Only 5 days after the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was born, on September 7, 1945, President Ho Chi Minh issued a Directive to establish the General Staff (GGS), including the Operations Department (the predecessor of the Operations Department), with Chief of the General Staff Hoang Van Thai concurrently serving as the Head of the Department. Therefore, September 7, 1945 is the Traditional Day of the Operations Department.

Over the past 80 years, generations of officers, employees and soldiers of the Operations Department have always strived, united to overcome all difficulties and hardships, regardless of sacrifices to perform and excellently complete assigned functions and tasks, worthy of being the strategic combat and military terrain advisory agency of the Party, State, Central Military Commission and Ministry of National Defense ; assisting the Chief of the General Staff, Minister of National Defense, Central Military Commission on military and defense tasks; organizing, commanding, coordinating and operating combat readiness (SSCD) and combat activities of the Army and militia and self-defense forces (DQTV); at the same time performing the function of state management of national defense, military terrain and fields related to the task of protecting the Fatherland.

The delegation of the Department of Operations inspected the Navy's exercise documents. Photo: TRAN DANG

From the early days of its establishment, the number of soldiers was only about 10 people, but the officers and employees of the Operations Department kept in mind Uncle Ho's teachings, studying while working, and improving their professional qualifications to successfully complete the assigned tasks. The Operations Department advised the Party Central Committee, the Ministry of National Defense, and the National Resistance Committee on building the armed forces; fighting internal and external enemies, contributing to protecting the achievements of the August Revolution in 1945, protecting the young Vietnamese state and preparing in all aspects for the Army and the People's Armed Forces to enter the all-people, comprehensive, long-term resistance war against French colonialism.

The national resistance war broke out, together with the Central Military Command, the officers, staff and soldiers of the Operations Department always followed the battlefield closely, researched to help the Ministry of National Defense - Commander-in-Chief direct operations, build forces and resistance bases. According to Decree No. 121/SL dated July 11, 1950 on the organization of the Central Military Command, the Operations Department was upgraded to the Operations Department. From here, the Operations Department actively advised on the development of people's war, especially promoting guerrilla warfare; building main force divisions; organizing the collection and analysis of the situation to help the Central Military Command plan strategic operations, command and direct the battlefields. The Operations Department directly developed operational plans for major campaigns such as: Border, Northwest, Hoa Binh , Upper Laos, especially the 1953-1954 Winter-Spring Campaign, culminating in the Dien Bien Phu Campaign.

After the Geneva Agreement was signed, our country entered a new period, implementing two strategies: socialist revolution in the North and national democratic revolution in the South. In the face of the long-term plot to divide our country by the US imperialists and the Saigon puppet government, the Operations Department proactively researched, advised and proposed, helping the General Command direct the battlefields; air defense and defense operations in the North; bandit suppression and security work, protecting security and safety of the border and the interior...

During the resistance war against the US to save the country, the staff and officers of the Operations Department made outstanding efforts, closely followed reality, were brave and creative in advising, assessing and correctly forecasting the enemy's plots and tactics; proposed and recommended to the General Staff, the Ministry of National Defense and the Politburo, the Party Central Committee policies and solutions for leadership and direction, contributing to firmly protecting the North, effectively supporting the South, defeating the war strategies in the South and the US's air and naval sabotage war in the North. The Operations Department advised and developed combat plans for major campaigns, especially the plan to liberate the South in two years (1975-1976), starting with strategic operations in the Central Highlands with the key opening battle of Buon Ma Thuot, creating a strategic opportunity for our army and people to carry out the General Offensive and Uprising in the Spring of 1975, culminating in the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign, liberating the South and unifying the country.

Since 1975, the Operations Department has continued to play a good advisory role in the battles to protect the Southwestern and Northern borders and to carry out international missions in Cambodia. In carrying out the two strategic tasks of building and defending the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the Operations Department has focused on researching, proposing and implementing adjustments to the strategic force arrangement according to the determination and defense plan of the country; improving combat readiness, avoiding strategic surprises. When the country entered the renovation process, the Operations Department advised on building a national defense posture, a "people's hearts posture" in building a solid defense zone (KVPT) of provinces and cities. The strategic plans of the General Staff drafted by the Operations Department have had new, comprehensive and synchronous developments, in line with practical developments in the country, the region and the world.

In recent years, the Operations Department has always performed well its functions and tasks as a strategic command and operational advisory agency; assisting the Chief of the General Staff, the Minister of National Defense, and the Central Military Commission in military and defense tasks; organizing, commanding, coordinating, and operating the combat and readiness activities of the Army and Militia and Self-Defense Forces; and at the same time performing the function of state management of national defense and areas related to the task of protecting the Fatherland.

Notably, the Party Committee and the commander of the Operations Department regularly lead and direct the improvement of the quality and effectiveness of forecasting work, strategic consulting and proposal; assist the head of the Ministry of National Defense and the General Staff in directing, inspecting, urging, and strictly maintaining the combat readiness regime, and improving the combat capability of all military units. Regularly monitor and grasp the situation, advise and propose to the head of the General Staff and the Ministry of National Defense policies and solutions to promptly, properly and effectively handle situations in the air, at sea, inland, on the border and in cyberspace; effectively prevent and combat the Covid-19 pandemic. Continue to advise the head of the General Staff and the Ministry of National Defense to direct military regions and the Hanoi Capital Command to coordinate with central and local departments, ministries, branches to build increasingly solid provincial and municipal defense zones associated with military region defense. Coordinate with the police to effectively implement Decree No. 03/2019/ND-CP of the Government, protect the safety of important political events of the Party, State, Army and international events held in our country.

The Department of Operations actively and proactively researched, advised, proposed, directed and guided units to review, adjust and supplement the system of operational documents; researched and developed projects and plans to implement the strengthening of national defense and security potential combined with socio-economic development in the country's strategic directions. It advised and proposed planning and adjustment of the stationing arrangements of units and local armed forces, especially when implementing the Government's project on rearranging and reorganizing administrative units at all levels and building a two-level local government organization model... Along with that, the Department focused on improving the quality of campaign training, military scientific research; advised and directly assisted the Ministry of National Defense to successfully organize many campaign and strategic exercises; practiced command-staff exercises for strategic agencies and directed units to conduct KVPT exercises, command-staff exercises, confrontation and other forms of exercises with good results. Deploying and participating in many important military scientific research topics on military strategy, national defense, and KVPT; doing a good job of managing and using defense land, combining defense with socio-economic development; effectively applying information technology and digital transformation; building and compiling legal documents to unify management and operation, and improve the efficiency of the industry's work...

On March 5, 2025, the Ministry of National Defense held a ceremony to announce the decision to merge and reorganize a number of agencies, including merging the Department of Cartography into the Department of Operations. The organization, staffing, functions and tasks of the Department of Operations have new developments. From now on, the Department will perform both advisory functions in state management of surveying, defense mapping, and military remote sensing activities; promote research and application of science and technology in the field of military topography...

In leading and directing the building of a comprehensively strong and "exemplary" Operations Department, the Party Committee and the Department's commanders have completed the construction and organization of a lean, compact, and strong agency, ensuring that it meets the requirements and assigned tasks. Focusing on innovating political and ideological education, raising awareness of cadres, employees, and soldiers; promoting the study and following of Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality, and style in conjunction with emulation movements and campaigns in the Army; building discipline, maintaining strict discipline, and complying with the laws, regulations, and rules of the Army.

Promoting the tradition of "loyalty-strategy-creativity-proactivity-solidarity-determination to win" of the unit that was twice awarded the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces, in the coming time, the Party Committee and the Command of the Operations Department will continue to thoroughly grasp and concretize the resolutions of the Party, the Central Military Commission and the Party Committee of the Central Military Commission - Ministry of National Defense in leading, directing and implementing tasks, especially well implementing the Resolution of the 8th Central Conference (term XIII) of the Party on the Strategy to protect the Fatherland in the new situation, the Resolution of the Army Party Congress, the Resolution of the Party Congress of the Central Military Commission - Ministry of National Defense and the Resolution of the Party Congress of the Operations Department, term 2025-2030. To perform well the functions and tasks of strategic combat and military terrain advisory, the entire Department focuses on the following breakthroughs: Improving the quality of research, advisory, proposal, direction and guidance on implementation according to functions and tasks. services; strengthen the construction of regulations, strictly comply with discipline and laws; promote digital transformation and military administrative reform; focus on improving the quality of strategic staff to meet the requirements of tasks in the new situation.

In the process of implementing tasks, the Party Committee and the Department's commanders regularly lead, direct, and focus on improving the staff's capacity to advise and propose on par with the requirements of political tasks; building solidarity and unity within the agency, taking care of improving the material and spiritual life of cadres and employees. Continuing to promote the Emulation Movement to Win; building and replicating advanced examples, good models, and effective practices; linking the emulation movement with the implementation of studying and following Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality, and style; the Campaign "Promoting tradition, dedicating talent, worthy of being Uncle Ho's soldiers" in the new period and the campaign of all sectors and levels. Building clean and strong party organizations associated with building comprehensively strong agencies and units that are "exemplary and typical". Each cadre, party member and employee constantly studies and innovates working methods and styles according to the motto "speak briefly, write concisely, give correct, accurate and effective advice" and "know the job, know how to work, know how to be proficient in the job"...

With a long history of achievements and 80 years of tradition, and on the occasion of receiving the Second Class Fatherland Protection Medal, the Operations Department is determined to strive and will certainly achieve even greater results, worthy of the trust of the Party, State, Central Military Commission, Ministry of National Defense and General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army...

Lieutenant General NGUYEN HUY CANH, Party Committee Secretary, Director of the Department of Operations, General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army

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    Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/quoc-phong-an-ninh/xay-dung-quan-doi/xay-dung-cuc-tac-chien-vung-manh-hien-dai-ngang-tam-nhiem-vu-trong-tinh-hinh-moi-840358