Since the first COVID-19 case recorded on December 31st, 2019 in Wuhan city, Hubei province, China, the COVID-19 pandemic has been extremely complex on a global scale, shown no signs of stopping, negatively impacted on all aspects of the social life, and caused serious consequences for human race. In the past 2 years, our country has suffered from 4 waves of COVID-19. It should be noted that the 4th wave caused by a new dangerous COVID-19 variant in late April 2021 has extremely complicated developments and serious impacts on the people’s health, life, and employment. Considering economic development as the central task and pandemic combat as a task of urgency, under the spirit of “fighting the pandemic like fighting enemies,” the Party Central Committee, the Government, and the Prime Minister have opportunely issued resolutions and directives on requiring sectors and localities to synchronously, drastically, flexibly adopt measures of COVID-19 prevention and control, while encouraging the participation of the entire people and political system, especially the medical force, the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA), and the Public Security Force in the fight against COVID-19, with priority given to protecting the people’s health and life, quickly controlling the pandemic, and bringing our country back to the “new normality.” As of April 2021, we successfully controlled 3 waves of COVID-19, fulfilled the “dual goal” of COVID-19 combat and socio-economic development, ensured social security, and protected the people’s life and health, thus being highly appreciated by the international community.

Following the Appeal by the Chief of the Party Nguyen Phu Trong, and the leadership and direction by the Central Military Commission (CMC) and the Ministry of National Defence (MND), all-level party committees, commands, cadres, and soldiers across the VPA and the militia and self-defence force have promoted the revolutionary heroism and patriotism to devotedly serve the Homeland and the people and fulfil the functions of “an army ready for combat, for work, and for production.” The VPA has maintained training and combat readiness, actively, proactively taken part in the fight against COVID-19, and prevented the pandemic from penetrating into offices and units simultaneously, thereby contributing to controlling many large-scale outbreaks of COVID-19 in localities and bringing the people back to the normal life. Up to now, the Military has deployed 1,978 checkpoints with 13,668 cadres and soldiers (including 380 mobile teams) to closely control the land border and the sea, and prevent illegal immigration, while mobilising over 130,000 military staff members and members of the militia and self-defence force (nearly 6,000 military medical staff members) in cooperation with localities in organising nearly 5,000 epidemic prevention and control teams (660 mobile military medical teams), testing 2.2 million people, and maintaining 190 quarantine zones with more than 295,000 citizens. Field and treatment hospitals and centres with thousands of military doctors and medical employees have received and treated more than 17,000 COVID-19 patients (16,602 ones in the South). The whole VPA has donated 510 billion VND to the COVID-19 vaccine fund. The MND has mobilised thousands of lorries to transport COVID-19 vaccines of various types to localities and sterilised thousands of sites hit by the pandemic. Many units across the VPA have organised blood donation programmes and “zero dong markets,” gone shopping for citizens, used pack bicycles to transport foods and supplies to each alley and residential area, and cooperated with localities in assisting farmers in harvest, thereby cementing the close-knit bond between the Military and the people.

Thousands of cadres and soldiers have been persistently guarding the border to prevent the spread of the pandemic, giving up their barracks for the people, and taking good care of citizens in lockdown areas and quarantine zones. Many military doctors, nurses, and medical cadets volunteered to fight against COVID-19 in the provinces of Hai Duong, Bac Ninh, and Bac Giang; immediately after that mission, they have joined another one in Ho Chi Minh city and other Southern provinces. Some of them were infected with COVID-19 or passed away when being on duty. All of those activities have clearly expressed cadres and soldiers’ iron will and responsibility for the Homeland and the people in the fight against COVID-19. Such devotion and noble sacrifice of cadres and soldiers of the VPA and the militia and self-defence force in COVID-19 prevention and control have contributed to bolstering the image of “Uncle Ho’s soldiers - soldiers of the people,” consolidating the close-knit bond between the Military and the people, heightening the spirit of serving the people as comrade Nguyen Xuan Phuc (Member of the Politburo, State President) said at the 10th Army-wide Determination to Win Emulation Congress: “soldiers will be present wherever the people suffer from difficulties, natural disasters, and epidemics.”

The launch of the special emulation movement titled “the Military joins hands with the whole nation to prevent, fight, and win against COVID-19 pandemic” by the MND (photo: thiduakenthuongvn.org.vn)

Currently, COVID-19 pandemic is still complex on a national scale, especially in Ho Chi Minh city, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, and Long An, severely impacting on socio-economic development and the people’s life, and undermining the people’s faith in the Party, the State, and the political system. To prevent, combat, and win against COVID-19, cadres and soldiers of the VPA and the militia and self-defence force shall continue promoting the virtues of “Uncle Ho’s soldiers” and achievements in epidemic prevention and control to cooperate with all authorities, sectors, and citizens in drastically taking measures to quickly control and push back the pandemic.

Grasping and executing the Prime Minister’s Directive 19/CT-TTg, dated July 16th, 2021 on “launching emulation movements to fulfil the annual socio-economic development task and the 5-year Plan (2021-2025) under the 13th National Party Congress Resolution” and the Prime Minister’s Decision 1497/QĐ-TTg, dated September 10th, 2021 on issuing the Plan to execute the Special Emulation Movement titled “the whole country stays united and joins hands to prevent, fight, and win against COVID-19 pandemic,” the CMC and the MND have launched a Special Emulation Movement entitled “the Military joins hands with the whole nation to prevent, fight, and win against COVID-19 pandemic.” To translate this movement into life practically, effectively, the entire VPA shall well implement several basic measures as follows.

First, all-level party committees and commands shall grasp and strictly follow the leadership and direction by the Party, the State, the CMC, the MND, ministries, sectors, committees, and localities, particularly the Appeal for the people’s unity in the fight against COVID-19 by the Chief of the Party Nguyen Phu Trong as well as directives by the Politburo, the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat, the Government, and the Prime Minister on epidemic prevention and control. Due attention should be paid to making cadres and soldiers of the VPA, the militia and self-defence force, and the reserve force deeply imbued with the spirit of “fighting the pandemic like fighting enemies” and the importance of encouraging emulation movements and maintaining unity amidst difficulties and hardships. Cadres and soldiers’ responsibility for the country and the people together with self-reliance amongst them should be heightened so that they will always strive to overcome difficulties and successfully fulfil the task of epidemic prevention and control. All military staff members shall consider the fight against COVID-19 as a political task of special importance and urgency, a “combat mission in peacetime”, and a “command from the heart.” Besides, it is vital to fight against subjectivity, a lack of vigilance, and chaos in the fight against COVID-19.

Second, bring into play the tradition of the heroic VPA and the noble virtues of “Uncle Ho’s soldiers” - the people’s soldiers. To that end, significance should be attached to heightening cadres and soldiers’ iron will, enthusiasm, compassion, and devotion to the people under the spirit of “proactively giving support for the people”, playing a vanguard role on the front line, and maintaining the faith in surmounting any difficulty and defeating any enemy. It is necessary for each office and unit to become a “stronghold” and for each cadre and soldier to be a “good example” in the fight against COVID-19. Offices and units shall grasp the situation and closely cooperate with localities and forces in stringently controlling the border and preventing illegal immigration. The Military shall well organise quarantine zones for citizens, field hospitals, treatment centres and hospitals, and mobile military medical teams and stations to take part in testing, vaccination, and treatment of COVID-19 patients, particularly the severe cases. Offices and units across the VPA shall launch high-peak emulation movements of pandemic prevention and control, while assisting local party committees and authorities in seriously implementing measures of epidemic prevention and control, expanding “green regions,” narrowing “yellow regions,” eradicating “orange regions” and “red regions,” providing supplies for the people, taking care of the people’s health, harvesting and consuming farm produce. Besides, it is necessary to prepare projects of pandemic prevention and control in a higher degree so as to opportunely deal with situations and avoid passivity.

Third, well conduct the work of propagation and education to encourage the people to follow the Party’s guidelines, the State’s law and policy, directives by the Government and the Prime Minister, and local regulations on pandemic prevention and control. Great value should be attached to proactively, creatively, drastically implementing the “5K + vaccine” measures. Offices and units of the Military shall well prepare plans and projects to organise training and perform their task amidst the pandemic or social distancing, with importance attached to health declaration, testing, quarantine, and localisation and removal of the pandemic in accordance with each locality’s practical condition. Due attention should be paid to closely combining pandemic prevention with pandemic control, encouraging emulation movements for training, task performance, and epidemic prevention and control simultaneously, and avoiding letting COVID-19 penetrate into offices and units. Bringing into play the tradition of compassion, units in the rear line shall actively launch emulation movements to provide human and material resources for localities and units in the front line, while COVID-19-free units shall give assistance to localities and units hit by the pandemic. Offices, units, cadres, and soldiers across the VPA shall promote a sense of responsibility and unity to help one another and actively assist the people in overcoming difficulties and winning against COVID-19 pandemic.

Fourth, ensure troops’ material and mental life and health, grasp the situation, and opportunely deal with ideological issues, and well implement policies for cadres and soldiers. Due attention should be paid to proposing policies and entitlements for the Military, the Army Rear, and the force in charge of pandemic prevention and control. It is important to opportunely organise conferences to draw lessons and commend and reward collectives and individuals with remarkable achievements in emulation movements (for the standing force, the militia and self-defence force, and the reserve force). Offices and units shall further disseminate creative, effective models, new elements, and typical examples in COVID-19 prevention and control, with the aim of spreading the noble virtues of “Uncle Ho’s soldiers” in the new period. Furthermore, it is vital to proactively, actively fight to foil the hostile forces’ artifices and plots of taking advantage of COVID-19 to undermine social stability and sabotage our Party, State, and VPA.

Fifth, in addition to preventing, fighting, and winning against COVID-19 pandemic, offices and units shall continue striving to successfully fulfil the tasks of training, combat readiness, education, scientific research, logistics-technical and financial support, defence industry development, production, business, natural disaster prevention and control, and search and rescue. Besides, significance should be attached to building “typically, exemplarily” strong, pure party organisations, “exemplarily, typically” comprehensively strong offices and units, and excellently strong mass organisations, complying with the State’s law and the Military’s discipline, and maintaining the VPA’s core role in COVID-19 prevention and control.

Bringing into play the heroic tradition of the heroic VPA, offices and units will enhance the Determination to Win Emulation Movement and the Special Emulation Movement titled “the Military joins hands with the entire nation to prevent, fight, and win against COVID-19 pandemic” to successfully fulfil all assigned missions, deserve the trust and sentiment of the Party, the State, and the people, and make contributions to soon bringing our country back to the new normality and realising the Resolutions of the 13th National Party Congress, the 11th Military Party Congress, and all-level party congresses for the 2020-2025 tenure.

Lt. Gen. TRINH VAN QUYET, Member of the Party Central Committee

Member of the CMC, Deputy Head of the VPA’s General Department of Politics

Permanent Deputy Chairman of the MND’s Emulation - Commendation Council