Forever the qualities of "Uncle Ho's soldiers"

In the long and heroic struggle of the nation, generations of cadres and soldiers have fought and sacrificed for the independence and freedom of the Fatherland, for the happiness of the people. Cadres and soldiers in our army are loved, protected and sheltered by the people, admired and praised by the people with the noble title: "Uncle Ho's soldiers". That title is both very simple and close and affectionate. And only a revolutionary army, devoted to the people, can be trusted and loved by the people so much! There are few countries or nations where the image of the soldier is considered by the people as a model of a person in an entire era. An image that creates trust, respect, and has the power to motivate all future generations to follow the shining example of the soldier like "Uncle Ho's soldiers" of the Vietnamese people.

President Ho Chi Minh, the supreme commander-in-chief of the revolution, has always cared for and guided every step of the Vietnam People's Army from its establishment until its maturity. He accompanied the army on campaigns, sharing the joys and sorrows with the soldiers. He always taught our army "not to be arrogant in victory, not to be discouraged in defeat".[3], “wealth cannot seduce, poverty cannot sway, power cannot subdue”[4]solidarity, love, attachment, wholeheartedly serving the Fatherland and the people. Uncle Ho's kindness and immense love, his shining example and style have been deeply engraved in the minds of generations of soldiers and have given them extraordinary strength, an iron belief to always hold high the flag of "Determination to fight, determination to win", worthy of the title "Uncle Ho's soldiers".

1.The noble image of “Uncle Ho’s soldiers” is first of all in the infinite loyalty of our army to the Party and the people. President Ho Chi Minh affirmed that “Our army is the people’s army, born by the people, fighting for the people”. Our army “being loyal to the country and filial to the people is a sacred duty, a heavy responsibility, but also an honor for the soldiers in the first national army of our country”.[5].

For the independence and freedom of the Fatherland, for the socialist ideal is the fighting goal of the Vietnam People's Army. That fighting goal is completely consistent with the revolutionary goal of the Party and of all our people. The nature of the Vietnam People's Army is the radical revolutionary nature of the working class. The Vietnam People's Army also carries the blood of the nation's tradition of steadfast and indomitable resistance to foreign invasion. Over seven decades of building and maturing, the history of our army is a history of continuous and uninterrupted fighting in extremely arduous and fierce challenges. The steadfastness of ideals, the firm grasp of fighting goals and the deep belief in the victory of the revolution have encouraged our army to always uphold the will to fight and win, and motivated every generation of cadres and soldiers to uphold the example of sacrifice and fighting for the noble revolutionary ideal. The country has always suffered from foreign invasion. The image of a soldier is synonymous with fierce challenges, sacrifices, hardships, and deprivation. Wherever and whenever, in wartime as well as in peacetime, soldiers are always the class of people standing at the forefront of the fiercest spearheads of life.

Generations of cadres and soldiers of the Vietnam People's Army fought with the ideal of bringing independence and freedom to the nation and happiness to the people. Therefore, they did not fear hardships and difficulties, did not have the slightest personal calculation, did not submit to the enemy, and believed wholeheartedly in the inevitable victory of the revolution. Absolute loyalty to the Party and steadfast belief in the final victory of the revolution were the source of the will and spirit of readiness to sacrifice and determination to complete the mission of "Uncle Ho's soldiers".

In recent years, the international and regional situation has been volatile, complex and unpredictable. More than ever, the officers and soldiers of the Vietnam People's Army have clearly demonstrated their political qualities of absolute loyalty to the revolutionary cause of the Party and the nation, ready to fight for independence, freedom and socialism. That boundless loyalty is clearly demonstrated in the steadfastness of political stance, steadfastness in the revolutionary path and fighting goals, persistently implementing and concretizing the Party's military line, worthy of being the core force together with the entire people to defeat all plots of "peaceful evolution" and violent overthrow by hostile forces, determined to firmly protect the socialist Vietnamese Fatherland.

2.Building the noble image of “Uncle Ho’s soldiers” is also due to a fine tradition of our army, which is the solidarity between the army and the people, “the army and the people are like fish and water”, a close bond of flesh and blood like children in a family. The army relies on the people and the people also rely on the army in the relationship between the army and the people with one will. Uncle Ho once taught: “Our resistance belongs to the entire people, we must mobilize the people, arm the people”[6], "national unity"[7]. “The people are the foundation, the parents”, “our army is the people's army, born by the people, fighting for the people”[8], so we must respect the people, "we must make the people trust, obey, and love us...when we have not arrived, the people look forward to it, when we arrive, the people help us, when we go somewhere else, the people regret it"[9]. If the army and people are of one mind, the resistance will certainly win and nation building will certainly succeed.

Ho Chi Minh led, trained and built our army into an army that is always close to the people, comes from the people, and fights for the people. The army must not only be good at fighting, but also good at mass mobilization and production. It must always "rely on the people" because "having the people means having everything". The strength of our army comes from the people. Without the immense heart of the people, there cannot be the extraordinary strength of the soldiers; the strength of the three armed forces combined with the strength of the entire people creates a great strength to defeat all enemies.

The people's army, fighting for the people, and having a relationship with the people like "fish and water" is an important content of the nature of the new-style army, the army of the Vietnamese people in the Ho Chi Minh era. It is a shining symbol of the tradition of national solidarity, creating the quality of "Uncle Ho's soldiers".

Over the past 70 years, from birth to adulthood, every generation of cadres and soldiers has carried out the military-civilian relationship well, considering it as an oath of their hearts to preserve and nurture the military-civilian relationship. The more indomitable they are in front of the enemy, the more they become close, respected, loved and wholeheartedly devoted to serving and helping the people. Every name of land and village in Vietnam is imbued with the blood of "Uncle Ho's soldiers". They sacrificed for the independence and freedom of the Fatherland. Besides the martyrs who fell on the battlefield, there were many martyrs who used their bodies to shield the people from bombs and bullets, saving them in times of trouble, hardship, natural disasters, and enemy attacks... Wherever there are "Uncle Ho's soldiers", there is a harmonious military-civilian relationship. In the hearts of our people, soldiers are filial people, devoted to serving the people, accepting sacrifices and hardships to bring a peaceful life to the people.

As a working army, our army is always close to the people, living in the hearts of the people, building the tradition of "when we go, the people remember, when we stay, the people love". Today, the working function of our army is shown more clearly. All activities in mass mobilization work of army units have truly and vividly reflected the relationship between the army and the people. Remote villages, old resistance bases still struggling with difficulties in life, lacking electricity, literacy, food, clothing, and medicine, are now gradually changing when the army returns. Especially, in recent years, drought, floods, storms, and landslides have severely damaged the lives and properties of the people. With the spirit of being ready to sacrifice and serve the people unconditionally, considering "fighting drought like fighting hunger", "fighting floods like fighting the enemy", "all for the lives of the people" of our army have left many noble examples, which are wholeheartedly praised and deeply appreciated by the people. With a nation rich in gratitude, with generations of children who are "Uncle Ho's soldiers" who have devoted their whole lives to the happiness of the people, the image of "Uncle Ho's soldiers" is always warm and close in the people's feelings.

3. “Uncle Ho’s soldiers” through the generations are the image of soldiers full of intelligence and creativity. President Ho Chi Minh outlined for our army and soldiers the basic principles of combat that must be followed in military operations, to be resolute, brave, resourceful, always maintain initiative, flexibility, secrecy, surprise, not subjectively underestimate the enemy, “when there is an enemy, remain calm as if there is no enemy, far from the enemy, be strict as if near the enemy”.[10], "must know how to add small victories into big victories"[11]He always reminded cadres and soldiers to be enthusiastic in competing, diligent in studying, and to regularly criticize and self-criticize, considering it the biggest, strongest, and sharpest weapon to make our army and soldiers constantly progress.

War is the greatest challenge to all human endurance. Without the tradition, the quality of being studious, passionate about learning, and equipping oneself with knowledge to have enough courage to act, it is difficult to confront and defeat all the modern weapons and techniques that France and the US used on the battlefield. In other words, it is thanks to knowledge, qualifications, creativity and ingenuity that our army has defeated the electronic brains of the enemy. We have heroes on the front line, but there are also many heroes in laboratories, research institutes and factories. The great school of our army is combat practice, the cultural beauty of our army is the tradition of being studious, passionate about research, training and self-cultivation of each soldier. They have both high qualities and responsibilities, as well as the ability to be creative, worthy of being "Uncle Ho's soldiers" on the cultural, scientific and technical front.

The Americans themselves admitted that they lost in Vietnam not because the US army fought poorly, but because they lost to an opponent with greater intelligence and courage, lost to a nation and an army with deeper traditions and cultural identity!

The tradition, the quality of being passionate about learning, researching, training, and constantly improving one's political will and knowledge level is not only a typical cultural beauty of "Uncle Ho's soldiers" in combat, but is also constantly developed in peacetime. The cause of defending the Fatherland, building a revolutionary, disciplined, elite, and gradually modern people's army is posing very new issues in both awareness and action. The country is in a period of accelerating industrialization and modernization, in addition to training a solid political will, professional qualifications and action capacity have become an objective and urgent requirement. Those who do not equip themselves with a wealth of knowledge, a level of understanding and creativity will inevitably fall behind and be eliminated before the rapid development of the times. Those great objective demands are reviving and inspiring in military agencies and units, in each officer and soldier, a movement of passion for learning, scientific research, and self-mastery. The young generation of soldiers in the renovation period is clearly showing their superiority in expertise because they are equipped with cultural level and acumen, quite sharp in all fields. Our country and army are still poor, equipment is not really modern, elite and complete, therefore, taking advantage to effectively promote all available equipment is a heavy task for military agencies and units. Once again, the creative spirit, the spirit of overcoming difficulties to improve the efficiency of using existing weapons and equipment, ensuring the excellent completion of tasks in all situations is the beauty of "Uncle Ho's soldiers" in the new era. That shows that the people's trust and love for "Uncle Ho's Army" are not only soldiers with revolutionary enthusiasm, but they are also truly a class of people with self-awareness, desire to improve, passionate about learning and researching to equip themselves with knowledge and understanding, increasingly meeting the requirements of building a revolutionary, disciplined, and modern army, as well as the needs of the period of promoting industrialization and modernization for the goal of a rich people, a strong country, democracy, fairness, and civilization.

4.Another extremely precious cultural beauty of “Uncle Ho’s soldiers” is the disciplined, democratic, disciplined lifestyle, and the noble camaraderie and comradeship. Uncle Ho always considered solidarity as “Mother's PointIf done well, "the children will be good"[12], is “our invincible force to overcome difficulties and win victory”[13]. He required that each cadre and soldier must always know how to share hardships and love each other. Cadres must "treat team members like limbs", soldiers must "treat cadres like flesh and blood", especially cadres must "be an older brother, an older sister, and a friend to team members".[14], happiness and suffering together, hunger and cold together, "that is democracy, solidarity, and victory"[15]. He also considered it "the foundation for victory in the resistance war and nation building".[16]is the issue of maintaining discipline. He required soldiers, in times of war as well as peace, to absolutely obey and thoroughly carry out orders from superiors; when in contact with the people, they must strictly maintain mass discipline. He always advised soldiers to practice ethics, revolutionary style, to be "diligent, frugal, honest, upright", "intelligent, brave, humane, trustworthy, honest, loyal", to be modest and simple, to have the spirit of enduring hardships and overcoming difficulties. That is a traditional beauty that is both familiar and simple, yet rich in humanity, demonstrating the understanding and cultural beauty of the new people, exuding in the daily life of "Uncle Ho's soldiers", both in normal times and in times of danger. In every living environment of the army, no matter what the circumstances, compared to the surroundings, it is an environment of hardship and challenge. The optimistic, life-loving, trusting lifestyle, strict self-discipline, along with the quick, honest, sincere, modest, and simple style of a soldier, in reality, are applied flexibly and creatively in many times and places, becoming the socialization of military lifestyle throughout society.

5.Not only do you have to wear a military uniform to immediately become “Uncle Ho’s soldiers”, but that beauty, that humanity is the whole tradition built up over seven decades of tireless fighting of our army. The solidarity, love, harmony, sharing hardships, and attachment to each other in the military environment during wartime as well as peacetime, considering each other as father and son, brothers, cherishing each other as flesh and blood, has made the army a noble, ideal environment, and the more difficulties and hardships it encounters, the more that beauty shines, is effectively promoted, and becomes the strength to defeat all enemies. Those good qualities of soldiers have created feats of collective spirit, selflessness, and purity. Almost all Vietnamese people, regardless of their position or circumstances, when recalling their best memories, always proudly recall the years they lived, fought, and were attached to the army, to soldiers.

The sense of self-consciousness and thorough implementation of all tasks and orders assigned within the duties of a revolutionary soldier has created the beauty of the honest and close style of "Uncle Ho's soldiers" when interacting with the people, wholeheartedly respecting, loving and ready to help the people. That makes the image of "Uncle Ho's soldiers" more deeply engraved in the feelings and consciousness of the people with a deep love and respect. The optimistic and life-loving lifestyle of military officers and soldiers seems to add a new wind to the movement to build a cultural environment in society, making the image of the soldier even more beautiful and meaningful in today's new life.

The traditional beauty, the humanistic beauty, the noble image of "Uncle Ho's Soldiers" are always in the hearts of the Vietnamese people. To build and cultivate the noble qualities of "Uncle Ho's Soldiers", we first of all talk about the merits of the glorious Communist Party of Vietnam, of the beloved Uncle Ho, of the heroic Vietnamese people who have educated, nurtured and successfully trained a new type of army, the army of the Vietnamese people in the Ho Chi Minh era. That is a symbol, the shining humanistic beauty of the qualities of "Uncle Ho's Soldiers". At the same time, that also always reminds our army officers and soldiers to constantly cultivate ethics, political qualities, improve their professional qualifications and skills to be worthy of the title "Uncle Ho's Soldiers".

The noble title "Uncle Ho's Soldier" is a priceless cultural and spiritual asset that the people love, bestow, and entrust to our army officers and soldiers; it is always highly appreciated by international friends and the people; it recognizes the outstanding contributions and spirit of dedication, the virtue of sacrifice of generations of our army officers and soldiers to the cause of revolutionary struggle, peace protection, and the happiness of the people. Our Party, State and people always care, have been doing everything possible to join the entire army to raise the title "Uncle Ho's Soldier" in the new situation; consider "Uncle Ho's Soldier" as the moral standard, personality of revolutionary soldiers, a "shining example" for generations of young officers, soldiers and youths across the country today and tomorrow to learn and follow. Therefore, in the current context, maintaining and promoting the qualities of "Uncle Ho's soldiers", making that "shining example" continue to shine, always being the source of trust, pride, honor, and admiration of the people and international friends, is the responsibility of the Party, the State and the people, of the entire political system in our country; first of all, it is the honor and responsibility of each officer and soldier of the Vietnam People's Army.

That is also an important factor to build and consolidate the "people's hearts and minds position", enhance the political and spiritual factor; create new motivation, encourage and motivate our army officers and soldiers to strive to perfect the personality of revolutionary soldiers. That is also a necessary condition and premise for our army to be ready to receive and excellently complete all tasks in all situations that the Party, State and people trust and entrust.