LAO DONG PARTY ORGANIZATION IN NVA INFILTRATION BATTALION 140; PROCEDURES FOR ADMITTANCE - 1968/01/26

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Tet Declassified
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 00758716
• Document Creation Date: July 27, 2018

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THIS REPORT IS THE RESULT OF TRE INTaROL1ATION ACTIVITY CONDUCTED
BY TEE NATIONAL INTERRCGATION CSNTSR (NTC)UND;..a THE JOINT AMPICES
OF TPE CENTPAL INTELLMEI\ICP, ORGANIZATION (CIO) &ND TRR C7;;NTRAL
INTF,LLIGENCE AGENCY (CIA) WITH THE rTCIPATION OY DETACT.
6091P Z.;PECIAL ACTIVITIES GFOTIP (LSF).
COUNTRY
NORTH VIETNAM (NVN)
SOUTH VIETNAM (SVN)
LAOS
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:'.�5
SUBJECT
DATE OF INFO :
DATE AND PLACE
OF ACQUISITION :
LAO DONG Party Organization in NVA
Infiltration Battalion 140;
Procedures for Admittance
December 1967
16 January 1968 (I.,U)
DANANG, QUANG NAM
NIC REPORT NO : 125/68
NIC CASE NO : FET
LATE OF REPORT: 26/1/68
NO. OF PAGES : 4
REF: NIC Report 097/68
(PIR)
4r.
:Thiiv,reportwas collected by 41 NIC Field Exploitation Team on 16 January 1968H' (
,
4ri�DANANG City, QUANG NAM Province, SVN. Source is not available at the NIC
for further exploitation.
,iSOURCE:
'�.,. ,,;.S .0 14 M'A.-:R- Y'
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:-Prior.tO'infiltration, a Battalion Party Congress was held to study the
.,'
strengths and weaknesses of the pre-infiltration course and to'evalute the
achievements of this trAning: At that time, a new Party Committee was
elected. In each company there was a Part Y Chapter and, in the platoons,
party cells. Each company also had an Inter-Youth Group Chapter and the
platoons also had Group Chapters; these groups served to prepare soldiers
3.3(h)(2)
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DI6TRIBUTION:
US' MACV
US' DE:ASSY (USA)
CLASSIFICATION .
K IN
ATTACHMEYTS:
CONF NTIAL
D FROM AUTOMATIC
DOWNGRADING AND.
DECLASSIFICATION
Nonp
MOTICerINs
AFFECTING T
� ' STATES WITH
LAWS. TITLE
THE IRA NS NI
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396 MAR 5 1388
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MATERIAL cowsouns wrommolo
E NATIONAL. REFENSE O. FNE UNITED
THE libAhltet. OF THE ..SiH�PHIEDE
111. .S.C.. SECTIONS 763 AND XIII
)1 re OR REVELATION OF WINNED 811
My MANNER TAN UNAUTHORIZED PERSIA �
im0if1e11E0 111 LAW.
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CONF
K I N NIC REPORT NO : 125/68
ENTIAL Page 2
for:eventual membership in the LAO LONG Party. The probationary period for
membership in the LAO BONG Party was nine months for poor and lower middle
class farmers and for workers; for upper middle class farmers and the other
classes, the probationary period was one year. From the latter classes, only
about 10 percent would be accepted into the Party.
1.
Prior to the infiltration, a Battalion Party Congress was held to view
the strengths and weaknesses of the pre-infiltration course and to
evaluate the achievements of this training. After that the participants,
:including all of the Party, members in the battalion, selected a new
,Party Committee which would have the responsibility of setting up the
'policies, functions and operations of the battalion. Luring this
,occasion, a Regimental Committee member addressed to the participants
'and urged them to ful:al theirassignments with enthusiasm.
2.,. Although the term "election" was used for every occasion in the LAO LONG
Party organization in Battalion 140, it however, was not much different
from a nomination. For instance, in the election of a new Party Committee,
it was the former Party Committee members themselves who proposed that
the participants elect them. Also, the procedures were set up in such a
way that no one else but the fo.rmer Party Committee would be elected.
3.. InsNVN, the term of a Party Committee was six months, but in SVN a
comparatively flexible procedure was applied in keeping with the war
situation. After being elected, this new Party Committee would hold a
meeting to discuss the points which had been unanimously approved by the
congress. The main points can be summarized as the battalion policies,
functions and operation. On this occasion they would also dwell upon
the method of keeping soldiers from desertion and from engaging with the
enemy forces during the infiltration.
ORGANIZATION.
e LAO DONG Party organization of Battalion 140 can be broken down as
'follows:
a. The symbolic highest party level in the battalion is the Battalion
Party (DANG BO) which represents all of the Party members in the
battalion. In NVN the Battalion Party would hold a meeting every
six months; Although in the highest position, it does not directly
carry out the directives from the higher level. It is the Party
Committee that has the responsibility of executing all the directives.
. The Battalion Party Committee is elected during a Battalion Party
Congress to carry out all of the Party policies and directives. The
secretary of the Battalion Party Committee was Captain TRAN VAN
HANH who was concurrently the Battalion Political officer; the
Assistant Secretary was NGUYEN VAN MIEN, the Battalion Commander;
the Party Committee members were Captain TRAN VAN HIEN, the Assistant
Political officer; Captain LE TRUNG UY, the Chief-of-Staff; Senior
Lieutenant HO, the Political officer of Company 1; and Senior
Lieutenant LOC, the Political officer of Company 2; (names of the
other two company political officers unknown). The Party Committee
held meetings once monthy whenever convenient on a resting day.
Ineach company, there was one Party Chapter. The Party Chapters would
hold meetings twice monthly to develop and carry out the resolutions set
up by the Battalion Party Committee. It would also disseminate such
resolutions to all Party members and Youth Group members so that they all
could understand their roles clearly. Luring the semi-monthly meeting,
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the Party Chapter wouldlriew the past operation of the battalion in
order to gain experience from it. In all meetings of the Party Chapter,
'both the official and probationary Party members were allowed to attend,
but only the official Party members would be authorized to vote. The
probationary members, howevel had the right to voice opinions.
.N1C REPORT NO' 125/68 '
Page 3
6. In each platoon, there was one Party cell whose functions were to guide
the Youth Group. The majority of. Party Cell leaders were platoon leaders.
� In case a platoon leader was not a Party member, then a Party long-time
� member would usually serve as a Cell Leader in that in that platoon. If
this was the case, every time the cell leader had a new instruction from
the Party Chapter, the would in turn pass it on to the Platoon leader.
The Cell Leader was assigned by the Party Committee.
* In addition, in each company there existed one Inter-Youth Group Chapter,
and in each' platoon one Group Chapter. The 'Inter-Group Chapter Secretary
was the Assistant company Political Officer and the Group Chapter
Secretary was the Assistant Platoon _reader, who was not necessarily a
Party member but had to be the Assistant Platoon Leader. The Youth Group
organization in the NVA was a form of political and ideological indoctrina-
tion for the soldiers who would eventually join the LAO LONG Party.
Sometimes a few group members openly refused to join the LAO J./ONG Party,
because they did not like to be tied to any political affiliation. �
Theoretically, the Party organization in a military unit would cope with
the political sphere only, but in reality, it controlled all fields of
� activity such as military, politics and administration. It was the
'Political Officers and also the LAO LONG Party members who observed,
guided, indoctrinated, motivated,, promoted and urged all the other members
� in the unit to make efforts in fulfilling their assignments. The
leadership, organization and execution of all the policies wire alway
, under LAO LONG Party control. The majority of military men preferred
� joining the LAO LONG in the hope that they would be granted more
privileges. An enlisted man hoped that he would be sent to an officer
training course; in this case, before he was sent to the course he
�, would be automatically promoted to Corporal. Whereas an officer hoped
� that he would receive promotion quicker than the others. In general, it
was the interests and privileges that attracted them to become LAO LONG
Party members.
PROCEDUAES OF'ADNISSION
he did not know
much about, the Tarty articles and regulations. He, however, learned
that basically a prospective member must study 10 responsibilities of a
Party'member,contained the LAO LONG Party regulation book. Yet,
operational requirements compelled them to apply such regulations in
the simplest manner. For instances in Source's case he never knew what
the 10 responsibilities were about.
The procedures of admission
to the LAO LONG Party were as follows:
Basic classes: Poor and lower middle farmers, and workers (the
period from probatiOnary to official member was nine months). The
,majority of these classes were admitted to the LAO 'LONG Party.
- Of the upper middle farmers (almost considered a rich farmer) and
other classes, about 10 percent would be accepted; the period from
probationary to official member was 12 months, instead of nine.
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In order to become Party members, the latter classes had to work
really hard to reach the standards.
Applicants must have spotless records through the investigation of
the local authorities; must have struggle achievements. In peace
time, the investigation could prolong from one to two years, but
during war time it usually took six months before the applicant
became a probationary member.
The personal data must be made by the applicant himself so that the
Party Cell can make a cross check to see if it agreed with the
investigation result of the local authorities. If the Party Cell
does not sastify with the personal data prepared by the applicant,
it would ask him to do again.
- After the Party Cell approved, it would forward the whole file of a
:prospective Party member to the Party Chapter for approval. A vote
would be held by the Party Chapter to see of all of its members
agreed. After that the file would be forwarded to the Party
Committee for final approval. Date of Party membership is eounted
from the day the applicant's personal document was signed by the
Party Committee. (Source said that although the procedures of
forwarding applicants' documents had to flow from the lower level
to the higher, actually such documents had been gone through by the
Party Committee first).
When all the paper work was finished; a ceremony would be organized
by the Farty Committee to officially announce the admission of a
new member. On this occasion, the applicant would read his applica�
tion asking to be accepted as a Party member. Then the two Party
members who introduced him would guarantee his conduct and behavior
before the participants. Finally the Secretary of Battalion Party
Committee would read the letter of decision to admit the applicant
as a Party member.
?After the probationary period; if the probationary Party member committed
_no mistake; he would write a self�criticism, dealing with the strengths
and weaknesses that he had experienced during the past nine months., This
statement would be examined by the Party Chapter first, before it was
forwarded to the Party Committee for final approval. If it was approved,
he would become an official member. The announcement of Party membership
was usually made public during a convenient regular Party committee meeting.
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