To transform political - spiritual strength into practical capability that meets the requirements of building an elite, compact, strong, modern military signal force, it is imperative to grasp and strictly adhere to certain principles. These core elements guide the entire process of promoting Signal Troops’ political - spiritual factor and therefore need to be studied and clarified to ensure unified and effective implementation.

The Signal Troops play a pivotal role in the Vietnam People’s Army’s command communications support system. Given the highly technical nature of their work, the wide range of their missions and their frequent exposure to difficult and dangerous conditions, intense mental pressure, and stringent secrecy requirements, their political - spiritual factor is of particular importance and is characterised by political knowledge, fortitude, willpower, perseverance in overcoming difficulties, and a strong sense of discipline. Together, these qualities provide a solid political - spiritual foundation for the military signal force to successfully accomplish all assigned tasks.

Signal Corps Command encourages new cadets of the Signal Officer College

In the current context of rapid, complex, and unpredictable developments in the global and regional situation, intensified sabotage activities by hostile forces, and rapid advances in science and technology that have given rise to new forms of warfare and methods of combat, greater attention must be paid to effectively promoting this political - spiritual factor. This will contribute to building a modern military signal force capable of ensuring communications in accordance with the requirements of “timeliness, accuracy, secrecy, and safety” in all situations. However, for the Signal Troops’ political - spiritual factor to be brought into full play, strict adherence to principles is essential. Drawing on theory and practice, this article proposes the following key issues of principle.

First, the promotion of the Signal Troops’ political - spiritual factor must be placed under the leadership and direction of Party committees and Party organisations at all levels. This concretises the principle of the Party’s absolute and direct leadership over the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) in all aspects, ensuring that the Signal Troops' political - spiritual factor is promoted in accordance with the Party’s lines and viewpoints, thereby effectively serving the VPA's development and combat missions as well as Fatherland protection, while avoiding spontaneity and passivity.

Accordingly, Party committees and Party organisations at all levels should focus on defining objectives and directions for promoting the Signal Troops’ political - spiritual factor in line with the characteristics and tasks of each unit. At the same time, they should ensure that political and ideological education is conducted effectively and in depth, build strong organisations, and strengthen the inspection and supervision of units’ task performance. Leadership and direction should be closely combined with promoting troops’ initiative and self-motivation. The promotion of the political - spiritual factor should be associated with building Party organisations, agencies, units, and personnel. This will foster a high degree of unity in will and action and translate spiritual strength into material strength in the performance of military communications support tasks.

Second, the promotion of the Signal Troops’ political - spiritual factor must be comprehensive and coordinated. The strength of this factor does not derive from any single element but rather from the interaction and mutual reinforcement of its constituent elements. Therefore, measures must be implemented comprehensively and in a coordinated manner to promote all these constituent elements, including knowledge, ideology, and political steadfastness, emotions, trust, willpower, and a sense of responsibility, so as to bring the Signal Troops’ political - spiritual strength into full play.

In performing the task of maintaining the communications “lifeline” for command and control, the military signal force regularly operates in stressful, high-pressure environments and works extensively with advanced technologies. Its spiritual strength must therefore be promoted in a comprehensive and coordinated manner, without overemphasising any single aspect. Only when sound awareness is coupled with firm political steadfastness, faith with willpower, and responsibility with professional competence can signal soldiers maintain timely, accurate, confidential, and secure communications in all situations.

During the resistance wars against French colonialists and US imperialists, faith in the revolutionary ideal, hatred of the enemy, and a deep sense of commitment and responsibility combined to form a powerful collective force, enabling the Signal Troops to consistently “go ahead and pave the way”, overcome all difficulties, and keep the communications lifeline uninterrupted, thereby making an important contribution to the nation’s victories. In the current period, the Signal Troops’ political - spiritual factor must be developed in coordination with technical knowledge, digital literacy, and discipline in the use of information technology. Faith and willpower must go hand in hand with the capability to master satellite communications systems, digital technologies, cryptography, and cyberspace operations. Accordingly, alongside strengthening the political convictions of officers and soldiers, agencies and units should foster close comradeship and solidarity, devotion to the profession, enthusiasm for work, and faith in the VPA’s strength. At the same time, specialised signal training should be closely integrated with political education and ideological guidance, with particular emphasis placed on clarifying the strategic significance of each item of equipment, transmission line, and software application, thereby turning knowledge into a rational foundation for faith and action.

Talk between leaders and cadets of the Signal Officer College

Third, the principles of education and training must be thoroughly understood and strictly applied in line with the functions and tasks of each unit and adapted to the characteristics of its area of responsibility and personnel. This is a matter of principle grounded in Marxist - Leninist methodology and the scientific and practical requirements, ensuring that the political - spiritual factor is effectively promoted in accordance with practical realities and the specific characteristics of each agency and unit.

Building and promoting the political - spiritual factor is a scientific process that requires strict adherence to the laws of psychology and education and close attention to the specific operational conditions of the Signal Troops. Modern educational theory and military psychology affirm that faith and willpower can be effectively cultivated only by adhering to scientific principles of personality formation, namely systematicity, continuity, and specificity. Therefore, political and ideological education within units must be a continuous process, progressing from lower to higher levels and from simpler to more complex stages, while remaining practical, concrete, and tailored to each target group. It must ensure that every service member fully understands their duties within the military communications system and the politico-military significance of each aspect of their work. This provides a solid basis for building firm spiritual motivation. When political awareness is closely linked with assigned duties, it fosters faith, willpower, and responsibility.

At the same time, thought and will must be closely linked with concrete actions, operational conditions, and tasks. Given the highly specialised nature of their work, the Signal Troops’ political - spiritual factor cannot remain abstract. It must be reflected in the precision of every technical operation, the discipline maintained during every duty shift, and the reliability of every communications link. It must also be tailored to the specific requirements of each task rather than applied mechanically or in vague, general terms. In units performing highly technical tasks, the political - spiritual factor must become a driving force for cadres and soldiers to conduct in-depth study and master modern weapons and equipment. For independent units and isolated stations dispersed across diverse terrain, remote areas, border regions, and islands, political and ideological work must focus on fostering troops’ self-discipline, self-management capacity, and steadfastness in all situations. At the same time, maintaining secrecy and timeliness, and keeping the communications “lifeline” uninterrupted in all situations, require strict discipline, rigorous adherence to security regulations, and close coordination in every operation and task.

Fourth, ideological work, organisational work, and policy work must be closely integrated to promote the Signal Troops’ political - spiritual factor. The political - spiritual factor constitutes a unified whole, formed and developed through the aggregate and dialectical interaction of multiple factors, foremost among them ideology, organisation, and policy. Closely integrating these factors is, therefore, an important matter of principle.

Within this relationship, ideological work plays a key role in guiding perceptions, building faith, and inspiring each individual’s determination and sense of responsibility; it must be conducted regularly and continuously with due regard to the characteristics of different personnel, tasks, and units. Effective organisational work ensures that political and spiritual values do not remain merely at the level of awareness but are institutionalised through discipline, regulations, procedures, and unit routines. Simultaneously, the effective implementation of policies helps officers and soldiers feel secure in their work, strengthen their commitment to their units, develop a sense of responsibility, and take the initiative in overcoming difficulties and fulfilling their tasks. It also reinforces their faith in the Party, the State, the VPA, and their units.

Fifth, the promotion of the Signal Troops’ political - spiritual factor requires the close integration of “prevention” and “combat”. This is a particularly important issue, reflecting the proactivity, comprehensiveness, flexibility, and creativity of relevant actors; it is also a politico-ideological requirement and an objective law governing the safeguarding of the VPA’s spiritual foundation in the new situation.

Within this inseparable dialectical relationship, “prevention” is fundamental and long-term and should be carried out regularly to build “spiritual immunity” among cadres and soldiers through political and ideological education and the persistent cultivation of an indomitable spirit and steadfastness in the performance of all assigned tasks. Meanwhile, “combat” involves direct, resolute, and timely actions to prevent and eliminate ideological, moral, and lifestyle deviations, and to counter harmful cultural products and erroneous and hostile viewpoints.

The combination of “prevention” and “combat” in promoting the political - spiritual factor must be conducted flexibly, smoothly, and creatively, in close association with the building of strong Party organisations and the development of a strong contingent of cadres in a manner suited to the technical and professional characteristics of each unit. Given their direct and regular interaction with high-tech environments, the high risk of information attacks, and their exposure to diverse and conflicting information, this combination must also encompass technical and technological preventive measures, such as system security, access control, strict management of internal information, effective responses to cyber-attacks, malware prevention, and the handling of information leakage incidents.

The above matters of principle represent initial research that provides a basis for further efforts to promote the Signal Troops’ political - spiritual factor. Accordingly, agencies and units should continue to study and apply them appropriately, thereby contributing to building an elite, compact, strong, modern military signal force capable of meeting its task requirements in the new situation.

Sr. Col. VU DUY HAI

Political Commissar of the Signal Officer College