Over the years, in spite of difficulties caused by natural disasters, epidemics, and price fluctuations, Military Region 5’s logistics support work has continued to obtain comprehensive, significant results to enable the Military Region to successfully fulfil all assigned missions. It is worth noting that the Military Region’s Logistics Branch has proactively advised the Military Region’s Party Committee and Command on directing offices and units to sufficiently, opportunely provide logistics support for combat readiness and both regular and irregular tasks. The Branch has frequently reviewed, adjusted, and supplemented logistics support documents and logistics materials for combat readiness. Emphasis has been placed on ensuring logistics support for fully-staffed infantry units and others stationed in key, border, sea, island areas or performing international missions. At the same time, the Branch has cooperated with localities in building logistics potential and posture of the Military Region and all-level defensive zones, opportunely consolidating all-level defensive zones’ supply councils, and promoting those councils’ role in ensuring logistics support for defensive zones and especially localities’ defensive zone exercises.

In response to COVID-19 pandemic, the Military Region’s regular logistics support has been opportunely adjusted to safely adapt to the pandemic and maintain troops’ life and health. The Military Region’s Logistics Branch has actively, proactively reserved food, stepped up crop and animal husbandry via new effective models, and promoted the roles of rice milling and food processing stations in raising the quality of meals and stabilising troops’ life. At the same time, it has proactively overcome difficulties, focused funding on accelerating the progress rate of capital construction, synchronously provided devices, water, and electricity for troops, and ensured petroleum for missions and annual transport work.

Head of the Military Region’s Logistics Department inspecting a logistics depot of the Provincial Military Command of Gia Lai (photo: baoquankhu5.vn)

Besides, the Military Region’s Logistics Branch has synchronously implemented measures to provide logistics support for natural disaster and epidemic prevention and control as contingency missions. In 2020, storms and heavy rains led to floods and landslides in many places of the Military Region, particularly in Tra Leng commune, Nam Tra My district and Phuoc Loc commune, Phuoc Son district (Quang Nam province); therefore, the Branch collaborated with local party committees and authorities in adopting various measures of logistics support for forces taking part in overcoming the consequences of natural disasters. In 2021, it quickly, effectively took measures to respond to the complex developments of COVID-19. It proactively worked with relevant units to deploy infectious disease field Hospital No.4 in Khanh Hoa province, while making all necessary preparations for deploying infectious disease field hospitals No.3 and No.7 as well as field hospitals for treating minor COVID-19 patients at 11 provinces and municipalities of the Military Region. It made investment in upgrading laboratories of the Preventive Medicine Team and Military Hospital 13 and cooperated with competent offices in testing cadres and soldiers of the Military Region and units of the Ministry of National Defence (MND) stationed in the region and citizens for COVID-19. It completed the Military Region’s vaccine depot under GPS criteria, received and transported over 12 million doses of vaccine to localities under the plan set by the Ministry of Health, and vaccinated staff members of units of the Military Region and the MND with the absolute safety. It has provided sufficient logistics support for quarantine zones with more than 70,000 citizens. At the same time, it has received and distributed dry food to local party committees, authorities, and citizens during pandemic prevention and control, while sending forces, means, and essential provisions to Military Region 7, Military Hospital 175, and citizens of Ho Chi Minh City to combat the pandemic. It actively took part in military diplomacy. More specifically, it participated in building works of friendship, provided medical materials and equipment for Laos and Cambodia, and readily deployed forces and means to help Laos with pandemic prevention and control under the MND’s direction.

However, the Military Region’s logistics support has still exposed weaknesses. The mobilisation of resources for constructing several essential works within logistics bases in line with localities’ defensive zones has been slow. Crop and animal husbandry at some units has yet to be sustainable. Medical examination and treatment for troops in a number of units have yet to be really effective. Grounded on its task performance and recorded results, Military Region 5’s Logistics Branch has drawn several valuable lessons which are also seen as effective measures and continue to be applied by the Military Region in the upcoming time.

First, strengthen all-level party committees and commands’ focalised, uniformed leadership and direction over logistics support work. This is a prerequisite for mobilising and properly using personnel, means, and materials to improve the performance of logistics support work. Grasping and stringently implementing the Central Military Commission’s Resolution 623-NQ/QUTW, dated October 29th, 2012 on “military logistics work toward 2020 and beyond,” all-level party committees within the Military Region’s Party Organisation have issued specialised resolutions with effective measures of leadership. Emphasis has been placed on combining economic development with defence consolidation and aligning production with the building and consolidation of logistics potential and posture of each locality’s defensive zones to readily mobilise logistics resources for the Military Region’s military-defence activities.

Second, heighten self-reliance, promote internal strength, and actively renew methods of logistics support in tandem with the Military’s new financial management mechanism. In this regard, great value has been attached to creating sources of logistics support in accordance with each unit’s task requirements. As the demand of logistics support for missions within 11 provinces and municipalities of the South Central Coast - Central Highlands Region is very great, the Logistics Branch has adopted the “four-on-the-spot” motto, with significance attached to reserving logistics materials and equipment at localities and units, increasing the number of commodities and assigning units to directly prepare sources of those commodities to bring into play on-the-spot logistics and ensure timely, sufficient, synchronous, regular, unified logistics support, and proactively exploiting all logistics resources in the quickest way for troops. It has directed the development of models of production and processing at four levels and effectively maintained the operation of Price Councils in logistics support.

Furthermore, the Branch has actively renewed methods of logistics support for combat readiness. In this regard, great weight has been added to reserving materials and goods in accordance with offices and units’ practical condition and increasing the quantity of several materials in vulnerable areas in the event. At the same time, the Branch has managed the planning of barracks in a stable, sustainable, regular fashion and made it relevant to localities’ socio-economic development plans. It has closely appraised construction projects and combined open bidding with designation of contractors.

Third, promote the roles of logistics offices, cadres, and employees at all levels. This force plays a core role in the quality and effectiveness of logistics support. Therefore, the Military Region has always focused on consolidating the organisational structure of the Logistics Branch under the MND’s decision and a contingent of logistics cadres and employees to meet their task requirements. While well carrying out the work of appointing and training logistics cadres under criteria and targets, the Military Region has always attached importance to raising the quality of on-the-spot training, improving logistics cadres and employees’ staff work, professional competence, morality, and lifestyle according to criteria of “industriousness, thrift, integrity, uprightness,” and building up a scientific, drastic, effective working style.

Fourth, step up military standard order building in logistics support work, particularly in the implementation of professional plans and regulations, facilitate administrative reform, reduce administrative procedures, enhance decentralisation of logistics management, and raise responsibility of inferiors. At the same time, due attention has been paid to enhancing the work of inspection and supervision to avoid losses in procurement and capital construction. All-level party committees and commands have combined contents of logistics support with targets of the emulation movement titled “Military Logistics Branch follows Uncle Ho’s teachings” and the Determination to Win Emulation Movement as a strong motivation for building a comprehensively strong Logistics Branch of the Military Region capable of successfully fulfilling its assigned missions. They have also stepped up the study and following of Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, ethics, and lifestyle in line with the 12th Party Central Committee’s Resolution No.4 on the Party building and rectification. Besides, they have opportunely conducted reviews to draw lessons, reward collectives and individuals with outstanding achievements, and multiply typical examples of logistics support.

The above-mentioned lessons drawn by the Military Region’s Logistics Branch should continue to be creatively applied and developed to keep raising the quality of logistics support for Military Region 5’s military-defence work in the new situation.

Sr. Col. NGO TIEN SY, Head of the Military Region’s Logistics Department