Senior Lieutenant General Nguyễn Tân Cương, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army and Deputy Minister of National Defence, presents flowers and encourages new recruits before they leave home to the army. VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Vân

HÀ NỘI — Thousands of young people from 19 cities and provinces across the country began their military service on Monday, amid ceremonies marking the occasion.

In Hà Nội alone, ceremonies were held in 30 districts and communes, bidding farewell to 4,200 recruits. Of these, the majority, 3,500, will be joining the military, with the remaining 700 entering the public security service.

Attending a ceremony in Ba Đình District, Đinh Tiến Dũng, Politburo member, Secretary of the city’s Party Committee and Head of Hà Nội’s National Assembly delegation, presented flowers and gave words of encouragement to the recruits.

Dũng told them to keep firm faith and strong will to fulfil their tasks as soldiers and expressed his belief that the young men would strive to become heroic citizens of the capital.

Vũ Anh Dũng, a recruit from Giảng Võ District, said he was honoured and proud to be part of the Vietnamese People's Army.

“I promise to train myself well to become an exemplary soldier and to be worthy of the trust and love of my family and the people,” he said.

In Đông Anh District, many people came to see off the young men before they left home for the army.

Chairman of the city’s People’s Committee and chairman of the city’s Military Service Council Trần Sỹ Thanh said that performing this duty for the fatherland is the honour, pride and responsibility of Vietnamese youths.

He told the young soldiers to follow the path of the older generation in serving their country, being absolutely loyal to the Fatherland, Party and State, and having the high determination to complete all assigned tasks.

Standing Deputy Secretary of the city’s Party Committee Nguyễn Thị Tuyến joined a ceremony to send off young people to serve in military units for two years in Bắc Từ Liêm District.

Major General Bùi Trọng Quỳnh, Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of Hà Nội High Command, said that 0.9 per cent of the recruits hold college or university degrees and 28 per cent are volunteers.

Recruits with flowers wave goodbye to their families in Hà Nội. VNA/VNS Photo

Send-off ceremonies were also arranged in Thái Nguyên, Bắc Kạn, Cao Bằng, Lạng Sơn, Bắc Giang and Bắc Ninh provinces, which are under the Military Zone 1, despite the poor weather.

All the recruits are aged between 18 to 27. More than 330 of them have higher education degrees; many are ethnic minorities such as Dao, H’Mông, Cao Lan, Sán Chí and Sán Dìu.

More than 2,100 have volunteered for military service and over 3,100 joined the Party before beginning their time in the army.

In Thái Nguyên Province, 98.8 per cent of recruits are aged from 18 to 25; ethnic minorities make up 40.2 per cent.

Khúc Công Sơn, a new recruit from Gia Lâm District, in Hà Nội kisses his daughter goodbye before joining the army. VNA/VNS Photo An Đăng

Of the thousands of young men who set off for military service in Military Zone 3, reports from the nine localities showed that about 10 per cent of recruits have university and college degrees, and 0.27 per cent are Party members.

After graduating from the Hà Nội Law University, Hoàng Mạnh Lâm, from An Đồng Commune, An Dương District in Hải Phòng City, said he signed up to learn new skills in a mature military environment.

Nguyễn Quốc Thành, father of the recruits Nguyễn Tiến Quyết and Nguyễn Chiến Thắng in Quốc Tuần Commune, An Dương District in Hải Phòng City, said his twin sons registered to join the army to be better trained in a high-discipline environment.

To date, 19 localities have completed the handover of new recruits to the army. The rest of the 44 localities are scheduled to hand over the new soldiers to army units by Friday (February 10).

In Việt Nam, two-year military service is compulsory for young men aged between 18 and 25 years old, while women can volunteer. – VNS