Circular No. 148/2018/TT-BQP on the recruitment and conscription of citizens for military service

CIRCULAR

Regulations on the selection and conscription of citizens for military service

Based on the Law on Military Service dated June 19, 2015;

Based on Decree No. 164/2017/NĐ-CP dated December 30, 2017, of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of National Defense;

At the proposal of the Chief of General Staff;

The Minister of National Defense issues the Circular on the selection and call-up of citizens for military service.

Article 1. Scope of Regulation and Applicability

1. This Circular regulates the selection and conscription of citizens for military service; the responsibilities of agencies, organizations, and individuals in the selection and conscription of citizens for military service (hereinafter referred to collectively as recruitment).

2. This Circular applies to People's Committees at all levels, agencies, units, organizations, and individuals related to the organization and implementation of recruitment.

Article 2. Principles and requirements for recruitment

1. Implement correctly the Party’s policies, the State’s laws, and the procedures and regulations in the recruitment process.

2. Recruit sufficient quantity, ensure quality, select based on high standards, implement democracy, fairness, transparency, safety, and economy.

3. Emphasize the responsibility of all organizations and individuals to improve the quality of recruitment work.

4. Emphasize the selection and call-up of citizens who have graduated from university or college, and ethnic minority citizens to enhance the quality of building standing forces, reserve forces, contribute to creating sources for building strong grassroots political foundations, consolidate national defense and security, and firmly defend the socialist Fatherland of Vietnam.

Article 3. Recruitment quotas and timeframes

1. Annually, implement according to the Prime Minister's decision regarding the conscription of citizens.

2. Based on the Prime Minister's decision, the Minister of National Defense decides to allocate recruitment quotas for citizens to be called up for military service for subordinate units under the Ministry of National Defense in each province and centrally-administered city (hereinafter referred to as provincial level).

Article 4. Recruitment criteria

1. Age:

a) Citizens aged from 18 to 25 years old.

b) Male citizens with higher vocational training or university education who have been temporarily exempted from conscription during their training period shall be selected and conscripted up to 27 years old.

2. Political criteria:

a) Implement the Joint Circular No. 50/2016/TTLT-BQP-BCA dated April 15, 2016 of the Minister of National Defense and the Minister of Public Security on the political criteria for selecting citizens to serve in the Vietnam People's Army.

b) For agencies, units, and key confidential positions within the military; the Military Police, Ceremonial Guard; professional Military Guard and Military Control forces shall select according to the regulations of the Ministry of National Defense.

3. Health criteria:

b) For agencies, units, and positions specified in Point b, Clause 2 of this Article, ensure the selection based on specific standards as prescribed by the Ministry of National Defense.

4. Cultural criteria:

a) Select and call up for military service citizens with education levels of grade 8 or higher, starting from the highest level downwards. In areas facing difficulties in meeting the assigned conscription quota, report to the competent authority for consideration and decision to allow the selection of citizens with grade 7 education levels.

b) Villages located in remote, border, and extremely difficult socio-economic conditions as defined by law; ethnic minorities with less than 10,000 people may recruit up to 25% of citizens with primary school education levels, the rest must have secondary school or higher.

Article 5. Postponement and Exemption from Military Service Call-Up

The temporary deferral and exemption from call-up for military service during peacetime shall be implemented according to Article 41 of the Law on Military Service 2015, as follows:

1. Postpone the call-up for military service for the following citizens:

a) Not having sufficient health to serve in the military according to the conclusion of the Medical Examination Board.

c) One child of a war invalid or a person suffering from Agent Orange with reduced working capacity between 61% and 80%.

d) Having a brother, sister, or sibling serving as a non-commissioned officer or soldier in the military; a non-commissioned officer or soldier performing their duty in the People's Public Security Force.

đ) Persons belonging to the relocation program to particularly difficult communes for three years as part of the state's economic and social development projects decided by the People's Committee of the province or higher level.

e) Cadres, civil servants, public officials, and volunteers dispatched to work in areas with extremely difficult economic and social conditions as defined by law.

g) Currently studying at general education institutions; currently undergoing regular undergraduate training at universities or regular college training at vocational education institutions during the duration of one academic year.

2. Exempt from military service call-up for the following citizens:

a) Children of martyrs, children of first-class disabled veterans.

b) A brother or a younger brother of a martyr.

c) A child of a second-class disabled veteran; a child of a war invalid with reduced working capacity of 81% or more; a child of a person suffering from Agent Orange with reduced working capacity of 81% or more.

d) Personnel engaged in secretarial work who are not military personnel or members of the People's Public Security Force.

đ) Cadres, civil servants, public officials, and volunteers assigned to work in areas with particularly difficult economic and social conditions in accordance with the law for a period of 24 months or more.

3. Citizens subject to temporary deferral from call-up for military service as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, if they no longer have grounds for deferral, shall be called up for military service.

Citizens subject to temporary deferral from call-up for military service or exempted from call-up for military service as stipulated in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article, if willing, shall be considered for selection and call-up for military service.

1. Responsibilities of People's Committees at all levels:

a) Effectively carry out propaganda, dissemination, and education to raise awareness and responsibility in implementing the Law on Military Service among the people, especially citizens of conscription age; direct the conscription process in accordance with regulations, meet the assigned quotas, and ensure quality.

b) Establish a Military Service Council with the required number and composition as prescribed; assign tasks and clearly define responsibilities for organizations and individuals in implementing the process. Fully leverage the role and responsibility of the entire political system at the local level; the advisory role of military agencies at all levels and the responsibility of village chiefs, neighborhood heads, community leaders, hamlet, village, and phum/sok (hereinafter referred to as village) leaders in conscription.

c) Allocate conscription quotas suitable to the conditions of each locality and unit, linked to mobilization areas; ensuring that all communes, wards, and towns have citizens entering military service.

d) Conduct conscription thoroughly, ensuring that every selected citizen meets the requirements; create favorable conditions for receiving units to review files, finalize troop numbers, and organize deep infiltration and thorough knowledge of the situation. Coordinate with receiving units to replace citizens who have entered military service but do not meet the conditions and standards (if any); the replacement ratio shall not exceed 2% of the local quota assigned to the unit; bear responsibility for the quality of conscripts.

đ) Direct the Military Service Council and relevant departments to monitor, guide, urge, and inspect the implementation of recruitment work; annually, take the lead in organizing a coordination conference to deploy recruitment work and organize reviews, interim assessments, and final summaries of recruitment work as prescribed.

e) Timely resolve complaints and denunciations, strictly handle violations in recruitment in accordance with the law; widely publicize to educate and create consensus among the people, preventing negative phenomena.

2. Responsibilities of the Provincial People's Committee:

Implement responsibilities as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article and direct the Military Service Council, relevant departments, and the People's Committee of districts, towns, cities directly under provinces (hereinafter referred to collectively as district level) to carry out recruitment in accordance with regulations, ensuring sufficient quotas and quality of conscripts.

3. Responsibilities of the People's Committee of the district:

a) Implement responsibilities as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article and direct the Military Service Council, relevant departments, and the People's Committee at the commune level to carry out recruitment in accordance with regulations, ensuring sufficient quotas and quality of conscripts.

b) Directly implement and direct recruitment work; accurately grasp the number of citizens eligible for military service who are present and absent in the locality; organize training for staff involved in recruitment; direct the strict, democratic, fair, transparent preliminary selection, medical examination, and review process; create favorable conditions for citizens to undergo preliminary selection and medical examination quickly and properly according to regulations; assign members of the Military Service Council to each responsible for supervising and directing certain communes, agencies, organizations, and share responsibility for the quota and quality of conscripts.

c) Establish the Medical Examination Board and military service medical examination teams with complete components and equipment as prescribed; organize appropriate locations for medical examinations, clearly assigning responsibilities to organizations and individuals participating in military service medical examinations to ensure quality, accurate conclusions, and accountability for the results.

d) Organize strict, democratic, fair, and transparent reviews of temporary deferments and exemptions from military service calls; the Chairman of the District People's Committee shall issue the Decision.

đ) Direct the issuance of orders for medical examinations for military service calls suitable for each locality; for each recruit, no more than four people should be called for medical examinations. Finalize the number of recruits, issue orders for recruitment, and maintain a reserve rate not exceeding 5% compared to the recruitment quota of the district, and complete all necessary procedures and files (including party member and youth league member files) for recruits to be handed over to receiving units.

e) Direct the Military Service Council to register uniform sizes for each citizen during medical examinations and inform the receiving unit to ensure distribution according to regulations; organize the distribution of some uniform items for new soldiers before the handover ceremony three to five days in advance, ensuring consistency, compliance with regulations, and suitability to military branches and weather conditions.

g) Regularly exchange information about the situation of recruited citizens; coordinate with receiving units to implement replacements at the unit (if necessary) to ensure quality and time as prescribed.

4. Responsibilities of the People's Committee of the commune:

a) Implement responsibilities as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article and direct the Military Service Council, relevant departments, and villages to carry out recruitment in accordance with regulations, ensuring sufficient quotas and quality of conscripts.

b) Direct villages to organize elections, propose male citizens within the age range for military service to undergo preliminary selection in accordance with regulations, ensuring democracy, fairness, transparency, quality, and effectiveness.

c) Directly conduct preliminary selection and review of citizens for military service; report to the District People's Committee the list of citizens eligible for military service, temporary deferments, and exemptions. Prepare military service files and related procedures for citizens eligible for military service to be handed over to the Military Command at the district level.

Publicly post at the Commune People's Committee office as prescribed and publicly notify each village of the following contents:

- Recruitment quota assigned by the district to the commune;

- Recruitment conditions and standards; cases of temporary deferment from and exemption from military service;

- List of citizens subject to call-up for military service;

- List of citizens temporarily deferred from and exempted from military service;

- List of citizens eligible for military service;

- Health classification results concluded by the Medical Examination Board for military service.

- List of citizens successfully recruited for military service ready for enlistment.

d) Direct the Commune Military Command to cooperate with relevant departments to guide citizens issued orders for military service calls, fill out health insurance application forms (according to the model), with confirmation from the Commune People's Committee to be handed over to the district-level Military Command along with military service files.

đ) Direct the Commune Military Command to cooperate with the Police Station and relevant departments to thoroughly understand the political criteria, morals, and new issues arising with citizens preparing for military service, promptly informing and providing information to the district-level Military Command and receiving units for management. Coordinate with receiving units and families to resolve deserters according to the law.

Article 7. Responsibilities of Units Receiving Military Personnel

2. Units organized with three meetings, four knowledges: Proactively coordinate with localities to implement as prescribed by the Ministry of National Defense.

In cases where political, moral verification results or health appraisals are awaited, promptly notify and coordinate with the district-level locality to proactively manage replacement numbers. The replacement period does not exceed fifteen days from the date of handover; the replacement ratio does not exceed 2% compared to the handover quota of the locality with the unit.

5. Within fifteen days from the date of receiving troops, the unit establishes a list of new soldiers and eligible relatives to participate in health insurance, report as prescribed.

Article 8. Responsibilities of Military Regions

1. Direct, guide, and inspect subordinate units' implementation of recruitment work as stipulated in Article 7 of this Circular.

2. Direct, guide, and inspect the provincial-level military authority to provide advisory support to the People's Committee at the same level to direct the Military Service Council to carry out conscription work in accordance with regulations, ensuring quotas and quality of conscription.

3. Annually direct, guide localities and units, and directly organize experience reviews, mid-term and final summaries of recruitment work as prescribed.

Article 9. Responsibilities of Agencies and Units Subordinate to the Ministry of National Defense

Based on their functions and responsibilities, they are responsible for directing, guiding, and inspecting conscription work; maintaining a thorough understanding of the situation, coordinating closely, and ensuring that localities and units comply with conscription regulations.

1. The People's Committees at the provincial and district levels shall take the lead in organizing coordination between localities and receiving units to unify quotas and timeframes for reviewing files, infiltration (for units specified to have three meetings and four knowings), finalizing troop numbers, and methods of conscription as follows:

a) The People's Committee at the provincial level shall coordinate with division, brigade, and equivalent levels (directly subordinate to units under the Ministry).

b) The People's Committee at the district level shall coordinate with regiment and equivalent levels (directly subordinate to division and equivalent levels).

2. The People's Committees at the provincial and district levels shall direct the military authority and public security authority at the same level to closely cooperate in selecting and calling up citizens for military service and performing duties to join the Public Security Force; the military authority and public security authority at the district level shall unify quotas and personnel for calling up citizens for military service and performing duties to join the Public Security Force.

3. Localities and units shall closely cooperate in the process of recruiting and managing troops. Receiving units shall dispatch commanding officers as prescribed to coordinate conscription with the People's Committee at the provincial level and the People's Committee at the district level and bear responsibility for the contents of the coordination.

Article 11. Organizing the Handover Ceremony

1. The Military Region Command shall coordinate with the People's Committee of the province within its military region to uniformly direct the organization of the handover ceremony for military units and public security units on the same day.

Article 12. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from November 20, 2018, and replaces Circular No. 140/2015/TT-BQP dated December 16, 2015, issued by the Ministry of National Defense on the selection and call-up of citizens for military service.

2. In cases where legal normative documents referred to for application in this Circular are amended, supplemented, or replaced, they shall be applied according to the amended, supplemented, or replaced documents.

Article 13. Responsibility for Implementation

The Chief of General Staff, Chairmen of the People's Committees of centrally governed cities and heads of relevant agencies and units are responsible for implementing this Circular./.