New developments in the Military’s mission requirements in 2019 demand that the work of military logistics be done with a wide variety of significant targets and contents. Together with the logistic branch as the core, the entire Military needs to actively and proactively grasp the situations on all fronts, and take synchronous and drastic measures to successfully accomplish those targets.

In 2018, in the face of numerous difficulties, the work of military logistics recorded encouraging achievements as a result of the entire Military’s tireless efforts. The Military Logistic Branch (hereinafter the MLB) closely adhered to military-defence directions and missions and national socio-economic scenarios to give proactive recommendations and effectively implement the logistical work, contributing to the entire Military’s successful execution of every assigned task, as evidenced by continued innovation and enhanced quality of some aspects of the logistical work and great improvements in soldiers’ lives and health. In particular, the MLB played a leading role in advising the Central Military Commission (CMC) and the Ministry of National Defence (MoD) to properly conduct the overall assessment of 10 years of executing Resolution No. 28-NQ/TW by the Politburo (10^th tenure) within the MLB as a basis for logistically building strong defensive zones, meeting the requirements of protecting the Homeland in the new situation.

The year 2019 is not merely the decisive determinant of carrying out Resolutions of the 12^th National Party Congress and the 10^th Military Party Congress, but also the first year of implementing renovated regulations on military financial management under the Law on State Budget. The whole Military’s execution of significant and breakthrough missions, especially the streamlining of force and organizational structure and training and combat readiness ones have imposed more demanding requirements on the MLB, which is confronted with limited resources and complicated developments pertaining to epidemics, environmental pollution, and climate change, etc. In order to successfully complete set targets, the whole Military, first and foremost the MLB, needs to take proactive, creative, independent, and comprehensive measures to effectively carry out the logistic work with an emphasis on several following contents

1. Properly fulfilling its function as a logistically advisory agency for the CMC and MoD and units’ party committees and commandants. Logistical agencies at all levels need to tightly grasp higher echelons’ resolutions and directives, especially Resolution of the 8^th Plenum of the Party Central Committee (11^th tenure) on “Strategies for Homeland protection in the new situation”; Resolution No. 623-NQ/QUTW by the CMC on “the work of Military Logistics towards 2020 and beyond” whilst regularly grasping all the situations as a basis for giving advice on the logistical work at strategic level in line with military-defence mission requirements of Homeland protection in the new situation. In particular, great value is attached to giving advice on streamlining organizational structure of logistic forces in conformity with the Military’s planning for force structure and modernization process and the planning for strategy-and-operation-level logistical posture; combining the methods of guaranteeing logistic supplies with the innovation of regulations on financial management, etc. On the basis of the overall assessment of 10 years of implementing Resolution No. 28 by the Politburo within the MLB and the preliminary assessment of executing Resolution No. 623 by the CMC, offices and units, first and foremost the logistical ones under the General Department of Logistics, Military Regions, and municipal and provincial Military Commands need to continue to counsel the MoD and local administrations to strengthen the logistical building of defensive areas; to combine socioeconomic development with the building of logistical posture and potential in key and strategic military and defence areas.

2. Proactively making logistically meticulous and timely preparations for combat readiness missions and contingencies. In response to increasingly complicated situations and higher requirements of the missions of Homeland defence, all-level logistic agencies need to proactively take the initiative in making thorough preparations in every situation with an emphasis on formulating and perfecting logistical documents for combat and natural disaster relief and search and rescue missions whilst strictly maintaining logistic regimes for combat readiness missions and intensifying training missions and drills to improve logistical mobility. In addition, priorities should be given to provide adequate logistical supplies for forces in charge of protecting sea, island, and border sovereignty and units stationed in key areas; to take measures to manage logistic reserves for combat readiness missions and national defence. Offices of the General Department of Logistics need to examine and categorize logistical supplies and equipment earmarked for combat readiness missions in line with units’ peculiarities; to continue to research and innovate logistical materials and equipment to lighten soldiers’ loads on field trips; to synchronize logistical equipment and vehicles with technical equipment and weapons, meeting the requirement of modernizing the Military.

3. Taking drastic measures to improve the quality of the logistic work. Following Conclusion No. 86-KL/QUTW, dated 25-01-2018 by the CMC, Army-wide party committees and commandants at all levels need to focus their leadership and directions on fostering synergy amongst relevant forces to successfully achieve set logistical goals with an emphasis on reforming methods of guaranteeing logistic supplies in accord with new regulations on financial management; encouraging practices of thrift and fighting wastefulness and corruption, and improving soldiers’ living standards.

Accordingly, the ordnance work needs to concentrate on ensuring soldiers’ basic necessities and actively performing the work of inspection and supervision over food hygiene and enhancing horticultural activities and animal husbandry in a bid to raise soldiers’ quality of meals. Grounded in attained results, the Ordnance Department has focused on properly executing the Project entitled “Socializing some military messes in the 2018 - 2020 period and beyond” and adequately guaranteeing units’ mess utensils and equipment. The whole Military accelerates the multiplication of 3-level models of horticulture and animal husbandry in line with units’ particularities with great weight attached to diversifying livestock and plants and combining development of horticulture and animal husbandry with communal messes; actively boosting horticultural activities and animal husbandry in logistical bases and the rear defensive areas; and aligning development of horticulture and animal husbandry with that of local economy in strategic, remote, border, and island areas.

The military medical agencies need to closely collaborate with a system of preventive medicine in preventing epidemics; to foster health care for soldiers; and attach great importance to heightening the quality of health care at grassroots level whilst directing effective implementation of military health insurance and maintaining the rate of healthy troops at 98.5%. Military hospitals and clinics need to bolster the execution of financial autonomy; actively apply modern technologies to improve the quality of hospital admissions and treatment while attaching great value to combining traditional medicine with modern one; well carrying out the administration of medications and the management of medical equipment; continuing to cooperate with the Ministry of Health and local administrations in enhancing civic-military medical coordination and enthusiastically participating in the work of protecting and caring for people’s health under the Party’s strategic directions.

The barracks work needs to focus on finalizing barracks master plans and stepping up the implementation of approved projects and construction. It needs to proactively give advice on maintaining procedures for and regulations on basic construction investment; strengthen inspection and supervision over construction progress and quality and investment effectiveness while adequately providing basic utilities for soldiers, especially for units stationed in remote, border, and island areas. The entire Military continues to mobilize resources to upgrade a system of barracks in an effort to create green, clean, and beautiful barracks precincts, and strives to successfully accomplish targets of the barracks work set by Resolution No. 623. In addition, the whole Military must pay special regard to the use and management of defence land; actively collaborate with local administrations in hastening the regularization of defence lands and handing the Military residential areas over to the latter.

For the work of petroleum management, petroleum management agencies and units need to proactively grasp market situations and do petroleum planning in order of priority in a stable and firm manner. Offices and units publicly provide petrol rations for their affiliates, strictly manage and inspect petrol use, and continue to save 10 percent of early-year petrol quota. The Petroleum Department continues to direct the execution of investment projects to upgrade a system of petrol depots at all levels, especially strategic ones, and acquire and innovate petroleum materials and equipment, meeting routine and combat readiness missions.

The transportation work is subject to multiple complex factors. The Transport Agency and units need to proactively exploit and effectively use provided vehicles with safety provisions coming first whilst cooperating with the Technical Agency in repairing and maintaining military vehicles to a high technical specification; and accelerating the implementation of investment projects to upgrade transport capability within budget.

4. Actively streamlining organizational structure of and enhancing capacity for logistic agencies at all levels, which is considered to be one of the key missions of the logistic work in 2019. Logistical agencies at all levels need to thoroughly comprehend higher echelons’ directions, and proactively give advice to party committees and commandants on streamlining the MLB’s organizational structure in line with mission requirements and the Military’s organizational planning towards 2021 whilst stepping up the work of education to enhance political willpower, work ethics, and professionalism for a contingent of logistic cadres and employees and enacting breakthrough reform in building the elite, compact, and strong MLB. Units actively renovate forms and contents of logistical training and refresher courses in a practical and effective fashion, and attach great importance to improving legal knowledge on all fronts for logistical cadres at all levels. Competent agencies within the General Department of Logistics actively research and supplement logistical quotas as a basis for enacting the Military’s new regulations on financial management. Simultaneously, logistical offices and units need to bolster emulation movements with an emphasis on the proper implementation of the emulation movement “the MLB follows Uncle Ho’s teachings”, giving added impetus to successfully obtaining set targets and criteria, contributing to the triumphant execution of military-defence missions in 2019 in unison with the entire Military.

Major General Tran Duy Giang, Head of the General Department of Logistics