Let's see how much "courage" we have.

Focusing on training and developing the Army's officer corps in the spirit of "7 dares" is a guiding principle emphasized by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Secretary of the Central Military Commission, at the Central Military Commission Conference in the first six months of 2023. Implementing the spirit of "7 dares" is both a crucial solution for building the Army's officer corps and a positive contribution to combating degradation, "self-evolution," and "self-transformation" within the Party...

Connecting to practical "construction" and "combat"

The "seven dares" spirit of military officers in the new situation, summarized by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Secretary of the Central Military Commission, includes: "Dare to think, dare to speak, dare to act, dare to take responsibility, dare to innovate and create, dare to confront difficulties and challenges, and dare to act for the common good." Connecting this to the practical work of Party building and rectification, and the fight against corruption, ideological and political degradation, and moral decay, we clearly see that the "seven dares" are both the goal and the solution for training and developing military officers.

The essence of the "7 Dares" cadre is the concretization of the fine characteristics and traditions of moral qualities and cultural values of the Ho Chi Minh Army, the development of theoretical thinking, and the setting of increasingly high demands on the qualities and capabilities of military cadres in the new era. Affirming these fundamental principles helps to better understand that the development of social life is a law of continuous movement. As the core and main force in the cause of building and defending the Fatherland, fighting to defeat the " peaceful evolution" strategy of imperialism and hostile forces, and firmly protecting the ideological foundation of the Party...

Our army must set increasingly higher requirements, criteria, and solutions in building and training its officer corps. When officers possess the full range of qualities and capabilities in accordance with the "seven dares," the agencies and units at all levels within the Army will have a solid spiritual foundation, creating a strong motivation for officers and soldiers to unlock their potential and abilities, uphold traditions, contribute their talents, and live up to the name of Uncle Ho's soldiers.

To realize the spirit of "seven dares," the General Secretary requested the Central Military Commission, the Ministry of National Defense, and Party committees at all levels within the Army to pay special attention to building a strong contingent of cadres who are virtuous, talented, and highly reputable; superiors must set an example for subordinates, and commanders must be exemplary before the entire unit. In the Army, there must be absolutely no situation where cadres fear responsibility, evade responsibility, or shirk responsibility...

In practice, the performance of duties in military units over the past period, alongside the great achievements and outstanding accomplishments, has been noteworthy. It is important to note that in some units, at certain times, serious incidents have occurred. A segment of cadres, Party committees, and commanders still suffer from a "achievement-oriented" mentality, concealing shortcomings; and the handling of some violations and complex, sensitive incidents has not been timely or thorough. These limitations and shortcomings, in certain cases, not only affect the morale and sentiments of officers and soldiers, the quality and effectiveness of training, combat readiness, and unit building, but also serve as a pretext for hostile forces to exploit cyberspace to carry out propaganda campaigns that distort facts, incite unrest, and undermine the military.

Adhering to the principle of "building" and "combating," and "using construction to combat" in Party building and rectification, and in the fight against corruption, negative phenomena, and the decline of political ideology, morality, and lifestyle according to the Party's viewpoint, we increasingly see the urgency of consolidating, nurturing, and training military officers in the spirit of "seven dares." This also serves as the basis for Party committees and commanders at all levels to intensify criticism and self-criticism; to set targets, contents, and solutions for combating and effectively implementing Resolution No. 847-NQ/QUTW of the Central Military Commission "on promoting the qualities of Uncle Ho's soldiers and resolutely combating individualism in the new situation."

Illustrative photo: VNA

Examining the responsibilities and duties of cadres and Party members.

Based on the practical experience and effectiveness of task implementation as summarized and evaluated by the Central Military Commission at the Central Military Commission Conference in the first six months of 2023, we see that: The direct causes of negative manifestations and weaknesses in units all stem from the qualities, capabilities, working methods, and work style of the cadre, especially the Party committees and commanders at all levels.

Looking more broadly and deeply, we see that the fight against corruption and negative practices, with its persistent and resolute spirit and no forbidden zones, has brought to light a series of officials whose political ideology, ethics, and lifestyles have deteriorated. Among the cases and incidents that have attracted significant public attention, there are quite a few high-ranking officials in the military. Corruption, negative practices, and moral decay stem from many causes, but the most direct, fundamental, and core reason remains the quality of officials and Party members.

Applying the spirit of "seven dares" to each position, responsibility, and assigned task, we see even more clearly that if these criteria are lacking or disregarded, cadres will not only fail to complete their tasks but also easily fall into individualism, and experience ideological, political, moral, and lifestyle degradation. For example, when a unit experiences negative phenomena or serious disciplinary violations, but the cadre reports dishonestly, tries to justify or conceal shortcomings... this shows a lack of the spirit of "daring to think," "daring to act," and "daring to take responsibility"...

When officials see their colleagues making mistakes but remain silent, avoid the issue, or turn a blind eye, it shows a lack of courage to speak up or act for the common good. Concealing shortcomings, exaggerating achievements to receive praise, being pragmatic, only caring about personal gain, and maneuvering to find opportunities for advancement are all signs of neglecting innovation and creativity, and a lack of courage to confront difficulties and challenges.

The criteria and content of the "7 Dares" cadre are dialectically related, complementary, and mutually influential. The lack of one "dare" will affect the remaining qualities. The more "dares" lacking, or the more distorted the content and essence of these criteria, the more manifestations of individualism emerge, a short step towards negativity, political and moral decline, and a degenerate lifestyle. In the context of our entire army's efforts to focus on implementing the goals, content, and solutions for building a revolutionary, regular, elite, and modern People's Army by 2030, the training and development of cadres in the spirit of the "7 Dares" is of particular importance.

Under the leadership and guidance of the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defense, Party organizations in agencies and units throughout the army are intensifying the implementation of Party building and rectification programs and plans in a thorough and effective manner. They are resolutely combating individualism in accordance with the Party's resolutions, directives, and conclusions, as well as Resolution No. 847-NQ/QUTW of the Central Military Commission. Following the principle of closely combining "building" and "combating," and "using building to combat" as per the Party's viewpoint, Party committees and organizations in agencies and units need to incorporate the spirit of "7 dares" into their leadership resolutions, action programs, and organize thorough and in-depth study and understanding of these principles.

This should be considered one of the important bases for regularly conducting criticism and self-criticism. Every cadre and Party member, especially commanders, secretaries, and Party committees at all levels, needs to set an example and seriously evaluate themselves in their assigned positions and responsibilities to see how much "courage" they possess. They should identify which qualities they lack, or which, for various reasons, they haven't truly valued, and develop a plan to overcome, cultivate, and strive for improvement. Examining one's own "courage" will provide a basis for assessing whether one exhibits indifference, complacency, turning a blind eye, failing to defend what is right, avoiding confrontation with what is wrong, slandering, seeking out flaws in comrades and colleagues for nitpicking, flattering, seeking personal gain, or pursuing self-interest. If these things are weighing heavily on or lingering in one's thinking, then self-correction and self-purification are necessary.

Our army is strong in its unity, cohesion, self-discipline, and strictness. Training and developing officers according to the spirit of "seven dares" is not just a widespread political activity at a specific time, but should be used as a regular "guidebook," integrated with other forms and methods of education to promote self-education, self-cultivation, and self-training. Only when officers truly "dare" to confront their own bad habits, flaws, and shortcomings will they have the motivation to "dare" to contribute and sacrifice for the collective, for the unit, and for the cause of building the army. This is also a way to prevent and repel negative manifestations, ideological and political degradation, and lifestyle decay; and to effectively implement the work of preventing and combating "self-evolution" and "self-transformation" within the army.

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