The Ministry of National Defense received a petition from voters in Quang Ninh province requesting to study and review the criteria for calling citizens to join the army: level of myopia; rate, location, content of tattoos... currently regulated too strictly, causing difficulties in calling citizens to join the army in localities.
Responding to voters, the Ministry of National Defense said that the activities of soldiers in the military environment are specific and high-intensity. Every day and every week, soldiers must participate in military training, live-fire drills, use weapons, equipment, and training equipment, and be ready for combat. Of these, shooting is the most typical activity of a soldier.
There is also physical training, day and night combat in all weather conditions, mountainous terrain, in the air, and at sea.
Thus, in the military environment, soldiers are required to always have good eyesight to meet the requirements of training, practice, and combat readiness.
The Ministry of National Defense affirmed that high requirements for eyesight are an important criterion when evaluating and classifying the health of citizens joining the army. If citizens with refractive errors of nearsightedness over 1.5 diopters or farsightedness are called to enlist, it will be difficult to meet the requirements.
However, the Ministry of National Defense also acknowledged that there are still some problems in the implementation process as reflected by voters and in reality, the rate of young people with refractive eye defects is large and increasing, especially among young people with university and college degrees in urban areas.
In order to attract high-quality human resources to serve the Army and to suit the health of young men of military age, the Ministry of National Defense believes that it is necessary to study and amend the regulations on military enlistment standards for citizens with myopia.
Regulations on tattoos and tattoo letters when reviewing selection standards and calling citizens to join the army have also been stipulated.
That is, not to be selected for service in the Army: “On the body there are tattoos, tattooed words with content that opposes the regime, divides the nation, is horrifying, bizarre, sexually stimulating, violent. Tattoos, tattooed words that cause offense in exposed areas, such as: Face, head, neck; from 1/2 of the upper arm down, from 1/3 of the lower thigh down. Tattoos, tattooed words occupy an area of 1/2 of the back, chest, abdomen or more”.
Thus, regulations on tattoos and tattooed letters on the body are one of the contents of political and ethical standards in the work of selecting citizens for military service.
The Ministry of National Defense said that in the process of selecting and calling citizens to join the army, if citizens with tattoos or tattoos with the above content are allowed to join the army, it will cause negative reactions, affecting the image, etiquette and style of revolutionary soldiers, and building a cultural environment in the Army.
Citizens with tattoos or tattoos that are not covered by the above regulations or can be removed will still be considered and called up for military service.
However, in reality, some citizens have taken advantage of this regulation to intentionally tattoo or tattoo words on their bodies before the recruitment examination or after the preliminary selection to avoid performing military service, causing public outrage.
In order to promptly prevent acts of taking advantage of and evading military service, every year the Ministry of National Defense has directed to draw lessons and provide specific and detailed instructions on tattoos and tattooed letters when selecting and calling citizens to join the army, contributing to limiting acts of citizens taking advantage of and evading military service.
In response to voters' opinions, the Ministry of National Defense continues to direct relevant agencies to research and coordinate with ministries, branches and localities to report to the Government and submit to the National Assembly to amend and supplement the 2015 Law on Military Service; Articles 332 and 335 of the 2015 Penal Code were amended and supplemented in 2017 according to the law and ordinance drafting program of the 15th National Assembly.
The Ministry of National Defense also directed competent agencies to review legal documents, amend and supplement them to suit current practices, ensure the quality of citizens joining the army, and meet the requirements of combat readiness training tasks.
The Ministry of National Defense requested the provincial National Assembly delegation and People's Councils at all levels in localities to promote their supervisory role in the implementation of the Law on Military Service, and not to violate the law.
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