Looking back on the glorious course of the people’s army, we can see that the three major battles of Liaoshen, Huaihai and Pingjin in the War of Liberation swept away thousands of troops, which determined the future and destiny of China. Decades later, our army launched the "three major battles" to deepen national defense and military reform. At present, the reform of the leadership and command system, the scale structure and the strength formation have been basically completed, and the "third big battle" of the military policy system reform has been launched. This great change that determines the future of our army is taking decisive steps towards the goal of comprehensive victory.
How to understand the military policy system must be adjusted according to the conditions of the times.
The military policy system regulates military relations, regulates military practice and guarantees military development, which is of fundamental, overall and fundamental significance to national defense and army building. Any military policy system is the product of the times and must be constantly adjusted and improved with the changes of the conditions of the times.
Nowadays, the new military revolution in the world is developing rapidly and the international military competition is fierce. One of the most important aspects is the military policy system. The United States, Russia and other countries have taken many measures in this regard. Various services in the United States have successively issued strategic guidance documents based on wars and conflicts in big countries, and the newly announced fiscal year 2020 budget proposes to raise the salary of military personnel by 3.1%. Russia has continuously promoted and optimized the military housing security system, established a special fund for military housing, improved the quality and service level of military medical security, expanded the scope of recuperation and reformed the military service system. A hundred battles struggle, and those who struggle first. We must grasp the trend of world military development, consolidate and develop the advantages of China’s military policy system, and grasp the initiative of military competition and war.
Our party has always attached importance to the military policy system. In each historical period of revolution, construction and reform, our party has constantly adjusted and improved the military policy system according to the development and changes of the situation, the historical mission of the party, the responsibilities and tasks undertaken by the people’s army, and the characteristics, laws and practical requirements of building and managing the army, providing an important guarantee for the people’s army to maintain its nature and purpose forever, improve its ability to win, and constantly move from victory to victory. However, it should also be noted that most of China’s current military policy systems were formed more than a decade or even decades ago. Although they have been constantly adjusted in recent years, the deep-seated contradictions and problems such as underdeveloped concepts, unclear guidance, incomplete systems, and lack of military and civilian connection have not been fundamentally solved, and they have not adapted to the requirements of the development of the situation and tasks.
中国特色社会主义进入了新时代，国防和军队建设也进入了新时代，军事政策制度应该根据时代条件作出调整，而且应该系统改、深入改。这些年来，全面深化改革多点突破、纵深推进，党和国家政策制度创新步伐很快，军事政策制度要紧紧跟上，加强同各方面改革的协调联动，形成总体效应。党的十八大以来，党中央、习主席着眼强军兴军提出一系列重大战略思想、作出一系列重大决策部署、推进一系列重大工作，形成习近平强军思想，推动强军事业取得历史性成就、发生历史性变革，这些理论和实践成果应该在军事政策制度上确定下来。同时，党和人民赋予我军的新时代使命任务，党的十九大对全面推进国防和军队现代化作出的战略部署，都要求体现到军事政策制度中去。
Why must the reform of military policy system fit in with the new system?
Any successful military reform must rebuild the "soft mechanism" such as policy system while building a "hard system". System reform and policy system reform are integrated and inseparable with each other. This national defense and military reform has taken the lead in carrying out the reform of the leadership and command system, breaking the long-standing headquarters system, the military region system and the continental army system, forming a new pattern of the military commission in charge of the general, the main battle in the theater and the main construction of the military service, and realizing the historic change of our military organizational structure. We will push forward the reform of scale structure and strength formation, change the long-term land-based and homeland-defense strength structure and strength distribution, and realize the revolutionary reshaping of our military strength system. Through these reforms, the shaping of the "hard system" has been basically completed, and the people’s army has a new system, a new structure, a new pattern and a new look.
If the reform of the leadership and command system focuses on "strengthening the brain and strengthening the center", the reform of the scale structure and strength composition focuses on "strengthening the bones and muscles", and the reform of the military policy system focuses on "connecting the meridians and activating the qi and blood", it must be organically linked with the first two major battles. Although the institutional obstacles and structural contradictions that restrict the construction of our army have been effectively solved, the operational mechanism that is compatible with the new system has not been completely straightened out, and the new power structure also needs to be improved. To consolidate and expand the achievements of the previous reforms and further release the reform effectiveness, we must promote the reform of the military policy system. This is a more internal, deeper and more lasting remolding for our army, and it is also more crucial to drive, adjust and support the whole reform.
What are the considerations for the design of this military policy system reform?
Generally speaking, there are two typical ways to formulate policies and systems. One is "description", that is, the practice in actual work is expressed in standardized language and upgraded to a policy system; The other is "design", that is, focusing on career development, focusing on achieving better leadership, command, management and security, and actively designing and shaping a more scientific, advanced and effective policy system. This military policy system reform aims at ensuring the party’s absolute leadership over the army, taking combat effectiveness as the only fundamental standard, focusing on mobilizing the enthusiasm, initiative and creativity of military personnel, insisting on systematic planning, forward-looking design, innovative development and overall remodeling, and comprehensively reconstructing our military policy system.
The reform of the military policy system must first adhere to the correct political direction, maintain political determination on what to change and what not to change, and persist in what cannot be changed and lost. If it is changed and lost, it will be self-destructive. In October 1990, the Soviet Union issued the Regulations on the Work of the Soviet communist party Organization in the Soviet Armed Forces, which stipulated that "the Soviet communist party Organization and its institutions shall not interfere in the work of administrative personnel and military command organs", which made the army break away from the leadership of the CPSU, and the reform finally put the Soviet Union on a road of no return. History is the best textbook. The Party’s absolute leadership over the army is the foundation of our army and the soul of strengthening the army. No matter how the national defense and army reform are changed, this article cannot be shaken at all. We must constantly strengthen this "lifeblood" through the reform of military policy system and make a series of fundamental principles and systems for the Party to lead the army more mature and stereotyped.
The army exists for war, and the starting point and destination of military reform are the liberation and development of combat effectiveness, and the adjustment and optimization of military policy system should also focus on this. This military policy system reform is to take combat effectiveness as the only fundamental standard, establish the policy orientation of preparing for war, form an institutional system that can serve wars and win battles, and promote the full release of combat effectiveness in generate. Man is the decisive factor of combat effectiveness and the main body of army building. When the human problem is solved, it will directly bring about a great improvement in the operation of the entire military system and the efficiency of army building. Judging from the actual situation, the difficulties in resettling demobilized soldiers, handing over wounded and disabled soldiers and resettling retired cadres still exist, and the difficulties in recruiting and attracting and retaining talents are also outstanding, which have become the pain points and difficulties that affect the cohesion, attractiveness and combat effectiveness of the troops. The officers and men have expectations, and the reform should respond. The purpose of this military policy system reform is to persist in promoting the all-round development of officers and men, firmly establish the dominant position of officers and men in strengthening the army, strive to create a fair and just institutional environment, safeguard the basic needs of officers and men, safeguard their rights and interests, enhance their pride, sense of acquisition and sense of accomplishment, and inspire officers and men to strive to be revolutionary soldiers in the new era of "four haves".
This reform of military policy system has broken the boundaries of departments and fields, changed the mode of treating a headache only, treating an ailment only, and tinkering with it. It has carried out top-level design from four links: command, construction, management and supervision, and reshaped all fields, aspects and links of military practice activities as a whole. It has clearly put forward deepening the reform of military party building system, innovating the reform of military force application policy system, reshaping the reform of military force building policy system, promoting the reform of military management policy system, and establishing and improving it. This "one big system, four big plates" has clear orientation, comprehensive coverage, tight structure and internal coordination. It is in line with China’s national conditions and military situation, adapts to the requirements of the new era, new mission and new system, and will certainly provide a strong policy and institutional guarantee for realizing the party’s goal of strengthening the army in the new era and building the people’s army into a world-class army in an all-round way.
How to understand the transformation and convergence of the old and new policies and systems needs a process.
The reform of the military policy system is directly related to the vital interests of officers and men and the morale of the army. It involves a wide range and is very sensitive and complicated. It must be scientifically studied and demonstrated, and it must be implemented steadily. It must not be rushed, otherwise it will be haste makes waste. During Yeltsin’s period, Russia promoted radical military reform and made a large number of disarmament under the condition that the social security mechanism was not perfect, resulting in more than 70% of the more than 500,000 retired officers being unemployed, and 48% of the active servicemen’s family income was below the minimum living standard. At that time, the Russian army was described as "half an army". Soldiers could only get half a salary, and only half of them could live in houses, which seriously weakened the morale of officers and men and the combat effectiveness of the troops.
According to the deployment of the military policy system reform, our army will complete the reform of the main policy system in all fields and systems by 2020, and build the basic framework of Socialism with Chinese characteristics’s military policy system. By 2022, we will improve the supporting policy system in all fields and build a relatively complete military policy system in Socialism with Chinese characteristics. This goal is arduous and arduous, with a high degree of specialization, a long legislative cycle, great difficulty in cross-departmental, cross-disciplinary and cross-military coordination, complex system, intensive rhythm and huge use of power, which can be said to be unprecedented. It takes a long time to complete the design, supporting and implementation of so many policy systems.
The transformation between the old and the new military policy system is not a "surgical operation", but a gradual process of "thoroughly remoulding". Too fast, beyond the realistic conditions, beyond the capacity of the country, the army and officers and men, a little carelessness may lose the existing achievements; If it is too slow, it will miss the window of reform, widen the gap with foreign troops, and may also affect the morale of officers and men. Therefore, during the transition from the old to the new military policy system, it is necessary to implement it step by step, mature one and promote the other, so as to achieve a smooth transition of the policy system and avoid repeated "patching" and "turning over the sesame seeds"; It is also important to introduce a policy system that is urgently needed for reform, urgently needed for preparation for war, and eagerly awaited by officers and men, and formulate a small but practical and quick-acting transitional policy to ensure that the reform is fast and steady.
Source: People’s Liberation Army Daily: Liu Jiang, Ni Wangwang, Bruce Lee
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