The struggle to prevent and combat violations of State law and breaches of military discipline is a crucial aspect of building “typical and exemplary” comprehensively strong units, maintaining order and discipline, and enhancing combat strength, making practical contributions to the construction of a revolutionary, regular, elite, and modern Army capable of firmly safeguarding the Fatherland in the new era.
The Vietnam People’s Army is a politically reliable force, absolutely loyal to the Party, the State, and the People - the core force in safeguarding the Fatherland under all circumstances. Throughout more than 80 years of building, fighting, and growing in victory and maturity, our Army has consistently embodied the noble qualities of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers” - a shining symbol of revolutionary heroism - demonstrating unity, self-discipline, and strict adherence to organisation and regulations. These attributes form the foundation of the Army’s strength, prestige, and revolutionary nature.
Fully aware of this, in recent years Party committees and commanders at all levels across the entire Army have thoroughly grasped and effectively implemented the directives and regulations of the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defence on regularity building, discipline management, and safety assurance. Through resolute efforts and scientifically grounded measures, the observance of State law, military discipline, and safety regulations across the Army has seen positive and sustained progress. The dissemination, propagation, and education of legal knowledge have been renewed with creativity and diversity in both content and method, yielding tangible results. Cadres, soldiers, defence workers, and employees now demonstrate heightened awareness, responsibility, and self-discipline in complying with laws and military regulations. The work of inspection, supervision, review, and evaluation has been strengthened, leading to a continuous decline in the number of violations of State law and military discipline, both in terms of cases and individuals involved. Judicial bodies within the Army have effectively fulfilled their assigned functions and responsibilities, ensuring timely investigation, adjudication, and handling of violations and offences with strict adherence to the principle of “strictly abiding by the law”. Cases are dealt with promptly, in accordance with regulations, and reported to higher levels as prescribed.
Nevertheless, certain agencies and units have still allowed serious violations of law and discipline to occur, resulting in adverse consequences that tarnish the Army’s traditions, prestige, and the noble image of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers.” Such incidents have been exploited by hostile forces as pretexts for distortion and subversion.
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| Officers and soldiers of Regiment 98, Division 316 in a discussion about promoting the title of Uncle Ho's Soldiers |
The causes of the above situation include both objective and subjective factors; however, the main reason lies in the fact that the Party committees and commanders of some agencies and units have not conducted close and specific inspections and have lacked determination in handling violations. In certain units, the management of ideology and discipline remains insufficiently strict and inconsistent; the dissemination and education of laws have, at times, lacked quality and effectiveness. Some servicemen still hold a simplistic perception of law and discipline, demonstrate a low level of self-discipline, neglect self-cultivation and training, and tend to pursue a materialistic and self-centred lifestyle.
In the coming time, the entire Army will focus on thoroughly grasping and implementing the Resolution of the 12th Military Party Congress. The mission of building a revolutionary, regular, elite, and modern Army now places increasingly high demands amid numerous difficulties and challenges. Notably, the incitement, enticement, and subversive activities of hostile forces, together with the negative impacts of the market economy and social networks, are daily and hourly infiltrating and directly influencing the ideology and sentiments of cadres and soldiers. Therefore, the whole Army must strengthen the struggle to prevent and combat violations of State law and military discipline through multiple measures, focusing on the following key solutions:
Firstly, to strengthen the leadership and direction of Party committees and commanders at all levels in the struggle against violations and crimes. This is the most important solution, decisive to creating positive and steady changes in the observance of law and military discipline across all agencies and units. Accordingly, the Party committees and commanders at all levels throughout the Army must enhance leadership and effectively organise the implementation of tasks related to preventing and combating violations of law and discipline within their own agencies and units, regarding this as one of the key, regular leadership duties. For agencies and units where observance of law and discipline has not shown positive and firm changes, specialised resolutions on leadership must be developed. When formulating such resolutions, they must be scientific, suitable, and closely aligned with the specific characteristics and assigned tasks of each unit. Implementation plans must be carefully prepared, with clear, detailed assignments to every organisation and individual within the unit. At the same time, it is essential to continue to thoroughly grasp and effectively implement the directives and documents of the Party, the State, the Central Military Party Commission, and the Ministry of National Defence on preventing and combating violations of law and discipline, regulations on ensuring safety within the Army, as well as documents on the protection of State secrets and military secrets and frequently strengthen the management of information, public communication, and the use of the internet and social networks by officers and soldiers, especially during holidays and off-duty hours.
Leaders, commanders, and heads of agencies and units must continue to set good examples in all activities and duties; regularly care for and foster internal solidarity and unity within their organisations. It is necessary to pay attention to understanding and managing the ideological situation of cadres and soldiers; improving the effectiveness of self-inspection and supervision; promptly detecting and properly handling violations within their competence; and reporting or proposing to the superiors to strictly handle cases beyond their jurisdiction, together with considering the related responsibility of Party committees and commanders at relevant levels. The results of law and discipline observance in each agency and unit must be linked to the annual review, evaluation, and classification of Party committees, Party organisations, and individual cadres and Party members.
Secondly, to continue to innovate and improve the quality of legal dissemination, propagation, and education. Successfully implementing this measure will help consolidate and raise the awareness and sense of responsibility of cadres and soldiers in the struggle against violations of law and discipline. At the same time, it will foster and develop a spirit of self-discipline and compliance with legal and disciplinary regulations among all servicemen. In practice, agencies and units that conduct legal dissemination and education effectively always experience a firm and positive transformation in law and discipline observance, with no serious violations occurring; conversely, where this work is performed in a superficial or perfunctory manner, violations tend to arise. Therefore, agencies and units must continue to strengthen, improve, and ensure the quality and effectiveness of legal dissemination and education for all categories of personnel, enabling every serviceman to clearly understand the meaning, importance, and harmful consequences of violating State law and military discipline. Through this, their awareness and sense of responsibility in law observance will be heightened. The content of legal education should be broad and comprehensive, yet focused and selective - concentrating on the directives and regulations of the Government and the Ministry of National Defence regarding observance of State law and military discipline; the regularity building and discipline management; and the prevention and combat of violations within the Army.
During implementation, forms and methods must be applied flexibly and creatively, but also appropriately for each category of personnel, local conditions, and assigned tasks. At the same time, they must be motivational and capable of transforming attitudes and behaviours among servicemen, thereby gradually reducing and ultimately eliminating serious disciplinary violations. Alongside the full and qualitative implementation of the annual legal education programme, it is also essential to integrate this work closely with political and ideological education, moral and lifestyle education, and the preservation of the Army’s fine traditions, the values of its agencies and units, and the noble qualities of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers.” The role of the Councils for Legal Dissemination and Education Coordination at all levels, together with information, inspection, and criminal investigation agencies, must be promoted to further enhance the quality of legal dissemination and education. This will contribute to a firm transformation in the awareness and sense of responsibility of Party committees, commanders, and the entire cadre and soldier corps regarding the observance of State law and military discipline. It is also required to continue to vigorously promote the learning and following of Ho Chi Minh’s thoughts, ethics, and style, and effectively implement the campaign “Promoting tradition, dedicating talent, and being worthy of the title of Uncle Ho’s Soldiers in the new era,” in connection with developing exemplary units in law and discipline observance. Military press agencies should continue to highlight and disseminate examples of collectives and individuals, as well as outstanding models and role models throughout the entire Army, who have excelled in law and discipline observance, thereby contributing to building comprehensively strong, “typical and exemplary” units.
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| Young officers of Regiment 3, Division 9 in a talk about promoting the title of Uncle Ho's Soldiers |
Thirdly, to enhance the effectiveness of discipline management, training, and regularity building across the Army. Party committees and commanders of all agencies and units must continue to lead and effectively implement the tasks of regularity building and discipline management. In doing so, particular attention must be paid to improving the quality of troop management and the management of weapons and equipment, especially during holidays and off-duty hours, in the reception and management of new recruits, in small and dispersed units, and among officers and non-commissioned servicemen who are permitted to live with their families. Close coordination must be maintained with relevant functional agencies to ensure the effective management of cyberspace, internal political affairs, and personal debts that exceed the repayment capacity of cadres and soldiers. Complex social relationships involving servicemen must be promptly and effectively resolved to prevent the occurrence of serious legal or disciplinary violations. Appropriate measures should be adopted to screen, control, and prevent social evils such as gambling and drug abuse from infiltrating military agencies and units.
At the same time, greater emphasis must be placed on strengthening the regularity building and strict adherence to the daily and weekly routines of living, studying, and working; organising political, cultural, and spiritual days; and implementing the motto “Reporting when leaving, accounting when returning,” ensuring that the entire agency or unit “acts in accordance with regulations and orders.” Throughout implementation, there must be a close combination between construction and prevention, with priority given to construction; between education and persuasion on the one hand, and administrative measures on the other- placing emphasis on moral education, persuasion, and rehabilitation; and using the positive to drive out the negative. In particular, inspection, supervision, and strict handling of violations must be strengthened in accordance with the principle of “strictly abiding by the law”, thereby enhancing deterrence and prevention. Whenever violations of State law or military discipline occur, they must be dealt with thoroughly, within proper authority and in compliance with regulations, ensuring strictness, democracy, objectivity, and fairness - avoiding any imposition or arbitrariness. At the same time, collective and individual responsibility must be clearly examined and handled in cases of concealment, avoidance, negligence, or lax command and management that lead to violations of law or discipline- under the principle that “no violation shall be overlooked, and no discipline shall be compromised.” Efforts must be made to completely overcome the situation of shirking responsibility, concealing shortcomings, failing to report, reporting late, or providing inaccurate reports inconsistent with the nature of incidents. All cases of legal and disciplinary violations should be regularly publicised to all servicemen, thereby enabling lessons to be learned in management and providing ideological orientation for the troops.
Fourthly, to promote the combined strength of all organisations and forces in the struggle against violations of law and discipline. In recent years, various organisations and forces within agencies and units have made significant contributions to the prevention and combat of legal and disciplinary violations through creative initiatives and scientifically grounded measures, directly contributing to building comprehensively strong, “typical and exemplary” units. Therefore, Party committees and commanders at all levels throughout the Army must continue to lead and direct the activities of organisations, particularly the Youth Unions, Soldiers’ Councils, and Women’s Unions, to fully promote their core and pioneering roles in advising, guiding, inspecting, supervising, detecting, and combating violations. It is also essential to uphold the active roles of groups such as the “threesomes,” “soldier-protectors,” “mass mobilisers,” and “psychological and legal advisors” in the management and education of servicemen. Regular forums, discussions, and contests on State law and military discipline should be organised, alongside the effective use of “legal bookcases” and other educational tools, to provide servicemen with legal knowledge and foster their sense of self-discipline and legal awareness.
Finally, to strengthen inspection and supervision by leaders and commanders at all levels, while maintaining close coordination with functional agencies in troop management, and promptly conducting reviews, summaries, and evaluations of disciplinary management practices. Party committees and commanders of agencies and units must enhance both regular and unscheduled inspections and supervision, anticipate potential risks that may lead to violations of law and discipline, and devise preventive measures accordingly. It is necessary to closely monitor and grasp the ideological developments of cadres and soldiers; ensure close coordination among agencies, units, local authorities, families, and relevant functional bodies in managing servicemen; and pay particular attention to tracking their numbers, qualifications, health conditions, social relationships, thoughts, and aspirations, both during and outside working hours. Commanders must direct military police and inspection forces to intensify checks on all servicemen and military vehicles participating in traffic, while coordinating closely with relevant authorities to strictly handle violations of traffic laws. Regular reviews and evaluations of discipline management and training should be conducted to draw lessons learned and promptly develop directives and solutions to overcome shortcomings and weaknesses.
Enhancing the struggle against violations and crimes within the Army is an important task closely associated with building a revolutionary, regular, elite, and modern Army. This is not only the responsibility of Party committees, commanders, and functional agencies, but, above all, a matter of individual consciousness, self-discipline, and responsibility of every officer and soldier. Therefore, every agency, unit, and serviceman must raise their awareness, responsibility, and self-discipline in complying with State law and military discipline- viewing the maintenance of discipline as the preservation of the Army’s honour and prestige, thus contributing to improving overall quality, combat strength, and the firm protection of the Fatherland in the new situation.
Major General NGUYEN BA LUC, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army