Promoting its tradition of being “loyal, ingenious, creative, proactive, united, determined to win” in the past 80 years of construction, combat, and development (7 September 1945 - 7 September 2025), the Department of Operations continues sharpening its capabilities in staff and direction work for strategic operations, meeting the requirements of building the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA), consolidating national defence, and safeguarding the Fatherland in the new situation.  

Immediately after the success of the August Revolution in 1945 and the birth of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, Operations Office - the forerunner of the Department of Operations under the General Staff - was founded. Despite limited material resources, equipment, and operational advisory experience, the Department’s personnel successfully fulfilled their assigned tasks, effectively serving the work of commanding and directing the fight against both internal and external enemies, firmly defending the revolutionary fruits.

The 23rd Congress of the Department’s Party Organisation for 2025 - 2030 tenure

During the resistance wars against French colonialists and the US imperialists, while consolidating its organisational structure, the Department actively monitored and assessed battlefield developments, carrying out precise situational analyses, giving timely, strategic advice to the General Staff and the Ministry of National Defence (MND) on measures to conduct operations on the battlefield, greatly contributing to victory of the two protracted resistance wars, affirming its position as a central advisory and planning body for strategic operations.

In the cause of Fatherland building and defence, the Department has focused on researching and proposing strategic force adjustments, planning national defence strategies, and improving the armed forces’ combat readiness to prevent passivity. Notably, it has actively advised the Central Military Commission (CMC), the MND, and particularly the General Staff on measures for strategic operational command, contributing to glorious victories in the wars to protect the Fatherland and in international missions. It has also proposed policies and solutions for building all-people national defence, developing defensive zones, defeating hostile forces’ “peaceful evolution” strategy, addressing complex situations in terms of defence and security, firmly protecting the Fatherland’s borders, seas, islands, and airspace. Notably, it has promoted its central role in cooperating with various bodies of the General Staff and the MND to carry out the National Defence Strategy, the Vietnam Military Strategy, and other specialised strategies, meeting the requirements of Fatherland protection in the new context. With its outstanding achievements, it has been twice honoured with the title of Hero of the People’s Armed Forces by the State and given many other noble awards.

In the time to come, it is predicted that the situation on global and regional scales will remain complicated. Strategic competition among major powers will be more intense; military conflicts, territorial disputes, and traditional and non-traditional security challenges will increase in scope and severity. For our country, hostile forces continue stepping up their “peaceful evolution” strategy, promoting “self-evolution” and “self-transformation”, plotting to “depoliticise” of our armed forces. Our entire VPA and localities continue to execute the Party’s resolutions on streamlining the political system’s apparatus and adjusting administrative boundaries. This situation presents comprehensive tasks and demanding requirements for strategic operational staff and direction work. To fulfil its assigned tasks, the Department continues to uphold its tradition and further improve its capabilities in staff and direction work for strategic operations.

First, continuing to grasp and effectively implement resolutions and directives by the Party, State, CMC, and MND on national defence, military affairs, and Fatherland protection. Over the past 80 years, in the face of complex and rapid developments on global, regional, and domestic scales, the Department has consistently adhered to the Party’s defence and military guidelines, actively monitoring the situation, giving advice on formulating policies, countermeasures, and strategic operational plans. This has allowed accurate and opportune handling of military and defence situations, contributing to maintaining political stability and firmly protecting the Fatherland’s territorial sovereignty.

Bringing into play those achievements, the Department continues to grasp the Party’s defence, military, and Fatherland protection lines, especially the Resolution of the 13^th Party Central Committee’s 8^th Plenum on the Strategy for Fatherland Protection in the new context, as well as directives of the Party General Secretary at the CMC’s 14^th Session. Grounded on those documents, it focuses on studying and forecasting potential adversaries and their schemes, methods, and forms of warfare, particularly in strategic directions and key areas. It conducts thorough analysis and assessment to forecast military and defence situations, opportunely proposing policies and measures to prevent and mitigate any potential conflict risks early and from afar, thus avoiding strategic passivity and maintaining a peaceful environment for national development. At the same time, priority is given to researching and developing theories, principles, and methods of strategic operations and people’s war to protect the Fatherland. This includes building all-people national defence and all-people defence posture combined with people’s security posture, as well as a firm “people’s hearts and minds” posture. In the immediate future, together with other strategic staff agencies, the Department researches the development, supplementation, and perfection of the legal system on national defence, meeting the requirements of protecting the Fatherland in the new conditions.

Second, enhancing the quality of situational assessment and forecast, providing timely, sound, effective advice on handling defence and security situations. This is a task, solution, and top priority in the Department’s staff and direction work for strategic operations. Currently, due to the rapid development of science and technology which leads to breakthroughs in weapons and equipment, many new forms and methods of warfare have emerged. In addition, traditional and non-traditional security challenges have become increasingly complex and diverse. That necessitates the Department further raising the quality of its strategic research, assessment, and forecast. To this end, it continues strengthening cooperation with strategic and staff bodies at all levels, sectors, and localities. This cooperative effort helps detect new schemes and tactics of hostile forces, anticipate potential strategic situations, and identify activities that could be detrimental to our national defence, security, and interests. Emphasis is placed on combining the use of modern technical means with traditional methods in collecting, analysing, evaluating, and processing information, ensuring that all intelligence sources are assessed in a timely, consistent, accurate manner. This will enable the General Staff and the MND to opportunely respond to any situations, avoiding falling into passivity or surprise.

Third, directing all units of the VPA to strictly maintain combat readiness regulations and improve the quality of training and exercises at all levels. Currently, the two-tier local government model has been adopted nationwide, creating new major issues for defence and military work in general, for combat readiness in particular. Against that backdrop, the Department has proactively cooperated with competent offices of the MND in directing the performance of the task of consolidating and organising national defence posture, thereby enhancing the nation’s defensive capability in line with new requirements. Emphasis is placed on consolidating local military agencies, advising and directing adjustments in the planning and postures of strategic defence, military region defence, and provincial-level defensive zones. This also includes supplementing and completing mechanisms for directing and managing the building and operation of defensive zones, and refining combat readiness plans and operational resolutions for national protection. Great value is attached to issuing directives, orders, and regulations to maintain a high level of combat readiness that are feasible and suited to the specific conditions, requirements, and tasks of each force and locality. The aim is to ensure that the restructuring does not disrupt or negatively impact military and defence activities, particularly the armed forces’ combat readiness. At the same time, the Department continues to advise the General Staff, MND, and CMC to propose that the Party and State strengthen their leadership, direction, and management of defence and military affairs and deepen a combination of socio-economic development and defence and security to enhance the nation’s defence potential.

Alongside these efforts, the Department continues closely monitoring the real-world situation, advising leaders of the General Staff and the MND on organising strategic and operational exercises across all three regions according to combat scenarios. It cooperates with military regions in overseeing and directing provincial-level defensive exercises. Through these activities, it continues perfecting regulations and legal documents related to operational activities of regional defence and border guard commands under provincial-level military commands.

Fourth, focusing on building a comprehensively strong Department on par with its tasks. In addition to streamlining its organisational structure in an “adept, compact, strong” manner, the Department places emphasis on recruiting capable officers, combining recruitment work with personnel training, use, appointment, and rotation. The goal is to ensure a corps of cadres with sufficient qualities and balanced structure to meet the tasks of a strategic staff body. It continues to boost the training and development of its cadres, particularly enhancing their strategic thinking, analytical and forecasting skills, and capacity to creatively apply the Party’s military and defence lines into practice. Its cadres’ working methods and style are also renewed under the motto of “concise in speech, succinct in writing, accurate and effective in staff work”. The Department strives to constantly build a pure, strong Party Organisation and develop itself into an “exemplarily, typically” comprehensively strong unit.

Upholding their 80-year tradition of establishment, combat, and maturity, the Department’s cadres, employees, and soldiers continue deeply grasping the Party’s lines and creatively applying Vietnam’s military art to practical activities, successfully accomplishing all assigned tasks, meeting the requirements of VPA building, national defence consolidation, and Fatherland protection in the era of the nation’s rise.

Lt. Gen. NGUYEN HUY CANH

Director of the Department