General Secretary To Lam attended the ceremony to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Armed Forces of Military Region 4 and received the Ho Chi Minh Medal for the third time.

Also attending were:Phan Dinh Trac -Member of the Politburo,Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Head of the Central Internal Affairs Commission;Nguyen Duy Ngoc -Member of the Politburo,Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Chairman of the Central Inspection Commission;Nguyen Trong Nghia - Member of the Politburo,Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Head of the Central Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Commission;Nguyen Xuan Thang -Member of the Politburo,Director of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, Chairman of the Central Theoretical Council; General Phan Van Giang -Member of the Politburo,Deputy Secretary of the Central Military Commission, Minister of National Defense;General Luong Tam Quang - Member of the Politburo,Minister of Public Security; General Trinh Van Quyet - Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Standing Member of the Central Military Commission, Director of the General Department of Politics of the Vietnam People's Army.

Also attending were members of the Party Central Committee: Vo Thi Anh Xuan - Vice President; Ho Duc Phoc - Deputy Prime Minister; Senior Lieutenant General Tran Quang Phuong - Vice Chairman of the National Assembly; Pham Gia Tuc - Chief of the Party Central Committee Office; Senior General Nguyen Tan Cuong - Member of the Central Military Commission, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, Deputy Minister of National Defense.

Attending the ceremony were comrades of the Party Central Committee, former members of the Party Central Committee; leaders of the Party Central Committee Office, the Office of the General Secretary, the Office of the President, the Office of the National Assembly, the Office of the Government; leaders of the Ministry of National Defense and localities of the Lao People's Democratic Republic; central ministries and branches; leaders of the provinces and cities: Can Tho, Hue, Thanh Hoa, Ha Tinh, Quang Tri; agencies, branches, unions, units, schools in the Military Region; representatives of Vietnamese Heroic Mothers, Heroes of the People's Armed Forces, Heroes of Labor.

Leaders of Nghe An province attending the ceremony included comrades: Nguyen Duc Trung - Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee; Le Hong Vinh - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; and leaders of departments, agencies and branches.

80 years of building, fighting, winning and growing

80 years ago, on October 15, 1945, President Ho Chi Minh signed a decree establishing 12 military zones across the country, including Military Zone 4 - the predecessor of today's Military Zone 4. Since that historic milestone, October 15 every year has become the glorious traditional day of the Military Zone 4.

Delivering a speech at the celebration, Lieutenant General Ha Tho Binh - Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, Commander of Military Region 4 emphasized that in the history of building and defending the country, Region 4 is one of the important strategic areas of the whole country. This is a land of talented people, rich in revolutionary tradition, and has produced many heroes and heroes who have made the country famous.

During the long resistance war against the French colonialists, the army and people of Zone 4 both resisted, built the nation, fought and produced, becoming "the second most solid revolutionary base in the country".

During the great resistance war against the US to save the country, Military Region 4 was the "front line of fire and bullets" of the socialist North, the direct rear of the great front line of the South, simultaneously carrying out "four missions on all three battlefields". This strip of land was the place of direct confrontation between us and the enemy, becoming the fiercest battlefield in the whole country.

Imbued with President Ho Chi Minh's teaching "helping friends is helping yourself", during the resistance war against France and the US, many officers and soldiers of the Military Region's Armed Forces, especially Division 324, Division 968... performed well the international mission in building revolutionary forces, alliances to fight against enemy invasion and sabotage, and building and protecting the new government.

Years will pass, but the resounding victories of the army and people of Military Zone 4 will forever remain. Historical sites such as Ham Rong, Truong Bon, Dong Loc Junction, Road 20 Quyet Thang, Vinh Moc Tunnels, Khe Sanh, Ancient Citadel, Huong River... will forever be the shining golden marks of the bravery and resilience of the army and people of Zone 4, ready to overcome all hardships, fierceness, and sacrifices to fight and defeat the invading enemy.

Entering the period of building and defending the Fatherland, the Military Region 4 has been proactive, innovative, creative, united, and excellently fulfilled the functions of the combat army, the working army, and the production labor army, maintaining the core role in building the all-people national defense and people's security posture, especially in key areas and borders. Continuing to perform well the defense diplomacy task in the new situation.

In particular, with the spirit of "The People are ahead", with "Orders from the heart", officers and soldiers of Military Region 4 did not fear hardships and dangers, ready to sacrifice themselves for the peace and happiness of the people.

The image of "Uncle Ho's soldiers" in preventing and overcoming the consequences of natural disasters has become a symbol of trust and a solid support for the Party committees, authorities and people of the provinces in the area.

With glorious feats of arms and outstanding achievements, the Military Region 4's armed forces were honored to receive the following awards from the Party and the State: 2 Gold Star Orders, 2 Ho Chi Minh Orders, First and Second Class Independence Orders, and many other noble awards. In particular, the Military Region 4's armed forces continued to receive the Ho Chi Minh Order for the third time from the Party and the State.

Ready to receive and complete excellently all assigned tasks

Speaking at the ceremony, General Secretary To Lam warmly congratulated the great achievements, growth, maturity and glorious tradition of the armed forces of Military Region 4 over the past 80 years; and wished Military Region 4 to receive the noble award of the Party and State, the Ho Chi Minh Medal.

The General Secretary emphasized that building the country must go hand in hand with defending the country. Taking care of defending the country before it is in danger is a historical lesson, a valuable tradition, a strategic thought, and has become a rule in the cause of building and defending the nation.

In the context of the international and regional situation continuing to have complex and unpredictable developments... many major and urgent issues are being raised for our entire Party, people and army, including the task of protecting the Fatherland, the task of building a revolutionary, disciplined, elite and modern army of the Army in general and of Military Region 4 in particular.

To successfully fulfill the functions and tasks of the campaign-strategic unit of the Ministry of National Defense in key areas of the country, General Secretary To Lam requested the armed forces of Military Region 4 to continue to thoroughly grasp Ho Chi Minh's military ideology, the Party's military and defense guidelines, especially the Strategy for protecting the Fatherland in the new situation and the breakthroughs that have been approved by the Party Committee of Military Region 4 and the 12th Party Congress of the Army.

Proactively develop plans and improve combat readiness. Unite and stick with local Party committees, authorities and people; promote combined strength, build and consolidate all-people national defense, all-people national defense posture associated with people's security posture, build solid defense zones, create a proactive position to prevent, repel and defeat the sabotage plots of hostile forces; maintain a peaceful and stable environment for socio-economic development in the locality and the country in the direction of socialism.

Focus on building a revolutionary, disciplined, elite, and modern armed force of Military Region 4, taking political stability as the basis for improving overall quality and combat strength. Train mettle, techniques, tactics, master all types of weapons and equipment in the establishment, especially new and modern weapons; train in combat environments and new forms of warfare.

However, General Secretary To Lam said that no matter how modern the weapons and equipment are, the human factor is still the decisive factor. Therefore, modernity lies first and foremost in the officers and soldiers themselves in terms of thinking, qualifications, and ability to apply science to master and make the best use of the equipment in their ranks.

Ready to fight and win in all situations, respond promptly and effectively to non-traditional security challenges, especially in areas that face natural disasters and floods every year, such as Zone 4.

"In any case, the armed forces of Military Region 4 are always a trustworthy political force, a loyal fighting force of the Party, State and People, ready to receive and excellently complete all assigned tasks," General Secretary To Lam stated.

The General Secretary also requested the armed forces of Military Region 4 to focus on doing well the mass mobilization work, strengthening the solidarity between the army and the people, contributing to building a strong local political base, building a strong people's heart and national solidarity bloc, and doing well the work of defense diplomacy.

At the same time, effectively carry out defense diplomacy tasks with Laos, with the motto "Helping friends is helping ourselves", contributing to fostering the great friendship, special solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation between the two Parties, States, and Armies of Vietnam and Laos.

Effectively implement the Resolution of the Military Region Party Congress, the Resolution of the 12th Military Party Congress, term 2025 - 2030, and the Action Program; attach importance to building a strong Military Region Party Committee in terms of politics, ideology, ethics, organization and cadres.

Improve the quality and effectiveness of implementing the Conclusion of the 4th Central Conference (13th tenure) on strengthening the building and rectification of the Party and the political system, associated with studying and following Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality and lifestyle, and the Campaign to promote tradition, contribute talent, and be worthy of the title "Uncle Ho's Soldiers" in the new period.