Conscription in Vietnam has existed since 1975 and requires male citizens between the ages of 18 and 25 (18 to 27 for those who attend colleges or universities) to perform compulsory military service.[1] Women are not required to perform military service, but they may voluntarily join the military.
According to Article 4 of the Military Service Law, 2015 (effective from 1 January 2016):[2]
The de jure length of compulsory military service in Vietnam is 2 years. Unlike in South Korea and other countries or territories with compulsory military service, Vietnam have a fixed enlistment date on February or March every year. The de facto period usually ends before Tết two years after enlistment (e.g. if one's military service started in February 2020 (after Tết 2020), they will be discharged before Tết 2022).[3]
In some cases, the Minister of the Ministry of Defence may decide to extend the active service period of non-commissioned officers and soldiers, but not exceeding 6 months:
These are exempt from military service:
| Types | Allowance coefficient | Allowance level per month |
|---|---|---|
| Private | 0.4 | VND 596,000 |
| Private first-class | 0.45 | VND 670,500 |
| Corporal | 0.5 | VND 745,000 |
| Sergeant | 0.6 | VND 894,000 |
| Sergeant Major | 0.7 | VND 1,043,000 |
Since the effective of the Military Service Law 2015 (effective since 2016), there have been many deaths of draftees which their families or acquittances suspected them to be unusual:
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This article contains dynamic lists that may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources. |
| Name | Ethnicity | Death date | Age | Place | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lê Công Đức | Kinh | 24 October 2016 | 21 | Brigade 147 - 1st Regional Command (Quảng Yên, Quảng Ninh province) | Claimed to be a suicide.[6][7] |
| Dương Hiển Thanh Vinh | Kinh | 9 June 2018 | 19 | Battalion 9, Company 1, Army Officer School 2 (Biên Hòa, Đồng Nai province) | Claimed to be a suicide.[8] |
| Nguyễn Quốc Thái | Kinh | 24 February 2019 | 24 | Chợ Mới District, An Giang Province | Claimed to be drowning.[9] |
| Phạm Đình Hưng | Kinh | 9 April 2019 | 23 | Artillery Brigade 572, 5th Military Region (Bình Định province) | Claimed to be a suicide.[10] |
| Phạm Minh Huy | Kinh | 18 August 2019 | 19 | Air Defense Brigade 77 (152 Nguyễn Oanh Street, Gò Vấp District, Ho Chi Minh City) | After asking personnel of the brigade, an officer stated that Huy fell from the 3rd floor, but the person on duty with Huy said that Huy was on the 1st floor, then saw that Huy had gone to the toilet for 10 minutes and had not returned, and another said Huy jumped from the 2nd floor.[11] |
| Huỳnh Trung | Khmer | 28 November 2019 | 19 | Cần Thơ | Claimed to be a suicide.[12] |
| Trần Đức Đô | Kinh | 28 June 2021 | 19 | Battalion 4, Company 14, 1st Military Region Military School (Phú Bình District, Thái Nguyên province) | Do's family said that on 25 June 2021, they received a call from Do saying that his commander attacked him. At the same time, they required district and provincial authorities as well as the central government to handle this case.[13] This was concluded to be a suicide.[14][15] |
| Nguyễn Văn Thiên | Kinh | 29 November 2021 | 23 | Infantry Battalion 50, Infantry Regiment 991 (Đức Cơ District, Gia Lai province) | First claimed to be intracerebral hemorrhage.[16] The local government is said to enforce his family to bury him if his family refuses.[17] On 5 January 2022, three were prosecuted in this case.[18] |
| Hoàng Bá Mạnh | Kinh | 20 December 2021 | 20 | Hải Dương province | Suspected to be assault.[19] |
| Lý Văn Phương | Hmong | 10 June 2022 | 22 | Army Officer School 1 (Quang Phuc village, Yen Bai commune, Ba Vi district, Hanoi) | Claimed to be drowning.[20] |
