With the task of protecting and managing 40.5km of the national border, including the 19.5km Vietnam-China border and the 21km Vietnam-Laos border, cadres and soldiers of the A Pa Chải Border Post always proactively coordinate with local Party committees and governments to implement directives and resolutions from higher levels; simultaneously intensifying propaganda and mobilization efforts to encourage residents to comply well with the Party’s guidelines and the State’s laws.

Thanks to effective mass mobilization, before the merger, the old Sín Thầu commune had no deforestation, no illegal migration, no drug addicts, and no unauthorized religious activities. Currently, as Sín Thầu expands to include Leng Su Sìn and Sen Thượng, the Border Guard forces continue to accompany the residents in implementing new-style rural criteria. Besides 22 general models and programs of the Border Guard that have been applied across the entire force, Border Posts in the area have also developed their own initiatives, such as the “Border Guard Garden” and “Border Road Lighting,” contributing to a new look for the border region.

Lieutenant Colonel Phạm Quốc Tuấn, Political Officer of the A Pa Chải Border Post, stated: With the spirit of “The post is home, the border is the homeland, ethnic compatriots are blood relatives,” for many years the unit has maintained the assignment of cadres and soldiers to take charge of households living near the border. In the process of support, every soldier stays close to the grassroots, understanding the circumstances of each family to determine suitable tasks that bring practical results.

Building an all-people border defense posture plays an extremely important role in the cause of protecting national border sovereignty. The Party Committees and Commands of the Border Posts located in the province have concretized many contents of mass mobilization according to programs and plans suitable to the specific characteristics of the area, strictly focusing on thoroughly grasping higher-level directives and resolutions, and enhancing work efficiency, especially the role of the Mass Mobilization Team in state management and protecting border security and sovereignty. Annually, the Border Guard consistently intensifies propaganda and mobilization efforts to encourage the people to strictly implement the Party’s guidelines and the State’s policies and laws, and participate in protecting border sovereignty and security.

Chảo Chố Phạ, from Lỳ Mà Tá village, Sín Thầu commune, shared: Having the border guards, the lives and awareness of our people have changed a lot. We better understand the purpose and importance of joining hands to protect the border line and border markers, and fighting against activities that violate border sovereignty.

Along with the mission of propaganda and mobilizing people to properly implement the Party’s guidelines and the State’s policies and laws, annually, cadres and soldiers of the provincial Border Guard actively support residents in economic development and hunger elimination/poverty reduction following the “three anchors, four withs” motto. The border guard forces are always present at the grassroots level to join the people in building traffic roads, environmental sanitation, overcoming damage caused by natural disasters, guiding production, reclaiming land, tending crops, and helping to repair and build new houses.

In addition to livelihood support activities, border guard cadres and soldiers participate in natural disaster prevention and moving residents to safe areas; they coordinate visits and gift-giving to village elders, village chiefs, reputable individuals, policy families, and residents in the area.

Major Đỗ Xuân Điềm, Political Officer of the Nậm Nhừ Border Post, shared: The unit always determines that close attachment to the people is a crucial task. Therefore, cadres and soldiers regularly stay close to the grassroots, understanding the circumstances of each family to select appropriate forms of support. To date, several activities, models, and movements in the commune, such as: “For poor studious children,” “Children adopted by the Border Post,” “Accompanying women in border areas,” helping residents build traffic roads, environmental sanitation... all receive guidance, support, and assistance from the border soldiers.

Deeply grasping President Hồ Chí Minh’s thoughts on mass mobilization: “If mass mobilization is weak, everything is weak; if mass mobilization is skillful, everything succeeds...”, through various stages of fighting and maturity, along with the mission of training, combat readiness, and firmly protecting border sovereignty, the image of the border soldier has become multi-functional and close. They are not only soldiers carrying guns but also doctors, teachers, legal communicators, and laborers working alongside the people in production and building a new life.

Thanks to the close, blood-and-flesh attachment, the military-civilian relationship is increasingly tight, political security and social order in the areas under the units’ charge are always maintained, and the sense of mastery and responsibility of the people in protecting the border is constantly enhanced. Many models and examples of skillful mass mobilization are proving effective, spreading widely in society, affirming the important role of mass mobilization, arousing the strength of the great national unity bloc, and creating a solid all-people border defense posture.