Thoroughly grasping President Ho Chi Minh’s instruction: “Only when the Party is strong can the revolution succeed, just as only when the helmsman is skillful can the boat sail safely,” the Army Officer College No.2 has always attached great importance to building a clean, strong party committee with comprehensive leadership capacity, high combat effectiveness, thereby improving the quality of education and training and contributing to the building of a contingent of military cadres capable of meeting requirements of national defence in the new situation. 

The mission of building a streamlined, compact, and strong military advancing toward modernity is placing new and higher requirements for education and training as well as for the development of high-quality human resources in military schools, including the Army Officer College No.2.

Lt. Gen. Nguyen Xuan Son awards cadets with outstanding achievements in a firing test

Being fully aware of its role and responsibilities, and in order to effectively implement the motto that “the quality of training at the school is the combat readiness capability of units,” in recent years, the College Party Committee’s Standing Board has consistently focused on building a clean, strong Party Committee in accordance with President Ho Chi Minh’s teachings. As a result, the leadership capacity and combat effectiveness of the Party Committee, as well as the quality of cadres and party members, have been continuously enhanced. The entire Party Committee remains a united and cohesive bloc in terms of political stance, ideology, and organisation. Party committees and party organisations at all levels are regularly consolidated and strengthened, operating in accordance with their functions and tasks, strictly observing the principle of democratic centralism and emphasising self-criticism and criticism. Management, education, and training of cadres and party members receive due attention. Inspection and supervision work is carried out synchronously, methodically, and effectively. The College Party Committee effectively fulfills its role as the political nucleus, exercising comprehensive leadership over all tasks, particularly education and training. During the 2020-2025 term, the proportion of Party organisations that excellently fulfilled their tasks reached 23.44%; grassroots-level party committees reached 22.36%; and party members who fulfilled their tasks well and excellently exceeded 96.19% (an increase of 4.76% compared to the previous term). These results constitute a decisive factor in determining the quality of the College’s education and training. 

During his lifetime, President Ho Chi Minh warned us that: “If party members are not united in thought and action, it is like a bundle of reeds loosely tied together or the drum beats one way while the trumpet blows another. In such a case, it is impossible to lead the masses or do the revolution.” Following his teaching, the College Party Committee’s Standing Board places special emphasis on building a Party Committee that is strong in political and ideological terms. To ensure depth and sustainability, the College Party Committee continues to thoroughly grasp and strictly implement resolutions, directives, regulations, and guidelines of the Party Central Committee, the Politburo, the Secretariat, and the Central Military Commission concerning party building. During implementation, party committees and party organisations at all levels are required to proactively study, formulate, and strictly implement leadership resolutions closely aligned with practical realities at each grassroots party organisation. Priority is given to political education to enhance political steadfastness, combativeness, and responsibility among party committees, party cells, cadres, and party members, thereby strengthening unity and determination to fulfill key political tasks. Leaders and commanders at all levels are required to maintain close contact with grassroots units, fully grasp situations, listen to the thoughts and aspirations of cadres and party members, and promptly resolve emerging issues to prevent the development of negative thinking. Close integration is maintained between “building” and “preventing”; between education and persuasion and administrative and disciplinary measures. Ideological work is conducted comprehensively and effectively, resolutely preventing manifestations of “self-evolution” and “self-transformation” within the party. The role of Steering Committee 35 and Force 47 is promoted in the ideological and theoretical struggle to refute erroneous and hostile viewpoints and firmly safeguard the Party’s ideological foundation.

Conducting tactical training

In party building, President Ho Chi Minh attached special importance to revolutionary morality of cadres and party members, as stating: “A revolutionary must have revolutionary ethics as the foundation in order to successfully accomplish the glorious revolutionary mission.” Following his guidance, the College Party Committee requires party committees and party organisations at all levels to thoroughly implement Regulation No. 144-QD/TW dated May 9, 2024 of the Politburo (13th term) on standards of revolutionary morality for cadres and party members in the new period. Based on assigned functions, tasks, and specific subjects, ethical value systems are reviewed, supplemented, and refined, serving as a basis for organisations and individuals to “self-examine and self-correct” and practice ethical standards. At the same time, education is strengthened in conjunction with fostering a clean, simple, honest, and humane lifestyle among cadres and party members. The exemplary role of cadres and party members, especially key leaders, is promoted. Proactive prevention and resolute struggle are waged against individualism, opportunism, pragmatism, indifference, achievement-oriented mentality, and formalism, particularly in education and training. Signs of moral and lifestyle degradation are promptly detected and strictly handled. Exemplary individuals and good deeds are commended and replicated. A humane ethical culture is fostered within the pedagogical environment. As a result, the majority of cadres and party members demonstrate good moral qualities, healthy lifestyles, high responsibility, and exemplary conduct in study, work, and daily activities, actively preventing bureaucracy, corruption, wastefulness, and negative practices.

Being imbued with Uncle Ho’s teaching of “a great, strong, firm, genuine, and thoroughly revolutionary Party,” the College considers this a spiritual driving force in studying and following his example to build party committees and party organisations at all levels that are strong in organisation and personnel. In recent years, the College Party Committee has regularly focused on consolidating party committees and party organisations at all levels in terms of quantity and quality, ensuring rational structure. Attention is paid to reviewing, supplementing, and effectively implementing working regulations and leadership mechanisms for key tasks, fostering internal unity, strengthening democracy, discipline, and order. Democratic centralism is strictly implemented, combining collective leadership with the promotion of individual responsibility in executing resolutions. Party activities are maintained regularly and effectively. Leadership resolution-making and party activities at all levels are continuously renewed. The leadership role of party organisations and the effectiveness of command structures are strengthened, closely linking the performance of agencies, faculties, and units with the responsibilities of secretaries, party committees, and key leaders at all levels. Building clean and strong party organisations is closely integrated with building comprehensively strong agencies, faculties, and units that are “exemplary and typical.” Annual reviews, evaluations, and classifications of party organisations and party members are conducted effectively, contributing to enhanced leadership capacity and combat effectiveness.

The College won First Prize in the Military-wide English Contest in 2024

Together with building an organisationally strong Party Committee, the College Party Committee closely links the development of party members with training and building a contingent of cadres. Priority is given to strictly implementing higher-level regulations and guidelines on cadre work and cadre development. Management, evaluation, planning, training, appointment, rotation, recruitment, staffing, and cadre policy implementation are conducted with quality and consistency, closely integrating the appointment of key leaders with the consolidation of party committees at all levels. As a result, the quality of cadres has improved significantly, with 100% meeting requirements in terms of qualities, capabilities, and prestige. Over 95% of cadres annually rated as fulfilling their tasks well or excellently, which is an increase of 10% compared to the 2015-2020 term.

President Ho Chi Minh emphasised that cadres must “maintain close ties with the people and always listen attentively to their opinions, considering this the foundation of the Party’s strength and the reason for its victories.” Following the teaching, the College Party Committee requires party organisations at all levels to renew leadership styles and working methods of its cadres, ensuring collective orientation and respect for the collective. Each cadre is required to strictly avoid common shortcomings such as subjectivism, narrow-mindedness, verbosity, and especially individualism. Currently, the College is promoting application of information technology and digital transformation, building a scientific management system to enhance transparency and effectiveness in leadership and command. As a result, during the past term, 100% of party committees, party organisations, and key leaders have renewed leadership methods, ensuring democracy, focus, close supervision, synchronisation, determination, and effectiveness. Collective wisdom is promoted. Initiative, creativity, and responsibility are encouraged. Cadres are empowered to think boldly, act decisively, innovate, overcome difficulties, and act for the common good. Leadership and directive documents are issued in a concise, synchronised, and comprehensive manner, focusing on key political tasks. Weaknesses are promptly addressed. Responsibilities of party committees, standing committees, secretaries, and leaders in charge of specific tasks are clearly defined. Manifestations of avoidance, shirking responsibility, and fear of accountability are resolutely opposed. To date, the majority of leaders and commanders demonstrate high responsibility, close engagement with units, dedication to work, creativity, resilience, and exemplary conduct, truly serving as role models for subordinates.

Additionally, the College Party Committee strictly implements inspection and supervision work in accordance with Uncle Ho’s teaching: “Skillful inspection will surely reduce shortcomings,” proactively preventing and combating disciplinary violations, thereby contributing to the continuous strengthening of the Party Committee and enabling the College to steadily improve education and training quality and successfully fulfill all assigned tasks.

Lieutenant General NGUYEN XUAN SON, Political Commissar of the College