General Staff is the
commanding and managing organisation of the
Vietnam People's Army, the
paramilitary forces,
militia and other activities relating to defence of
Vietnam. The General Staff was established on 7 September 1945, right after the foundation of the
Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the first Chief of the General Staff was General
Hoàng Văn Thái. During the
Second Indochina War,
Vietnam War,
Cambodian-Vietnamese War,
Sino-Vietnamese War 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 and the
Government of Vietnam. The current Chief of the General Staff is
General Đỗ Bá Tỵ who also holds the position of Deputy Minister of Defence.