Building high-quality military telecommunications human resources, with required qualities to ensure communications during the war to protect the Fatherland is an urgent issue, aiming to serve the process of force building, training and combat readiness for telecommunication troops to meet the requirements of Military building, national construction and defence in the new situation.

As one of the forces being developed straight to modernity, in recent years, human resources of the Communications Corps have been regularly built, trained, retrained, managed and used effectively by the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defence toward the building a modern military communication system. As a result, to date, the vast majority of its staff have been trained and matured through practice. They have acquired fairly high professional qualifications and management and command levels, firm political steadfastness, high sense of responsibility. They have overcome all difficulties to successfully accomplish their task of ensuring communication to serve the leadership of the Party, the State, and the Ministry of National Defence over the entire military to successfully carry out the tasks of building and defending the Fatherland, preventing and combating natural disasters, search and rescue and other irregular missions.

In the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, characterised by AI, virtual real-world connection systems, big data and modern manufacturing technology which are developing at galloping speed and bringing about profound and comprehensive impact and tremendous changes in many fields, including communications. In order to overcome the limitations, build high-skill military telecommunication human resources to meet the requirements of building a "revolutionary, regular, elite and modern" communication force and the requirements of national defence, it is necessary to resolutely and synchronously implement the following solutions:

Firstly, thoroughly making plan, creating sources and recruiting human resources for military communications. Functional agencies, directly the Communications Corps need to study and advise the Central Military Commission, the Ministry of National Defence to develop and complete the criteria for high quality military communications human resources, as a basis for accurately reviewing, evaluating, planning, training, retraining, and promoting cadres. The criteria must be specific, attaching importance to both "virtue" and "talent", associated with the assigned tasks and positions, and relevant to the requirements and features of agencies and units. In the master plan, agencies and units need to focus on building a contingent of telecommunication officers with a reasonable number and structure; promptly adjust, supplement and implement well the planning of commanders and managers at all levels to ensure the inheritance, steady development, different sources and ages, in which one thirds are young cadres, especially units stationed in difficult areas, on borders and islands. Continue to standardise the process of creating resources suitable for each specialty and force; to well combine the direct source creation with the call of qualified and qualified university graduates to join the army to supplement the deficient professions and occupations which the army has not yet trained.

The inauguration ceremony of the Centre for IT and foreign language studies of the Telecommunications College

Second, promoting innovation, improving the quality of training and fostering human resources of military communications. The war for Fatherland protection (should it occur) will be a modern one in which the enemy may use high-tech weapons and electronic warfare extensively. The telecommunication force at the same time will have to serve many forces, tasks, forms of combat, namely: defence, counter-attack, attack, countering the enemy’s airborne landing, etc. on directions and areas simultaneously, hence the need for communication assurance is great and urgent. To fulfill their task well, it is required that military communications force to be resilient, brave, sharp in technical and tactical mindset, and highly operational. To realise that goal, it is necessary to promote innovation and improve the quality of education and training; well implement the motto: "education and training must advance one step ahead", making each officer and soldier capable according to certain standards.

Third, strictly managing and efficiently exploiting the existing military communications human resources associated with keeping and attracting high-quality personnel. The management and deployment of telecommunication human resources should closely link different types of sources. Accordingly, units should apply decentralisation in human resource management; regularly review and arrange the contingent of professional and technical cadres and staff according to military professionalism; carry out retraining the professional and technical staff in redundant occupations. Promote the rotation of professional and technical staff between agencies, units and schools for comprehensive training and fostering at all levels. During the implementation process, the committees and commanders of agencies and units need to associate the management and evaluation of staff with the arrangement, transfer, appointment, use, and ensuring the right person is appointed in the right position according to the right rule; avoid subjective and emotional manifestations, the misuse of training majors and the capacity and qualifications of staff, especially the specialised and leading personnel. Periodically review the deployment of human resources as a basis for supplementing and adjusting specific contents in the process of building military telecommunication human resources.

In order to keep and attract high-quality human resources, in addition to implementing the issued policies, the authorities should continue to advise and assist the Ministry of National Defence to propose to the Party and the State to promulgate special regimes and policies suitable for each subject in order make them enthusiastic and committed to their job. On the other hand, the functional agencies, directly the Communications Corps should actively advise and propose to the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defence to adjust the organisational structure of the entire corps in the direction of “lean, compact, and flexible”, meeting the requirements of the mission, relevant to the areas of operation and combat areas. At the same time, there should be guidelines and solutions to attract and use the talent, such as: appointing young, capable, qualified, and reputable cadres to key positions; extending working age of scientists, leading experts, high skill teachers and technical staff, etc.

Building high-quality military telecommunication human resources to meet the requirements of the war to protect the Fatherland is an important and urgent issue, requiring a long process with a specific roadmap. Implementing that plan requires strong determination and creative ways of leaders and commanders at all levels, schools, and units of the entire communications corps in planning, training, and retraining for communications officers, technical staff, soldiers right from peacetime, so that they are ready to receive and successfully complete all assigned tasks.

Senior Colonel, PhD. LE XUAN HUNG, Principal of the Military Telecommunications College