Listen to the "squad leader" tell the story of the recruits

Source: Learning Corps Chinese Military Horn

Author: Wu Zhao, Zhou Yeqing, Yang Mingyue

The first time I saw Yan Haowu, the old squad leader with so many "abductions" on the collar badge, the new recruit Liu Linzhen was full of curiosity in his heart.

When he was still in the recruit company, Liu Linzhen heard the story of Yan Haowu, the "King of Soldiers", from the mouth of the instructor Du Chengwei. During one exercise, an antenna transceiver malfunctioned and everyone was helpless. The battalion commander invited Yan Haowu to solve the problem. Yan Haowu checked the entire system and found that there was a problem with a component, which was quickly repaired without delaying the scheduled plan.

"I thought this soldier was too good." Liu Linzhen said. He didn't expect that it wouldn't be long before he saw this "Soldier King".

After getting off the company, Liu Linzhen came to a certain brigade of the Air Force in the Western Theater. The new recruit training organized by the brigade this year was held at the same place as the training of the preparatory squad leader with the participation of Yan Haowu. "Do you want Tonon Yan to communicate with the recruits?" Everyone thought that this group of recruits was lucky enough to listen to the "squad leader" to give a lesson. On the day of the exchange, in the audience of the conference room, in addition to 77 recruits, there were also several old squad leaders, who listened and recorded, looking more serious than the recruits.

During the exchange, Yan Haowu shared his military experience with the recruits. During the question session, Liu Linzhen couldn't wait to ask Yan Haowu a question about "love". In Yan Haowu's answer, he mentioned "persistence" several times.

"When a truth is written into a sentence, everyone thinks it is a truth. But when this sentence came out of the mouth of the old squad leader, the truth became the truth. Liu Linzhen understood that the answer given by the old squad leader needed to be carefully tasted in his military career.

The first time he communicated with so many recruits, Yan Haowu, the "King of Soldiers", was also a little nervous.

In his 31 years in the military, Yan Haowu has changed many positions: communicator, driver, transceiver technician... In 1991, he enlisted in the army from rural Gansu. With only a junior high school education, he regards being able to endure hardships as his "capital". After 31 years, Yan Haowu has passed the age of retirement and has handled a delayed retirement. And the batch of recruits in front of him, 80% of them are college students and soldiers, with high education and a wide field of vision. How to cross the generation gap and let them listen to their own "bitter mouths"? Yan Haowu pondered carefully.

In 1999, Yan Haowu's unit participated in the exercise, and more than 40 people in the company slept on two chase bunks. Yan Haowu said to the other comrades-in-arms, "You should first pick where to sleep." The young comrade-in-arms was sick and the conditions for training in the field were not good, so Yan Haowu cooked a bowl of instant noodles for him. Yan Haowu knows very well that if he uses the identity of a "veteran" to suppress people, he will not be able to enter the hearts of young comrades-in-arms.

"We all came from recruits." The expectant eyes of these young comrades in front of him made Yan Haowu recall his appearance as a recruit.

"At that time, the winter in our camp was much colder than it is now, often minus twenty or thirty degrees Celsius. The living conditions of the company were also poor, and they were warmed by the burning wall, unlike now when they entered the house, they had to take off their coats as soon as they entered the house. Yan Haowu remembered that the squad leader deliberately boiled hot water in advance, let everyone wash with hot water, and then took them to the canteen to eat a bowl of hot noodles. ”

When the recruits became veterans, Yan Haowu also took the trouble to talk about the usual topics, sort out the internal affairs and clean up.

"Some college student soldiers feel that the small work of wiping the table and sweeping the floor is meaningless." Yan Haowu "borrowed" the words of his old squad leader when he was a recruit, "If you can't even do these basic tasks well, then everything else is empty talk." Doing these most basic jobs well, doing a better job than others, and having higher standards, is what a good soldier looks like. ”

During the exchange, Yan Haowu talked about his old squad leader and the recruits he had contacted many times. He has always advised that new recruits should communicate more with veterans and ask them for advice and learning when they have questions, "In the army, everyone gathers together from all over the world, they are all comrades-in-arms, close as brothers." In life and work, they are your masters, and the more you learn and ask more questions, the closer your hearts will be. ”

Yan Haowu told the recruits that if you want to take the first step in the military brigade, first of all, you must have full preparation and correct understanding of the life of the troops ideologically, "If the squad leader criticizes you a few times, you will not be able to accept it in your heart. Or is this soldier inappropriate? In this regard, Yan Haowu gave his own advice, "As long as you put your mentality right and work hard, even if you don't do it well for a while, it doesn't matter, your efforts will be in the eyes of everyone and will be willing to teach you." ”

Yan Haowu suggested that the recruits think carefully about their development in the army, first set a "small goal", "set a goal for two years, and then look back at the experience of the past two years after two years, and decide whether they will continue to stay in the army and whether it is suitable for long-term development in the army." ”

After an hour and a half of exchange, Yan Haowu insisted on standing the whole time. When he participated in a mission in 2018, Yan Haowu was highly concentrated at work, and accidentally stepped on the air and fell off the antenna transceiver, resulting in a compression fracture of the lumbar spine. Although the injured area is slowly recovering, it is still painful to stand or sit still for a long time. "The recruits all have a yearning for the barracks. My expression may not be logical and coherent, but I think recruits should be able to understand my ideas. I hope they will integrate into the new collective as soon as possible and become good soldiers. After the exchange, Yan Haowu told reporters.

"From your faces, I see admiration for the old squad leader. This admiration comes not only from so many 'crutches' on the collar badge, but also from his extraordinary military life. Instructor Du Chengwei came to the stage to conclude that he hoped that Yan Haowu's story could plant precious seeds in the hearts of new recruits, "How to make an ordinary military career extraordinary, that is, like the old squad leader, strive for excellence in everything and bloom their own brilliance." ”

Figure (1) (2) (3): Yan Haowu communicates with the recruits.

Photo by Liu Yang

Figure (4): Yan Haowu conducts a routine inspection of equipment.

Pipe Biao

Draft: 扈硕

Transcript of the exchange

Love and persistence

Liu Linzhen (two rows and six shifts): There is a word "love", which you have mentioned many times. Some recruits, like me, may have negative emotions at some point, asking themselves why they came to the army and why they should be "day in and day out" in their simple lives. How did you keep this love mentality going for so many years?

Yan Haowu: Personally, I did join the army because of my love for this uniform. When I was a child, every time I saw the People's Liberation Army wearing military uniforms, I would have a sense of reverence in my heart. Maybe our generation had a deep military complex. Your generation grew up exposed to different things than we did. Most of you are college student soldiers, leaving the colorful university campus and coming to the military camp with strict requirements, it is inevitable that there will be a psychological gap, and you need to slowly precipitate. The first is to adapt to the new environment as soon as possible. When you were in the new company, the management was relatively strict, and everyone's training and life were highly unified. After the next company is different, standing guard, on duty, on business, the rhythm of everyone's work and training may be different, to find a rhythm that suits you, find your own goal. The second is persistence. You can come step by step, first tell yourself to stick to it for half a year, then stick to it for another year... Slowly I got used to it.

As for negative emotions, everyone has fluctuations in thoughts and emotions. How to overcome? You need to constantly enrich yourself and self-mediate. In 1999, due to policy changes, I lost my qualification to be promoted at an overage age, and my heart was difficult to accept for a while. Later, I figured out that not being able to do it didn't mean that I had to leave the army, and as a non-commissioned officer, I could still work well in the army and shine.

The same is true of encountering problems in life, you can chat with your comrades-in-arms and squad leaders, untie the knot, and finally have to digest yourself and mediate yourself.

Development and future

Wang Zhixiang (second platoon, seventh squad): I also want to develop in the army for a long time like you. If you want to become a mid-level and senior non-commissioned officer, what do you need to prepare for from now on?

Yan Haowu: The key is to do a good job in this profession. Most of you have a college degree or above, and I only got my bachelor's degree through self-study after I arrived in the army, and it took 3 years to pass the military professional skills appraisal and assessment. Therefore, you must have confidence in yourself, but also cherish time, study well, and constantly improve yourself.

Regarding whether to develop in the army for a long time, you should consider many questions, including whether you can balance the relationship between work and family. Choosing a highly technical major or position may make it easier to achieve your wishes. I believe that as long as you do a good job and are professionally strong, you will achieve what you want.

Skills and upgrades

Tokimoto Asahi (one shift at a time): Weapons and equipment are constantly being updated, how do you adapt? How to overcome the difficulty of dressing up?

Yan Haowu: The key is to study. In 1997, I was introduced to the first generation of equipment. To tell you the truth, at that time, I was the "little white" in your mouth, I didn't understand anything, I couldn't do daily inspections, and the recruits in the car looked down on me. I made up my mind that I had to learn to operate in 3 months. By teaching myself the operating rules, I mastered the operation skills after 1 month.

I have been a technician for so many years, there is no shortcut to take, it is a road: learning, learning from books, learning from the old comrades around me. In 2003, there was a problem with our upgraded equipment, so I went to the factory in Beijing to ask experts for advice and solved the problem together.

Work and family

Yuan Jin (three shifts in a row): After listening to your speech, I admire you very much, and I feel that you are a person who does one line of love and one line. I am a college student soldier and hope to make a contribution to the army in the future. How do you handle the relationship between work and family?

Yan Haowu: Almost every soldier has to face such a problem. In fact, last year I had reached the age of 30 years in the military and could retire. I have persisted until now, mainly because I have a feeling in my heart, a love for the army, and of course, I can't do without the support of my parents, wives and children.

My parents are almost 80 years old. I served in the army, and I couldn't do filial piety to them, and I felt very guilty. But my parents have always been very supportive of me. At that time, I joined the army after graduating from junior high school, and my education level was not high, so I didn't expect to work in the army for so many years. Seeing my achievements and honors, my parents were happy for me in their hearts and felt that I was their pride. Every time I called, they said let me do a good job in the army.

In the early years, because I spent too little time with my wife and children, my wife did have complaints in her heart and did not understand. I remember very clearly that when my wife gave birth in 2003, because the army had a task, I could not leave it, and I could only let my mother take care of my wife, which was my lifelong guilt for my wife. Later, I always did my best to make up for it, so that my wife felt that I missed her and her children. Nowadays, the treatment and status of military dependents of military personnel are constantly improving, and the care given by the state and society is increasing, and she fully appreciates the glory of being a military family member and slowly understands me.

Now I communicate with local classmates and friends, and they all envy me. I feel that my life is very valuable, and my family's efforts have been rewarded.

(Produced by Learning Corps and Chinese Military)