Since its launch, the Campaign titled “managing and exploiting weapons and technical equipment effectively, sustainably, safely, economically, and ensuring traffic safety,” aka the Campaign 50, has become a major emulation movement with wide and deep spillover effects throughout the Military, greatly contributing to improving the quality of technical assurance for the Military build-up, national defence consolidation, and the Homeland protection.

Facing the urgent requirements of reality, on March 14^th, 1995, the Minister of National Defence issued the Directive 216/CT-QP on launching the Campaign entitled “managing and exploiting weapons and technical equipment effectively, sustainably, safely, economically” within the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA). The campaign was seriously implemented by all units, especially the Technical Branch, thus initially bringing about positive results. In order to match the new situation, on January 10^th, 1998, the Minister of National Defence issued the Directive 50/CT-QP on continuing promoting the campaign titled “managing and exploiting weapons and technical equipment effectively, sustainably, safely, economically” within the Military in the period of national industrialisation and modernisation, in which the objective of ensuring traffic safety was added (the Campaign 50 for short). Since then, under the leadership, direction and organisation of all-level party committees, commands and Steering Boards 50, the Campaign has always been closely associated with the Determination to Win Emulation Movement and others to promote the synergy and improve the task performance of offices and units across the VPA. Thanks to the Campaign, the management, exploitation, storage, preservation, maintenance and repair of weapons and technical equipment have seen many innovations. The work of synchronising, manufacturing, upgrading and modernising weapons and equipment has achieved good results. The technical coefficients of materiel in the whole VPA have always been guaranteed to opportunely serve training, combat readiness, search and rescue, and other unexpected missions. Safety assurance in the exploitation of weapons and technical equipment and labour safety have been getting better and better. Furthermore, there has been a significant change in traffic safety. Specifically, the number of safe kilometres of military vehicles has always exceeded the set target. After 5 preliminary reviews, the number of cases, deaths, and injuries has decreased. At the same time, the Campaign has promoted the movement of technical research, initiative, and innovation to save the budget significantly.

However, there have been certain limitations in the implementation process. The awareness and responsibility of some cadres and soldiers for the Campaign have been not full. Policies and measures in some units have been too general, leading to the low effectiveness. The application of science and technology to managing, exploiting and mastering weapons and technical equipment has not been accelerated. Improvements in safety assurance have not been steady enough in training, production, information security and traffic.

In the coming years, the situation in the world and the region will undergo unpredictable changes. More requirements will be imposed on the Military build-up, national defence consolidation and the Fatherland protection.  According to the 13^th Party Congress Resolution, by 2025, we shall basically build a compact and strong VPA; by 2030, a number of corps and services shall be modernised; from 2030, we shall build a modern VPA. Meanwhile, most weapons and technical equipment used for a long time have degraded with unstable technical coefficients. Besides, our Military has been equipped with a great deal of modern materiel. Against that backdrop, units must ensure technical coefficients and apply science and technology to renovation and modernisation, while mastering new-generation weapons and technical equipment for combat readiness and combat in all situations. Bringing into full play those good results and valuable experience in the past 25 years, the whole VPA needs to drastically, synchronously adopt the following solutions to raise the quality of the Campaign.

First of all, enhance party committees’ leadership, commands’ responsibility, Steering Boards’ key role, and the quality of education and propagation work. Party committees and commands of offices and units should regularly renovate the contents and methods of leadership and direction over the implementation process in accordance with their particularities. Emphasis should be placed on concretising the Campaign’s objectives into practice in tandem with the building of “exemplarily, typically” comprehensively strong units. Importance should be attached to strengthening the direction of all-level Steering Boards 50 from the Ministry of National Defence (MND) to grass-roots units in order to ensure the connection, unity and efficiency. Due regard should be paid to improving the advisory, cooperative capacity of all-level Standing Agencies of the Steering Boards 50 as the core fore in maintaining and developing the Campaign. Besides, it is necessary to continue completing the organisational and operational mechanism of all-level Steering Boards 50 and raising the quality of their advisory work for party committees and commands. Units should closely combine the Campaign with the “Determination to Win” Emulation Movement, especially the study and following of Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality and lifestyle, the Campaign titled “promoting tradition, devoting talent, deserving to be Uncle Ho’s soldiers” in the new period, and the emulation movement entitled “the Military Logistic Branch follows Uncle Ho’s teachings.” In particular, it is crucial to well execute the emulation movement on “comprehensively raising the quality of the Campaign to create a new breakthrough in mastering modern materiel and ensuring safety in the direction of proactiveness, creativity, and sustainable development” launched by the Central Military Commission (CMC) and the MND in 2020 as a driving force for fulfilling the preset goals and targets. Moreover, significance needs to be attached to maintaining the regulations on inspection, report and review, correcting weaknesses and opportunely drawing lessons.

Along with that, units must bring into play mass media and cultural institutions, while stepping up the work of propagation and education to build up their cadres and soldiers’ motivation, responsibility, diligence, thrift, self-reliance, and self-resilience and render them fully aware of the Campaign’s importance to their units’ task performance and the VPA’s combat strength. To that end, due regard must be paid to renewing the contents, forms and methods of education and propagation in a practical and diverse manner, with a focus on those who directly manage and exploit weapons and technical equipment. In addition, it is necessary to propagate offices and units’ results, popularise creative, effective approaches, and encourage typical examples. It is also advisable to well organise technical contests to create a healthy competitive atmosphere within units. Due attention should be paid to proactively detecting, preventing, and fighting against the perception that the Campaign is the responsibility of the Technical Branch only.

Second, adopt measures to raise the quality and efficiency of the technical management work. Sticking to their functions and tasks, offices and units should continue to review, supplement and perfect the system of legal and technological documents and regulations on technical management and norms of materiel, organise training to foster their staff members’ professional and managerial capacity, and propose new methods in accord with changes in technical facilities’ technical assurance and management in the new situation. Units should closely manage the quantity, quality, and synchronisation of their materiel and their technical staff in line with the Project on the VPA’s organisation towards 2021 and beyond. Great value should be attached to stringently following directives by the General Staff on managing and using weapons of combat readiness. Information technology should be applied to the management work at all levels and in all branches. In addition to the management work, it is vital to well exploit the invested equipment and technologies, strictly maintain regular  preservation, maintenance, repair and storage, and properly follow the technological process of exploiting weapons and technical equipment. In this regard, emphasis should be placed on effectively exploiting newly-invested technical equipment and technological lines, upgrading technical facilities, and increasing the quality of repairing materiel and manufacturing technical materials. All-level technical agencies should continue promoting their core role in directing, guiding and inspecting materiel preservation, maintenance and repair, while effectively maintaining “Technical Hours” and “Technical Days” at grass-roots level.

Third, strengthen the work of safety assurance. This is one of the most essential parts of the Campaign. Offices and units should implement synchronous measures to ensure information security for the military information technology system, strictly manage the use of military information technology equipment, and fix security bugs. Consideration needs to be given to strengthening measures to ensure the safety of materiel and technical facilities, especially the system of warehouses, stations and workshops. Simultaneously, cadres and soldiers should be educated to comply with regulations relating to weapons and technical equipment, detect and opportunely prevent detriments to safety, and regularly practise projects on fire, explosion, natural disaster and epidemic prevention and control to minimise accidents and injuries at work. In order to ensure traffic safety, offices and units need to focus their leadership and direction on grasping and introducing the Traffic Safety Law, and directives and regulations by the Government, the MND and their commanders to all cadres and soldiers, while resolutely handling violations. Besides, due regard should be paid to further inspecting, controlling and improving military driving training. It is also necessary to continue promoting cooperation between military units and local traffic police in carrying out activities to ensure traffic order and safety, with the aim of raising the law-abiding awareness and traffic culture of “Uncle Ho’s soldiers.”

Bringing into the play the results of 25 year-implementation of the Campaign, agencies and units across VPA will actively undertake technical researches, promote technical innovations, practice thrift, and avoid wastefulness in the management and exploitation of weapons and technical equipment to successfully accomplish the goals and targets of the Campaign for the Military build-up, national defence consolidation and the Fatherland protection.

Maj. Gen. PHUNG NGOC SON, Deputy Head and Chief of Staff of the General Department of Engineering, Member of the MND’s Steering Board 50