The General Staff (GS; ) is the commanding and managing organisation of the

Vietnam People's Army Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

, the

paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

forces,

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

and other activities relating to defence of

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. The General Staff was established on 7 September 1945, right after the Proclamation of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the first Chief of the General Staff was General Hoàng Văn Thái. During the

Second Indochina War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, Cambodian-Vietnamese War,

Sino-Vietnamese War The Sino-Vietnamese War (also known by other names) was a brief conflict that occurred in early 1979 between China and Vietnam. China launched an offensive ostensibly in response to Vietnam's invasion and occupation of Cambodia in 1978, whi ...

and other skirmishes, the General Staff always had an essential role in organising, commanding the armed forces and planning, operating military campaigns for the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

and the

Government of Vietnam The Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (; less formally the Vietnamese Government or the Government of Vietnam, ) is the Cabinet (government), cabinet and the central Executive (government), executive arm of the Politics of Vietn ...

. The current Chief of the General Staff is General Nguyễn Tân Cương, who also holds the position of Deputy Minister of Defence, practically being the second highest-ranking professional officer of the

History and roles

Right after the

August Revolution The August Revolution (), also known as the August General Uprising (), was a revolution led by the Việt Minh against the Empire of Vietnam from 16 August to 2 September 1945. The Empire of Vietnam was led by the Nguyễn dynasty and was ...

and the foundation of the

Democratic Republic of Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; ; VNDCCH), was a country in Southeast Asia from 1945 to 1976, with sovereignty fully recognized in 1954. A member of the communist Eastern Bloc, it opposed the French-suppor ...

on 2 September 1945, the General Staff was established on 7 September 1945. The first Chief of the General Staff was Major General Hoàng Văn Thái who held the position from 1945 to 1953. During the existence of the General Headquarters of the Vietnam People's Army (''Bộ Tổng tư lệnh Quân đội Nhân dân Việt Nam''), which had been the supreme commanding organ of the armed forces from 1946 to 1975, the General Staff was directly under the General Headquarters and acted as staff of the General Headquarters according to the decree No. 47/SL which was issued on 1 May 1947. After the

, the General Headquarters was dissolved and the General Staff began to operate under the

in the position of commanding and managing organisation of the

, the

forces,

and other activities relating to defence of Vietnam. From 1978, the Chief of Staff was also Deputy Minister of Defence and would take the position of acting minister during the absence of the Minister of Defence.Ministry of Defence (2009), ''White book'', p. 53

Structure

The organisation of the General Staff consists of: * Office of the General Staff (''Văn phòng Bộ Tổng tham mưu'') * Department of Political Affairs (''Cục Chính trị'') * Department of Operations (''Cục Tác chiến'') * Department of Personnel (''Cục Quân lực'') * Department of Information Technology (''Cục Công nghệ thông tin'') * Department of Electronic Warfare (''Cục Tác chiến điện tử'') * 144th Guard Brigade (Lữ đoàn 144) * Department of Military Political Training and Public Affairs (''Cục Quân huấn''). This is also the office responsible for the sport activities of the Army including the operation of the Viettel FC (''Thể Công'') football club. * Department of Cartography (''Cục Bản đồ'') * Department of Cryptography (''Cục Cơ yếu'') * Department of Logistics (''Cục Hậu cần'') * Department of Military Education (''Cục Nhà trường'') * Department of Militias and Reserve Forces (''Cục Dân quân tự vệ'') * Department of Disaster Response and SAR (''Cục Cứu hộ cứu nạn'') In addition, the General Staff also directly manages the operation of the 144th Brigade (which protects the Ministry of Defence headquarters), the Military Honour Guard Battalion (''Đoàn Nghi lễ quân đội''), and several companies and project management authorities.

Chief of the General Staff

The Chief of the General Staff (Vietnamese: Tổng tham mưu trưởng) is the chief of staff of the General Staff of the People's Army of Vietnam. He is appointed by the President of Vietnam, who is the Commander-in-Chief.

References

* {{Vietnam People's Army People's Army of Vietnam Military units and formations established in 1945 Staff (military)