Grasping resolutions, conclusions, and directives of the Party Central Committee on Party building and rectification, the Central Military Commission (CMC) promulgated Resolution No. 847-NQ/QUTW on bringing into play fine dignity of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers” and resolving to combat individualism in the new situation on December 2021. The resolution is very important and imperative, which contributes to the building of a politically strong military with increased comprehensive quality, capable of completing every assigned task successfully.

“Uncle Ho’s Soldiers” is a noble title awarded by the Party, State, and people for contribution and sacrifice of generations of Viet Nam People’s Army (VPA) cadres and soldiers in the cause of national liberation, construction, and defence. “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers” fine dignity is crystallised from patriotic tradition of the nation, our Party’s and President Ho Chi Minh’s education and training, people’s confidence and assistance, and endless effort of cadres and soldiers. Individualism is an extremely dangerous enemy with various manifestations. It occurs any time, in many places, different people, and fields of social life, including military and national defence, doing damage to Vietnamese revolution, military building, defence consolidation, and protection of the Fatherland. Therefore, promoting fine dignity of Uncle Ho’s Soldiers and resolving to combat individualism in the VPA are both immediate, urgent and long-term, basic political tasks with the aim of establishing a healthy, rich, cultural environment, contributing to the building of a revolutionary, regular, elite, gradually modernised military.

On deeply perceiving this matter, over the past few years, the CMC, Ministry of National Defence (MND), party committees, and commanders at all levels in the military have laid out many policies and measures to lead, direct, and successfully realise this vital content and initially gained many positive outcomes. Cadres’, party members’, and the masses’ awareness of revolutionary nature, core values of dignity of Uncle Ho’s Soldiers, as well as manifestations and damaging effects of individualism is increasingly enhanced. The study, comprehension, propagation, and development of plans to implement resolutions and directives of the Party Central Committee and the CMC on Party building and rectification, studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, morality, and style are reformed both in form and methodology. There are positive transformations in preventing and combating corruption and wastefulness, power control, strengthening of disciplines among cadres and party members. Fundamental characteristics of Uncle Ho’s Soldiers dignity in the new era are materialised in the implementation of the Campaign “Promoting tradition, devoting talent, deserving to be Uncle Ho’s Soldiers in the new era” and the Determination to Win Movement by many party committees, unit commanders, and mass organisations. The identification, struggle, prevention, and settlement of manifestations of degradation in political ideology, morality, life style, “self-evolution,” and “self-transformation” are led, directed, and carried out in a regular, serious manner by the CMC and party committees at all levels. The principle of democratic centralism is always leveraged. Cadre work is done synchronously and effectively. The regulation on grassroots democracy is regularly adopted and increasingly promoted. Self-criticism and criticism are always heightened.

Lt. Gen. Trinh Van Quyet briefs the CMC's resolution at the Military-wide key cadre meeting

New models and good, creative practices in striving for the title of Uncle Ho’s Soldiers and resolutely combating individualism appear more and more through vivid realities, which are all-pervasive in the entire military and society. There have been many cadres and soldiers sacrificing their lives for peace and happiness of people, especially in preventing and responding to natural disasters, epidemics, search and rescue. Those results are of significant importance in both short term and long term, contributing to the building of a politically strong military, an increase in the VPA’s integrated quality and combat strength, and the VPA’s fulfillment of all assigned tasks.

Apart from the above-mentioned achievements, part of cadres, party members, and the masses have shown a limited understanding of dignity of Uncle Ho’s Soldiers and a vague identification of manifestations and damaging effects of individualism. Violations of State law and military discipline have not been prevented and pushed back effectively. The situation even witnesses complex, subtle developments in certain places with the involvement of collectives, individuals, senior officials, etc., which badly affects the VPA’s tradition and prestige as well as fine dignity and images of Uncle Ho’s Soldiers.

In the coming years, the missions of military building and defence consolidation to safeguard the Fatherland will witness new developments with increasingly high requirements. The VPA continues to carry out adjustments in terms of organisation. Many military families still face difficulties. Meanwhile, hostile forces continue to step up acts of sabotage against the Party, State, and VPA by many subtle, cunning means. This will have influence on cadres’ and soldiers’ feelings, sentiments, and task performance, thus requiring the entire military to unite and focus on making the VPA strong in every aspect, first and foremost in politics, to provide the foundation for improving overall quality, combat strength, and fulfillment of assigned tasks. To do so, among other things, requires the VPA to grasp and effectively implement the Resolution No. 847-NQ/QUTW, dated 28 December 2021, of the CMC on bringing into play dignity of Uncle Ho’s Soldiers, resolving to combat individualism in the new era (hereinafter referred to as Resolution 847), most notably the following contents:

First, stepping up propagation and education to raise cadres’, party members’, and the masses’ awareness and responsibility to the implementation of the Resolution. Party members, commissars, and commanders at all levels need to lead and direct the strengthening of propagation and education to turn the implementation of the Resolution 874 into a widespread political activity in the entire military, which serves to enable all cadres, party members, and the masses to thoroughly grasp and voluntarily realise contents of the Resolution. Contents of propagation and education must ensure that cadres and soldiers are deeply imbued with sacred, noble values and unique features of dignity of Uncle Ho’s Soldiers as well as the significance, objectives, standpoints, missions, and solutions of the Resolution. They must be well aware of manifestations and damaging effects of individualism as well as missions and measures to struggle and prevent individualism in departments and units. Cadres and soldiers should understand clearly that the CMC’s promulgation of the Resolution 847 also demonstrates its exemplary role in Party building and rectification. The VPA must be truly pure and in the vanguard of the struggle against wrongdoings, corruption, and wastefulness as requested by General Secretary, Secretary of the CMC Nguyen Phu Trong. Thus, each cadre and soldier of the VPA must heighten their sense of responsibility and honour to ceaselessly bring into play and beautify dignity of Uncle Ho’s Soldiers in the new era.

Forms and methods to conduct propagation and education must be varied, flexible, copious, lively, and suitable to each subject. Special attention should be paid to increased quality of political education and organisation of talks, exchanges, and contests to evaluate knowledge of dignity of Uncle Ho’s Soldiers, especially at the grassroots level. Party committees, commanders, and commissars at all levels need to materialise the implementation of the Resolution in permanent missions of departments and units, and leverage the effectiveness of cultural institutions at the grassroots level to enhance quality of propagation. Military news agencies and newspapers need to bring into play their advantages and roles to proactively create specialised columns about leveraging dignity of Uncle Ho’s Soldiers to resolutely combat individualism; actively reform contents and forms; collaborate with news agencies and newspapers at the central and local levels to increase propagation quality and effectiveness to create all-pervasive influence in the entire military and society.

Second, strengthening leadership and direction of party committees and commanders at all levels for realisation of the Resolution. Following the CMC’s direction and instruction of the General Political Department (GPD), party organisations in the Military Party Committee have successfully carried out the teaching and study of the Resolution so far. This is only the initial step because to turn the spirit of the Resolution into life, ways of life, thinking, and daily activities of cadres and soldiers requires a continuous, active operational process in both breadth and depth. Functional agencies of the CMC and MND, therefore, need to do more research into resolutions, conclusions, directive, and regulations of the Central Party Committee and legal normative documents in order to recommend developing and promulgating specific conclusions, directives, and action plans to ensure synchronous, unified implementation in the entire military. Party committee, organisations, departments, and units are requested to further grasp and strictly carry out Plan No. 952-KH/QUTW, dated 1 March 2022, of the CMC’s Standing Committee and the Instruction No. 88/HD-CT, dated 12 January 2022, of the General Political Department on studying, perceiving, propagandising, and realising conclusions and regulations of the 13^th Party Central Committee on Party building and rectification. They are to consider and materialise fundamental features of Uncle Ho’s Soldiers dignity and manifestations of individualism in each subject to enable each cadre and party member as well as the masses to identify and correct themselves, especially novel, pressing features such as innovative, creative spirit, sense of responsibility for the sake of mutual interests, resolute struggle against manifestations of degradation, wrongdoings, corruption, wastefulness, etc., as provided by the Resolution.

On the basis of work characteristics, party committees and organisations issue specialised resolutions to lead the implementation of the Resolution 847 or turn it into specific guidance in resolutions on leading regular, unplanned, and periodical tasks; work out leadership measures and action plans under the motto: one plan requires ten measures and 20 resolutions. During the implementation process, it is necessary to closely associate “building” with “combat”, in which “building” is considered a long-term, basic task and “combat” an urgent, vital task; increase the role of party committees and leading cadres; bring into play proactiveness, flexibility, and creativeness in leading, directing, instructing and realising the Resolution; develop and promulgate specific statutes and regulations to encourage and protect cadres, party members, and the masses who discover and dare to struggle against manifestations of individualism, which have adverse effects on prestige, fine traditions of the VPA and dignity of Uncle Ho’s Soldiers.

Third, closely combining implementation of the Resolution 847 with realisation of resolution, conclusions, directives, and regulations on Party building and rectification as well as with campaigns in the military and beyond. The Resolution 847 represents a continuation and materialisation of the Party’s standpoint on building and rectifying the Party and political system in the military. This is also a continuation of studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, morality, and style in the new situation. Therefore, implementation of the Resolution must be closely associated with realisation of higher echelons’ resolutions, conclusions, directives, etc., on Party building and rectification, most notably Conclusion No. 01-KL/TW, dated 18 May 2021, of the Politburo (13^th tenure) on further implementing Directive No. 05-CT/TW; Conclusion No. 21-KL/TW, dated 25 October 2021 of the Party Central Committee on stepping up building and rectifying the Party and political system, resolutely preventing, pushing back, and strictly punishing cadres and party members who decline in political ideology, morality, and lifestyle, “self-evolve,” and “self-transform”; Regulation No. 37-QD/TW, dated 25 October 2021, of the Party Central Committee on  things party members are not allowed to do; Directive No. 855-CT/QUTW, dated 12 August 2019, of the CMC’s Standing Committee on stepping up implementing the campaign: “Promoting tradition, devoting talent, deserving to be Uncle Ho’s Soldiers in the new era”. Besides, the realisation of the Resolution 847 must be put in overall measures to make departments and units comprehensively strong, exemplary, and representative; party organisations pure, strong, and representative; the masses’ organisations strong and excellent. Manifestations of degradation in political ideology, morality, lifestyle, “self-evolution,” and “self-transformation,” acts of corruption, and wrongdoing must be resolutely prevented, pushed back, and strictly punished. Additionally, departments and units need to add contents of the Resolution 847 to goals and targets of the Determination to Win Emulation Movement and other emulation movements and campaigns; take the implementation of the Resolution contents as solutions to realisation of breakthroughs identified by resolutions of party congresses at all levels. During implementation, departments and units need to map out plans flexibly, integrate contents in an appropriate, effective manner to avoid boilerplate and stereotype, which potentially leads to overlapping, longer time for execution but less feasibility and effectiveness.

Fourth, tapping into cadres’ and party members’ exemplary role in implementing the Resolution. Bringing into play dignity of Uncle Ho’s Soldiers and resolutely combating individualism in every department and unit are all activities undertaken by party committees and commanders at all levels to lead and direct each military personnel’s training and task performance. Consequently, leveraging the exemplary role of cadres and party members, especially the leading ones at all levels, is very important, which has direct influence on the implementation effectiveness of the Resolution as well as missions of departments and units. Party committees and leading cadres at all levels need to grasp the view that the higher positions cadres and party members take the more exemplary they must be in training, leveraging dignity of Uncle Ho’s Soldiers, and combating individualism. They are also requested to further study and follow Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, morality, and style; perceive and seriously implement the Party’s resolutions, directives, and regulations on providing good examples, most notably Regulation No. 08-QDi/TW, dated 25 October 2018, of the Party Central Committee on cadres’ and party members’ responsibility to provide good examples and Regulation No. 646-QD/QUTW, dated 6 November 2012, of the CMC’s Standing Committee on “Responsibility to provide good examples of cadres and party members, especially the military ones”. These will enable them to specify contents cadres and party members, particularly the leading ones at all levels, must provide good examples during the process of realising the Resolution, focusing on political ideology, morality, lifestyle; reforming working style in a scientific, close-to-reality, grassroots-oriented direction; the spirit of self-reflection, self-correction, self-training, self-criticism, and criticism; matching words with deeds; daring to think, daring to do, and daring to take responsibility; practising diligence, thrift, integrity, uprightness, public-mindedness, selflessness; sense of discipline and internal solidarity; resolving to combat manifestations of bureaucracy, authoritarianism, bribery, corruption, wastefulness, and so forth.

To heighten sense of responsibility to provide good examples requires party committees to study and materialise higher echelons’ documents in order to better specific regulations on responsibility to provide good examples; practise self-reflection and self-correction of cadres and party members, especially the leading ones; be in the vanguard of striving to deserve the title of Uncle Ho’s Soldiers, resolutely combating individualism under the motto: “the higher echelons provide good examples for the lower echelons to copy”. Setting good examples must be carried out regularly, continually, anytime, anywhere, and from the small to great things to generate positive momentum in the entire military.

Fifth, strengthening inspection, supervision, preliminary summing-up, and summation to draw experience and multiply prominent examples in implementing the Resolution 847. In fact, limited outcomes in leveraging dignity of Uncle Ho’s Soldiers and combating individualism in some departments and units are attributed to irregular inspection and warning and concealment of shortcomings. Some units pledge to implement the Resolution but do nothing or fail to meet their commitments. Their activities are mostly boilerplate, produce low effectiveness, or even create conditions for individualism to emerge and develop in departments and units. Therefore, the grasp and implementation of the Resolution 847 this time require party committees and inspection committees at all levels to proactively include leveraging dignity of Uncle Ho’s Soldiers and resolving to combat individualism in inspection and supervision plans. It is necessary to firmly grasp and effectively realise the guiding ideology of “proactiveness, offensiveness, education, effectiveness,” “broadened supervision, focused inspection” during implementation. Party committees’ inspection and supervision of cadres and party members must be closely aligned. There needs to take initiative in deeply perceive situations in every aspect, especially those relating to cadres’ and party members’ politics, ideology, morality, and lifestyle to timely adjust and supplement new solutions to bring into play dignity of Uncle Ho’s Soldiers, resolutely combating individualism. It is necessary to strictly carry out the Directive No. 26-CT/TW, dated 9 November 2018 of the Politburo (12^th tenure) on strengthening the Party’s leadership of investigating and settling cases; the Regulation No. 109-QD/TW, dated 3 January 2018, of the Secretariate Committee (12^th tenure) on party organisations’ inspection of cadres’ and party members’ training in morality and lifestyle.

In addition, departments and units are requested to conduct periodical preliminary summing-up and summation to draw experience and determine solutions to lead, direct, and coordinate implementation of the Resolution in the coming time; discover new models, best practices, collectives and individuals who have actively opposed and criticised individualism to honour, praise, reward, and multiply in the entire military.

Given thorough awareness, high political determination, and drastic, active, proactive, creative actions of the CMC, MND, party committees, commanders at all levels, cadres, and soldiers in the entire military, we are confident that we will successfully implement the Resolution 847, ceaselessly bring into play, and beautify dignity of Uncle Ho’s Soldiers forever, resolutely combating individualism in a thorough, effective manner, thereby contributing to the building of a politically strong military with high combat strength, capable of defending the Fatherland in the new situation.

Lieutenant General TRINH VAN QUYET, Member of the Party Central Committee, Member of the Central Military Commission, Deputy Chief of the General Political Department, Viet Nam People’s Army