Forever be a loyal military

Reporter: Dear General Luong Cuong! The year of the Tiger is coming to an end with a lot of proofs of efforts and contributions of the whole military to the national construction and defense cause. These results partly originated from the loyalty of the Vietnam People’s Army. What do you think about this saying?

General Luong Cuong: That’s right! In 2022, there were both advances and disadvantages that affected the military’s mission accomplishment. Under the Party’s leadership and the Sate’s management, the Party committee and chains-of-command at all levels were united, promoted good traditions of the military, and overcame hardships to fulfill all assigned task with higher outcomes than 2021.

General Luong Cuong, Director of the General Department of Political Affairs of the Vietnam People's Army

Several outstanding achievements of the military could be named as the activeness in researching and evaluating the situation as well as providing advice for the Party and State; the timely response to all situations to firmly protect the national sovereignty and territorial integrity; and the role promotion in building the whole-people defense posture in combination with the people’s security posture and the firm people’s heart posture. The combined strength and combat readiness of the whole military were improved, contributing to meeting the task requirements of defending the Fatherland in the current context.

The whole military effectively implemented three breakthroughs following the Resolution of the 11th Military Party Congress. In addition, the military synchronously implemented Resolution No.05 of the Politburo, Resolution No.230-NQ/QUTW on organizing the Vietnam People’s Army in the 2021-2030 tenure and the following years, and the 2022 theme of “Implementation of plans of adjusting forces.” Additionally, the defense ministry enhanced regulatory building and military discipline observance, administrative reform, e-government building, and digital transformation.

The ministry well undertook international integration and defense external affairs, becoming a pillar of the Party’s foreign relations and the State and people-to-people diplomacy, contributing to protecting the Fatherland early and from afar.

Troops of Brigade 297 of Military Region 2 on training field

The Military Party Organization were built firmly in terms of political, ideological, moral, and structural realms, contributing to maintaining and improving the absolute leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam over the Vietnam People’s Army. The units and organs renewed their methods and contents of the political education, contributing to  maintaining the Party's ideological front in the military.

The Party committees and organizations at all levels thoroughly grasped and effectively implemented guidelines and directives on Party building and rectification and maintaining a clean and strong political system, preserving the image of “Uncle Ho's soldiers.”

One of the reasons for these above-mentioned outcomes was that the Vietnam People’s Army brought into play the virtue “loyalty” of Uncle Ho’s soldiers,” deserving the commendation of President Ho Chi Minh for the military: “Our military is loyal to the Party, filial to the people, willing to fight and sacrifice for the Fatherland’s independence and freedom and for socialism. We will fulfill any tasks, overcome any difficulties and defeat any enemies.”

Reporter: Could you tell us more about what demonstrated the promotion of the virtue of loyalty of our military over the past time?

General Luong Cuong: The clearest proof is that the Central Military Commission, the Party committees and organizations in the whole military were always loyal to and flexibly applied theories of the Marxism-Leninism, the Ho Chi Minh's thought, resolutions and directives of the Party to their actual activities.

They pro-actively led the battle in the protection of Party’s ideological foundation, fought again wrongful viewpoints, defeated all plots of hostile forces, promoted numerous solutions to bring into play virtues of Uncle Ho’s soldiers in any circumstances.

The joy of troops of the Air Defense and Air Force Service after completing a live-fire exercise

The virtue of loyalty shone everywhere, anytime, and in any sectors. Troops of the Vietnam People’s Army promptly presented and stood side by side with the people to overcome difficulties to cope with natural disasters and pandemic. Especially, with the spirit of “fighting the pandemic like fighting the enemy,” the military mobilized hundreds of thousands of troops and militiamen to support pandemic-hit people and help local authorities to overcome the COVID-19 consequences. This showed that the more difficult the situation is, the brighter the virtue of Uncle Ho’s soldiers shines.

Thereby, it has affirmed that the Vietnam People's Army is heroic not only in combat but also in production and exemplary in implementing tasks.

The whole military, especially army corps and defense-economic units carrying out missions in strategic areas, well promoted the functions of “a working military,” “a military of production and work,” creating an all-people national defense posture in association with a firm people's security posture. Military enterprises made important contribution to ensuring defense, economic development, and people's livelihood.

The whole military also actively disseminated information and mobilized people to follow the Party’s guidelines and State’s policies, took part in the building of the political system at the grassroots level and the economic, cultural, and social development; as well as in hunger elimination and poverty reduction, and new-style rural area building, contributing to tightening the civilian-military solidarity.

Reporter: What is the important lesson that helps our military preserve and promote the virtue of loyalty, sir?

General Luong Cuong: The virtue of loyalty of the military was formed, nurtured, and developed through the process of implementing the revolutionary tasks assigned by the Party, State and people. It has been passed down through generations of troops. It also is a human value and good tradition of the Vietnamese people, which is crystallized in the personality of each soldier of the Vietnam People's Army. There are several important lessons that help our military preserve and promote the virtue of loyalty. Firstly, the military should always maintain and improve the all-round leadership of the Party, the concentrated management of the State over the military and the defense cause.

The military always maintains its political orientation, remains absolutely loyal to the Fatherland, the Party, the State and the people, and successfully completes all assigned tasks in any circumstances.

The military is always active in grasping all situations and steadfast and creative in strategy. In the face of complex and sensitive military and defense situations, it is necessary to have a strong sense of courage, promote collective intelligence and unity in identifying, evaluating, and proposing measures, contributing to maintaining a peaceful and stable environment for national construction and development.

The whole military leaders actively renew their methods of leadership to promote solidarity, democracy, disciplines, responsibilities, and effectiveness. They mobilize and utilize effectively all resources and promote combined strength in implementing military-defense tasks, while enhancing civilian-military solidarity and maintaining good virtues of Uncle Ho’s soldiers.

The military pays much attention to building healthy and strong Party committees and organizations at all levels, effectively carries out resolutions and directives of the Party Central Committee and the Central Military Commission on Party building, and enhances the “Learning and following President Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, morality and lifestyle” movement.

Reporter: Which are the crucial tasks that the military needs to undertake to continue promoting the virtue of loyalty in the current context?

General Luong Cuong: In 2023 and the years ahead, the international and regional situations are forecast to be complicated and unpredictable with destabilizing factors.

Apart from advantages, the country will face difficulties and challenges such as sabotages of hostile and reactionary forces, non-traditional security challenges, and so on. In addition, the military has to implement force organization and adjustment and set new tasks of ideology education, organization, and policies.

Troops of Ship 8004 of Coast Guard Region 1 Command read newspapers.

To continue promoting the virtue of loyalty, the military should improve the capability of forecasting situations and providing timely recommendations for the Party and State on military-defense tasks, contributing to firmly protecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Fatherland, safeguarding the Party, the State, the people and socialism.

The whole military should continue to embrace the implementation of the all-people defense policies, the people’s warfare, and the strategy of national protection in the current context; collaborate with central and local ministries and sectors to promote the strength of the whole military system and whole people in undertaking military-defense tasks, contributing to building a firm whole-people defense posture in combination with the people’s security posture.

The military should improve combined combat strength; strictly maintain combat readiness, and firmly manage the airspace, sea, border, island, and cyberspace. It should continue to effectively implement the three breakthroughs, namely adjusting the force organization to be lean, compact, and strong; improving the quality of education and training; and creating a solid change in the regularity building, discipline observance and military administrative reform.

Reporter: What are your messages  for the whole-military troops on the occasion of lunar New Year (Tet) festival?

General Luong Cuong: The Vietnam People's Army will always be a revolutionary military, which is absolutely loyal to the Fatherland, the Party, the State, the people and socialism building cause. Under any circumstances, our military will steadfastly uphold the nature of a revolutionary military, deserving to be a political force and a loyal and reliable fighting force of the Party, State and people, and at the same time, to be an military with a noble and pure international spirit.

Each soldier has to continuously bring into play resounding traditions of our military, be determined to complete all assigned missions with increasingly higher results, contributing significantly to the national construction and defense cause. Each person must continuously uphold the sense of responsibility of a citizen and a soldier to the Fatherland; make greater efforts to contribute more to the national construction and defense cause.

Troops of Brigade 297 of Military Region 2 reading a printed People's Army Newspaper

A military can only develop when each officer and soldier know how to change and develop themselves continuously. The key is that all soldiers must have their own responsibility, absolute loyalty, dedication to complete their daily work to contribute to the military’s development. Thereby, each of them will increasingly deserve to the noble title of “Uncle Ho’s soldiers.”

Each soldier needs to remember that the forefathers sacrificed themselves for the Fatherland and the people, and for the virtue of loyalty of the Vietnam People’s Army during wartime. Therefore, all soldiers should continue promoting this great tradition to fulfill functions, missions of the military in peacetime.

On the occasion of the traditional lunar New Year, I send my sincere greetings and wishes to the whole military troops. I do believe that with the good nature and traditions, the Vietnam People’s Army will continue to record more feats-of-arms and achievements, making worthy contribution to the construction and defense cause of our beloved socialist Vietnam.

Translated by Trung Thanh