Lying between Tien and Hau rivers, with a population of over one million people and rich in agricultural potential, Vinh Long is a linkage in the Cuu Long delta region. The province holds an important position both in socio-economic and defence and security field of the Military Region 9. Over the past years, its Party Committee, authority and armed forces have always attached importance to carrying out defence and security education, fulfilling military and local defence tasks, strengthening potentials for defensive zone, and creating favorable conditions for socio – economic development.
To make the work a routine and highly effective one, first, the provincial leaders direct to consolidate councils for defence and security education at all levels to perfect their staff and structure. Thereby, the effectiveness of the councils has been enhanced, resulting in their good role performance as advisors to the party committees and local authorities in defence and security education at all levels. Sectors, industries and branches also actively integrate the contents of the work into their professional tasks and emulation movements and regard this as an important criterion to assess task performance of their staff. Moreover, the councils also further checking, inspection, review to timely detect and multiply role models and good methods of implementation and also to overcome shortcomings for the routine, unified and highly effective implementation of the work.
Besides, the province has also promoted the role of the Provincial Military Command as a permanent office and center for collaboration in implementing projects and plans of defence and security education in the locality. Party Committee and Commandant of the Provincial Military Command have taken a number of measures to lead and direct their junior military offices, the provincial military school to focus on raising the awareness of the cadres in-charge comprehensively and deeply of the work and regard this as a base for furthering defence and security education in the area.
Recently, facing the severe damage caused by drought and salinity intrusion to the districts of Vung Liem and Tra On, the provincial armed forces have proactively joined hands with local authorities in preventing, mitigating and overcoming the consequences, relieving people’s difficulties in production and in life, hence making them more confident in the leadership of the authority and beautify the image of “Uncle Ho’s soldiers”.
The councils have also paid attention to providing defence and security courses for all objects, particularly key cadres of all levels and branches. The courses are updated with latest information related to the situation, socio – economic, defence and security missions of the province, particularly new viewpoints, guidelines and contents on defence and security mission set out by the 12th National Congress of the Party. Over the past 5 years, the province has arranged for 229 key cadres to attend defence and security courses held by upper level and another 2,247 cadres to attend such courses at the Provincial Political School and the Provincial Military School. Thereby, key cadres of all levels have raised their sense of responsibility, enhanced their managerial and executive capability, contributing to improving efficacy and effectiveness of state management over defence and security field.
As nearly 30% of its population are religious adherents, Vinh Long has always paid attention to educating the dignitaries on defence and security knowledge to raise the awareness of religious groups of the Party’s viewpoint and guidelines; help them realize the plots and schemes of hostile forces in making use of religious issues to distort, incite and damage the national unity. Through a number of measures and with effort of party committees, local authorities, sectors, branches and organizations, defence and security education for dignitaries has been implemented thoroughly and gained positive results. Since 2010 to date, the province has held 32 defence and security courses for more than 2,000 dignitaries of different religions. This helps develop a high consensus in religious communities and raise their sense of responsibility in life and in their practice of religion.
Defence and security education for students has also been paid due attention. The province has directed its functional organs to speed up the standadization of defence and security teachers in schools. In 2015, 31,000 students of all schools and universities in the province got defence and security education; 9,500 students of 12-grade got military vocational orientation, in which 175 were eligible for military entrance exams and 20 passed into military universities. Through defence and security courses, students are not only equiped with necessary military skills and knowledge but their quality, personality, sense of discipline, patriotism and responsibility for the cause of national construction and defence are developed as well.
Propagation and dissemination of defence and security knowledge are also conducted on a comprehensive, regular and widespread basis to all people through mass media. Over the past time, the Provincial Military Command, Provincial Police have collaborated with Vinh Long Radio and Television to produce and air programs on all people’s defence and national security weekly. Notably, the Provincial Military in collaboration with the Vinh Long Newspaper and the Viettel’s branch in Vinh Long has built and issued a special edition on all people’s defence to all the communes and wards in the province on a biweekly basis. The edition has timely disseminated the Party’s viewpoints and guidelines, the State’s laws and policies, and activities of armed forces, etc. Moreover, it has provided to the people formal information and sharp arguments to counter the plots and schemes of “peaceful evolution” of hostile forces and orientate the public.
Upholding the achievements, in the coming time, Party Committees, authorities, armed forces and people of Vinh Long province will continue to study, grasp and fulfill the mission of building the all people’s defence and people’s security; further the defence and security education in light of the Resolution of the 10th Provincial Party Congress (2015 – 2020 tenure) and the Resolution of the 12th National Party Congress, striving to build Vinh Long an increasingly developed province toward the goal of a fairly rich one in the Cuu Long delta region by the year 2020.
Senior Colonel Nguyen Quoc Dung
Vice Chairman of the Provincial Council for Defence and Security Education
Commander of the Provincial Military Command