Arrange and adjust the Army force with a roadmap, learn from experience while doing

VietNamNet interviewed Major General Luong Van Thang, Deputy Director of the Military Department, Ministry of National Defense, about the above content.

NO INTERRUPTION IN TRAINING, COMBAT

The arrangement and adjustment of the Army force organization in recent times has been strongly implemented, ensuring strictness, comprehensiveness, focus, key points, and appropriate roadmap. Could you please tell us about the typical and outstanding results from the beginning of 2024 until now?

Major General Luong Van Thang: Continuing to thoroughly grasp and implement Resolution No. 05 dated January 17, 2022 of the Politburo on the organization of the Vietnam People's Army for the period 2021 - 2030 and the following years; in 2024, implementing the theme "The year of basically completing the adjustment of the force organization towards being lean, compact, and strong", the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defense have resolutely implemented the adjustment and arrangement of the Army organization to ensure compliance with the plan dated April 25, 2022 of the Ministry of National Defense.

The outstanding results were the adjustment of organization, dissolution, establishment, merger, transfer, reorganization and promulgation of organizational and staffing tables of over 1,100 organizations in the direction of streamlining, compactness and strength. In particular, the dissolution of Army Corps 3 and Army Corps 4, establishment and promulgation of organizational and staffing tables of Army Corps 34; merger of Logistics and Technical agencies into Logistics - Technical agencies of campaign units throughout the army.

The implementation process has done a good job of preparing all aspects of ideology, organization, personnel work and policy work; organizing to draw on experiences from previous units to apply to adjusting the organization of subsequent units.

Therefore, stability has always been maintained throughout the process of adjusting forces, ensuring that agencies and units carry out combat training and combat readiness tasks without interruption.

Promoting the building of a “refined, compact, and strong” Army is one of the key and urgent contents of military and defense work in 2024 and the following years, aiming to create a solid foundation to strive for the building of a revolutionary, regular, elite, and modern Army by 2030. Could you please explain more clearly about the “refined, compact, and strong” policy?

Major General Luong Van Thang: "Elite, compact, strong" is the Party's policy and motto on building the Vietnam People's Army to meet the requirements and tasks in the new situation.

Essence first of all refers to the people in the organization. Soldiers are selected, trained, educated, nurtured, and trained to have a strong political stance, good moral qualities, a high sense of organization and discipline, a military-defense mindset, good professional capacity and qualifications, and always fulfill their duties and tasks well.

100% of the leaders and commanders have successfully completed their assigned duties and tasks, of which over 70% have comprehensive capacity in leadership, command, management, training, party work capacity, and political work. In addition, they have deep expertise in military science and art, military social sciences and humanities, solid knowledge of specialized fields, military art, and military combat art.

Campaign and strategic level cadres are truly exemplary in politics, ideology, qualities, capacity and prestige. 100% receive basic, systematic training; have comprehensive and profound knowledge and understanding of the Party's viewpoints and guidelines, military science and art, state management, and socio-economic management; are trained and tested through practice. In addition, they have sharp, quick, sensitive, and decisive vision and strategic thinking; and are capable of working in an international environment...

100% of professional staff are qualified to fulfill their duties and tasks, of which over 80% have good, excellent professional capacity and are proficient in their assigned field of work.

At least 30% of professional officers and soldiers are proficient in foreign languages ​​for professional work, have the ability to communicate and perform tasks in an international environment, and meet task requirements in the new situation.

100% of non-commissioned officers and soldiers master and fulfill their assigned duties and tasks well.

Briefly , it is about the structure of the organization. The organization and staffing of agencies and units are built in a balanced, synchronous, reasonable and scientific manner between the components of the force (armies, branches, between agencies and units, between combat forces and support forces, between regular forces and reserve forces). There is no overlap in functions and tasks between organizations, ensuring the good completion of regular and unexpected tasks.

There is a tight, flexible, synchronous, unified organizational operating mechanism and method, in accordance with the Party's platform and guidelines, the Constitution, the State's laws, and the Army's regulations.

The organizational structure ensures scientificity, creates organic cohesion between each department in each organization, between force components, between agencies, between agencies and units from tactical to strategic levels; ensures smooth operation, orders from strategic to tactical levels through the fewest intermediary points to enhance the effectiveness of centralized and unified command and the ability to respond immediately to all situations.

Strength is the close combination of organizational factors, human resources with weapons and equipment and Vietnamese military art to create a comprehensive strength ready to defeat all enemies in all forms of war.

100% of agencies and units are strong in all aspects, of which over 90% are exemplary in all aspects of work, with strict self-discipline associated with building a clean and strong Party organization.

100% of main units have high combat power, deterrence, mobility, quick combat readiness, overwhelming attack, and solid defense.

The implementation of organizational adjustments to the Army must be under the absolute and direct leadership in all aspects of the Party, directly by the Central Military Commission and Party committees at all levels throughout the army.

Adjusting the organization and staffing must be consistent with the functions and tasks of agencies and units; ensuring comprehensiveness, synchronization, rationality, and balance between force components, reducing intermediate contacts and support and service units; prioritizing ensuring the number of troops for units performing combat training and combat readiness tasks; having a specific roadmap and steps, and learning from experience while doing.

The implementation process must promote the overall strength of the organizations; closely combine organizational adjustment with good ideological work, organizational work and policy work; consolidate and perfect Party committees and organizations. Based on the viewpoint of the Central Military Commission on building the Vietnam People's Army "people first, guns later" to build a contingent of cadres and Party members with pure revolutionary ethics, absolute loyalty to Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh thought, good professional qualifications, high solidarity and unity, ready to receive and excellently complete all assigned tasks.

Closely combine streamlining the payroll with maintaining, attracting, training and fostering high-quality human resources to meet the requirements of building a modern Army.

Ensure new, modern weapons and equipment; prioritize forces that advance straight to modernity, continue to organize a number of strategic reserve units in accordance with the determination to protect the socialist Vietnamese Fatherland. Build a strong reserve mobilization force, a strong, widespread militia and self-defense force.

ROADMAP FOR ARRANGEMENT AND ADJUSTMENT IN 2025

At the end of 2023, the 12th Corps was officially established - this is the first main Corps of the Vietnam People's Army to be reorganized in the direction of being lean, compact, strong and modern. Could you please tell us what this arrangement means?

Major General Luong Van Thang: To meet the requirements of the Army's missions in the new situation, on November 21, 2023, the Minister of National Defense issued a decision on the establishment of the 12th Army Corps.

The 12th Corps is the first Corps to be organized in the direction of “refined, compact, strong”, moving towards modernity. The scale and force of the 12th Corps are larger, the functions and tasks are heavier, and it is equipped with more modern weapons and vehicles. The 12th Corps is the strategic mobile force of the Ministry, undertaking strategic operations in the military regions.

The 12th Corps was established to meet the requirements of the Army's missions in the new situation, facing the complex, unpredictable and difficult-to-predict developments of the world and regional situation.

The Vietnam People's Army needs to have "iron fist" main Army Corps that are organized, compact, strong, equipped with modern weapons and technical means to adjust strategic planning, build, supplement, and perfect determination, document systems, combat plans, and develop military art. Synchronously and drastically deploy solutions to protect the Fatherland early and from afar, improve combat readiness, proactively respond to traditional and non-traditional security challenges, and avoid being passive or surprised...

On the basis of establishing the 12th Corps, it is also the basis for the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defense to consider and decide to establish the 34th Corps with an appropriate force organization scale to meet the requirements of the Army's tasks in the new situation.

How will the arrangement and adjustment of the Army force continue, Major General?

Major General Luong Van Thang: In 2025, continue to thoroughly grasp and implement adjustments to the force organization according to Resolution No. 05 of the Politburo, Resolution No. 230 of the Central Military Commission on the organization of the Vietnam People's Army for the period 2021 - 2030 and the following years, and the direction of the Central Steering Committee on summarizing Resolution No. 18.

In which, the General Department of Logistics and the General Department of Engineering will be merged into the General Department of Logistics and Engineering.

Implementing Decision No. 66 dated June 21, 2024 of the Prime Minister approving the Project on restructuring military enterprises for the period 2021 - 2025.

In addition, continue to review and adjust the organization and staffing of a number of agencies and units under the Ministry of National Defense; review and rearrange the system of warehouses and facilities for repairing weapons and technical equipment throughout the army, ensuring that they are suitable for mission requirements in the new situation.

Thank you, Major General!