In the past many years, the Campaign entitled “managing and exploiting weapons and technical equipment effectively, sustainably, safely, economically and traffic safety” (aka the Campaign 50) has made a positive change in our Military’s technical work. To meet the requirements for building the Military and defending the Homeland in the new situation, it is necessary to continue grasping, stepping up and developing this Campaign to a new height in reality.
Fully aware of the importance of the Campaign 50 to raising the armed forces’ synergy and combat strength, over the past years, the Central Military Commission, Ministry of National Defence (MND), all-level party committees and commands, and sectors have paid due regard to leading, directing and seriously carrying out the Campaign effectively. The Campaign’s contents and targets have been included in party committees’ regular and special resolutions and commands’ working plans with specific measures relevant to units and sectors’ tasks. The all-level Steering Boards for the Campaign 50 have been frequently consolidated and operated effectively. As the Standing Agency of the Steering Board, the Technical Branch has concretized the Campaign’s targets into the topics and central contents in each period and year in accordance with each group of offices and units as the basis for directing and giving instructions on the process, with priority given to overcoming the weaknesses in materiel management and exploitation and traffic safety. Offices, units and sectors have closely combined the Campaign’s contents and targets with the Determined to Win emulation movement, the patriotic emulation movement, contests, other campaigns, particularly the Politburo’s Directives 03-CT/TW and 05-CT/TW (11th and 12th tenure) and the Campaign entitled “promoting tradition, devoting talent, deserving to be Uncle Ho’s soldiers”.
Thanks to the sound guidelines, close direction, and proper measures, a large number of cadres and soldiers have taken part in the Campaign, and it has contributed to raising the quality and effectiveness of the technical work. Via the Campaign, cadres and soldiers’ awareness and responsibility have been raised; the regulations on the technical work in offices and units have been put in order. The work of materiel management, exploitation, maintenance, and repair in units has witnessed a positive change. The quality of providing technical support and particularly studying, exploiting and mastering technical features of new materiel has been raised. The whole Military has well maintained the technical specifications of equipment for the training, combat readiness, and contingency tasks. Moreover, there has been a positive change in the work of ensuring safety for materiel use and labour, traffic safety, fire and explosion prevention and control; the number of serious incidents within the entire Military has drastically reduced.
However, there have been weaknesses in conducting the Campaign 50. Notably, several cadres and soldiers’ awareness and responsibility towards the Campaign have yet to be fully; some even think that the Campaign is the responsibility of the Technical Sector only; the measures for implementing the Campaign in some units have not been comprehensive or effective. Some units have had fires, explosions, and incidents involving materiel; the decrease in traffic accidents has yet to be steady.
In the foreseeable future, the task of building the Military and defending the Homeland will have new developments with more demanding requirements. Under the guidelines on modernizing several forces and gradually modernizing the Military, while many types of new-generation materiel have been included in the list of equipment, we have to continue using the existing weapons and equipment, most of which have degraded. Against that backdrop, the entire Military needs to step up the Campaign 50 as the basis for furthering the quality and effectiveness of the technical work to meet the task requirements in the new situation, with a focus on the main point as follows.
First, enhancing all-level party committees and command’s leadership and direction, promoting the Technical Branch’s core role in carrying out the Campaign 50. For more than 20 years of the Campaign, it is proved that a unit will gain good results in the Campaign only when its party committee and command develop resolutions and plans on implementing the Campaign, the Steering Board 50 formulates action programs, mass organizations launch movements, the Technical Sector sets up criteria for emulation, and individuals write commitments to emulation. Thus, units should continue grasping higher echelons’ resolutions and directives on the technical work, the Campaign’s contents and objectives, and the MND’s Steering Board 50’s guiding documents to formulate proper measures. At the same time, importance should be attached to consolidating and raising the effectiveness of all-level Steering Boards and continuing to include the Campaign’s contents and targets in units and sectors’ resolutions and action plans in line with their functions, task, and technical work. All-level technical offices should well promote their role as the standing agencies of the Steering Boards 50, proactively advise the Steering Boards and party committees on measures, breakthroughs, and issues that must be led, directed, and resolved in order to raise the quality of the technical work and achieve a new breakthrough in mastering modern materiel and ensuring safety. In the process, units should set store by building and multiplying typical examples to develop the Campaign widely, deeply, and steadily; enhancing the work of inspection and review to draw lessons; opportunely commending and rewarding individuals and collectives with great achievements; overcoming weaknesses so as to successfully fulfil the targets set by the Campaign.
Second, further renewing and improving the quality of education and propagation concerning the Campaign 50. To achieve the purpose of raising the overall quality of the Campaign 50 in 2019 set by the MND’s Steering Board 50, offices and units should further renew and enhance the quality of education and propagation to render cadres, soldiers, and defence employees and labourers within the whole Military fully aware of the Campaign’s contents, role and importance to units and offices’ fulfilment of political task as well as make them thoroughly grasp the contents, targets, and requirements set in units and offices’ plans for executing the Campaign. Party committee members, cadres, soldiers, and especially staff members of the Technical Branch must be fully aware that the Campaign 50 is an important part of the Determined to Win emulation movement and will give an impetus to raising the quality of technical work and building strong units comprehensively. Thus, offices and units should diversify the contents, forms, and methods of propagation and education relevant to each group of troops under the Project on “renewing political education at units in the new period”; combine the propagation regarding the Campaign with the introduction of regulations, the standardization of the technical work, and the cultural environment building. Besides, military press agencies must stay close to reality and actively disseminate technical activities and results of the Campaign 50, particularly valuable experiences, creative, effective models, and typical examples. At the same time, great value should be attached to detecting and rectifying ideological deviations and signs of formalism and “achievement disease” in the Campaign.
Third, synchronously taking the measures to improve the Campaign’s quality, contents, and targets. Grounded on the hands-on experiences, units should actively renew the contents, forms and methods of executing the Campaign to avoid repetitiveness, with a focus on achieving 4 targets of the Campaign, raising the quality and effectiveness of the technical work, and successfully fulfilling units’ political task as the key objective. To do so, offices, units, and particularly technical establishments within the whole Military should actively undertake researches and apply technology to improving the quality and effectiveness of the work of managing, maintaining, repairing, and preserving materiel, especially the new one. It is essential to further apply information technology to managing weapons and technical equipment and focus on employ technological advancement to deal with the urgent demands for exploiting, repairing, and preserving weapons and technical equipment, particularly new-generation ones. Technical offices at all levels should continue promoting their core role in directing, giving instructions on, and maintaining the regulations on maintenance and repair at each level, while raising the quality of “Technical Day” and “Technical Hour” at grass-roots level as well as organizing contests related to weapons and technical equipment, technical and arms depot as well as technical staff. Technical academies, schools, and centres should actively undertake researches in innovating and upgrading the existing system of weapons and technical equipment, while making more investments in technical support for new materiel and training to master modern materiel.
Offices and units should pay due regard to implementing the measures to ensure safety for materiel management and use, particularly in training and exercises; to strictly maintaining the regulations and procedures for labour safety and protection. They should frequently inspect and consolidate the system and means of protection at technical establishments and stations; ensure absolute safety for arms and oil depots; stringently maintain the regulations on safety training in materiel exploitation; and practise the projects for fire, explosion, and natural disaster prevention and control.
To reduce and prevent traffic accidents, offices and units should step up the work of propagating, disseminating, and educating traffic law and culture to further raise their staff’ awareness and responsibility for observing traffic law. At the same time, they further inspect a contingent of drivers and military vehicles in traffic and particularly maintain traffic safety on the occasions of national holidays and Tet. Military police should cooperate with relevant competent forces in strictly settling violations of traffic law. In addition to the above-mentioned measures, offices and units should continue grasping and strictly observing the Law on Thrift Practice and Waste Combat and the Law on Corruption Prevention and Combat, while stepping up the movement to promote technical initiatives and innovations to increase productivity and save funds, materials, petroleum, electricity, and water.
To achieve more good results, the whole Military will continue stepping up the Campaign entitled “managing and exploiting weapons and technical equipment effectively, sustainably, safely, economically and traffic safety” in line with the 12th Politburo’s Directive 05-CT/TW on the studying and following of Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, ethics and lifestyle and the Determined to Win emulation movement to as the basis for raising the quality and effectiveness of the technical work and meeting the requirements for building the Military and defending the Homeland.
Sr. Lt. Gen. Be Xuan Truong, Member of the Party Central Committee
Member of the Central Military Commission, Deputy Minister of National Defence