves, overcome difficulties to successfully fulfil their assigned tasks. Consequently, it contributes to the construction of a comprehensively strong, “exemplary and typical”, integrated and developed Naval Squadron that has high-level combat readiness, joining hands with other forces in the Navy to firmly protect the sacred national sovereignty over seas and islands.

Colonel HOANG DINH TUAN, Commander of the Squadron