New recruits from Ninh Bình Province at the send-off ceremony held on Sunday morning. — VNA/VNS Photo Đức Phương

HÀ NỘI — Thirty provinces and cities in the country held ceremonies on Sunday to see tens of thousands of young people off for military service in the first handover batch.

The remaining 33 localities will carry out the handover of recruits to the military in the next two days, with completion date set to be February 27.

Deputy Minister of Defence Hoàng Xuân Chiến, along with the leaders of the northern province Hưng Yên, participated in the ceremony and had talks with the new recruits in Kim Động District.

Chiến congratulated the recruits and their receiving units, encouraged them to be studious in their training, strengthen political resolve, strictly adhere to the military discipline, complete their assigned tasks and contribute to the development of their hometown and the country.

The conscription ceremony was conducted in a solemn, efficient, safe manner. Security forces ensured public order at conscription venues, avoiding congestion and fostering an enthusiastic atmosphere to encourage the new recruits to fulfil their duties.

To improve the quality and meet recruitment targets, military agencies at all levels actively consulted with the Military Service Council to guide localities in enhancing the screening of conscription sources, implementing all steps in the conscription process, and engaging the entire political system in the effort.

In the northern port city Hải Phòng, Major General Nguyễn Quang Cường, Party Secretary and Political Commissar of Military Region 3, and Secretary of the city's Party Committee Lê Tiến Châu met and talked with new recruits in Thuỷ Nguyên District, the locality with the highest number of new recruits among the 2,550 from the city.

Representing the new recruits, Vũ Nhân Cường (from Minh Tân Commune, Thuỷ Nguyên District) promised to always train and strive to become elite soldiers, and continue the glorious achievements of their forbearers in nation building and national defence efforts.

Deputy defence minister Phạm Hoài Nam presented a wreath to send off new recruits to join the army in Khánh Hoà Province. — VNA/VNS Photo Phan Sáu

Thanks to good preparation, localities cooperated with receiving units to swiftly, efficiently, and strictly conduct conscription ceremonies, ensuring absolute safety.

All 9 localities in Military Region 3 - Quảng Ninh, Hải Phòng, Thái Bình, Nam Định, Ninh Bình, Hòa Bình, Hưng Yên, Hải Dương and Hà Nam - on Sunday morning completed the 2024 conscription ceremony at 30 locations.

More than 83 per cent of new recruits in Military Region 3 are in the age range of 17-21, 11.48 per cent have university/college degrees and 11.36 per cent are from ethnic minorities groups.

Citizens enlisting in the military in 2024 are provided with gifts supported by the local authorities, with an average amount between VNĐ3-5 million per person, with some more well-to-do localities also offering higher value gifts, financial support to rebuild or repair their homes.

Cao Bằng, Lạng Sơn, Bắc Kạn, Thái Nguyên, Bắc Giang and Bắc Ninh provinces (Military Region 1) also completed the handover of recruits to the military units by 9am. Given the demographic nature of these localities, recruits are from diverse ethnic backgrounds - Kinh, Mông, Dao, Tày, Nùng, Hoa, Cao Lan, Mường, Lô Lô, Sán Dìu and Sán Chí - mostly within 18-27 years old.

The quality of the new recruits in Military Region 1 has also improved, with the amount of young people with university/college degrees up by 26.5 per cent, and the amount of young people being Party members up by 147 per cent, compared to last year.

Đà Nẵng, Quảng Nam, Quảng Ngãi, Bình Định, Phú Yên, Khánh Hòa, Ninh Thuận, Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Đắk Lắk and Đắk Nông (Military Region 5) and four provinces Tuyên Quang, Yên Bái, Phú Thọ and Vĩnh Phúc (Military Region 2) also completed their handover on Sunday.

Thanh Hóa, Nghệ An, Hà Tĩnh, Quảng Trị, Quảng Bình and Thừa Thiên-Huế (Military Region 4), and districts in Hà Nội belonging to the High Command of Capital Hà Nội, will carry out the sending off ceremonies on Monday, and the rest of the localities to finish the work on Tuesday, the final day. — VNS

New military recruits in Quảng Ninh Province. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Vân