During the pre-post training, the new platoon commanders who participated in the training passed the obstacles. Photo by Zhuang Haoning
The letters are full of the desire of young officers to pursue their dreams
Late at night, in the 72nd Group Army's new graduate officer training team, the new platoon commander Yang Xin looked out the window at the moon, and his family's advice echoed in his mind: "Your grandfather was injured back then, and he just came back from the Ghost Gate Pass and went to the front again; your father joined the party as a squad leader in the second year of enlistment; now you also wear a green uniform, you must work hard......
Putting away his thoughts, Yang Xin wrote a letter for himself 5 years later: "I don't know where I am and what position I am in 5 years, but I will definitely inherit the fine traditions of my parents and work the road to strengthen the army...... The ink on the paper gradually dried, full of pride and urging people to forge ahead, these words are like the Zheng Zheng oath when he joined the army, and he is always imprinted in his mind.
Stop writing, open a letter...... The next day, he put the letter into the mailbox and kept it on file by the human resources department of the group army. In this letter, Yang Xin not only has a beautiful vision for the future of the military, but also witnesses his firm determination to make contributions to the military cause. Like Yang Xin, the more than 300 young officers who graduated with him wrote a letter for themselves five years later.
This is a letter that leads them to pursue their dreams and grow in the next five years, and it is also the clarion call of the times for everyone to focus on the centenary goal of the founding of the army. The head of the human resources department of the group army told reporters that in recent years, they have organized new platoon commanders to carry out the activity of "writing a letter to themselves in five years" every year, and now there are 2,059 "message letters" in the archives.
The letters are full of the desire of the young officer to chase his dreams. Li Ruipeng used to be a national defense student, and after graduating with a master's degree, he took the initiative to apply to join the front-line combat unit, but he was defeated in the first time he participated in the company's training and assessment.
"Doctors, masters, first of all, be good soldiers. I hope that after 5 years, I will be excellent in all my military training items, and I will transform my high education into high ability. In the letter, Li Ruipeng made up his mind to start from scratch, speed up the completion of the shortcomings in command skills and equipment operation, and realize the transformation from a "classroom scholar" to a "war expert" as soon as possible.
Leaping, prostrating, bandaging...... On the training ground of the training team, Liu Yao, a newly graduated military doctor, was conducting training in the rescue of the war wounded, and a series of actions were smooth. "Where the battlefield is, there is the position of the military doctor. Walking off the training ground, Liu Yao picked up the pen and wrote such a paragraph in the letter. He told reporters that as a grassroots military doctor, he must be able to train himself to treat war wounds, and in the next five years, he will strive to improve all kinds of military skills and run toward his dream.
"Five years later, I hope that I can take the position of company commander and become an excellent front-line leader. When it comes to his dream, Wang Junfeng, an officer who is an excellent soldier escorted to school, is full of confidence. Wang Junfeng is the oldest officer in the same batch, and after the implementation of the new officer system, his personal growth line has become clearer, and his will to make meritorious contributions to the military camp has become firmer.
There are not only specific goals, but also free imagination, both persistent dreams and fears for the future...... Looking at the letters carrying the dreams of youth, the leaders of the group army said that although everyone's dreams are different, each dream is a vivid embodiment of the dream of strengthening the army, and the small dream is connected with the big mission.
When dreams come true, we will be grateful for every footprint of struggle
The lights were bright and the applause was thunderous. In the auditorium of a brigade of the 72nd Group Army, a unique interactive exchange meeting is unfolding. On the stage were five "veteran officers" who had graduated five years ago, and off the stage were more than 300 young officers who had just stepped into the barracks. As the passionate melody sounded, the host brought in a pile of dusty letters that had been sealed for 5 years, and the 5 "old officers" found out the letters they had written to themselves.
The letter that spanned time, after 5 years, was finally "unsealed". Revisiting the letterhead, the dream full of youthful atmosphere jumps in front of me. The "sender" walked onto the "time podium", with mixed feelings in his heart, and the struggle and ups and downs of the past five years are vividly remembered.
Although this letter looks a little immature now, it was a real dream back then. At the exchange meeting, Instructor Yang from the "Road Construction Pioneer Company" held a letter and shared his "time letterhead" with everyone. Time has passed, in the past 5 years, he started from a platoon commander, step by step, and now he has grown into an excellent instructor. As Instructor Yang opened the letter, a line of neat handwriting came into view: "I hope that in 5 years, I will take the post of company commander......" Starting from the dream 5 years ago, to now the dream has become a reality, and the past hardships are vivid, which makes him very emotional.
"When I first became a platoon commander, I was assigned to the well-known 'Road Construction Pioneer Company' of the whole brigade......" At that time, he was full of ambition and planned to make a big career.
What Instructor Yang remembers vividly is that the then company commander took him to the window of the company's history and pointed to a bright red battle flag to introduce the glorious history of the company: In 1950, the ancestors resolutely accepted the task of building the Chengdu-Chongqing Railway under the extremely scarce materials and extremely difficult conditions. When the shovel and pickaxe are broken, they dig with their hands, and when they are difficult to transport, they carry them on their shoulders. The officers and men united as one, and completed the project task that was expected to take three months with high quality one month ahead of schedule, and was awarded the honorary title of "Road Construction Pioneer Company" by the superiors.
"This flag symbolizes the spirit of the company's 'unity and progress, pioneering and innovative, brave pioneer, and creating brilliance'. Only by firm goals, tenacious struggle, and unremitting struggle can we live up to the glory of our ancestors. These words echoed in the ears of Instructor Yang, who wrote a sentence in his letter: "As the successor of the heroic army, we must take deep roots and move forward bravely. ”
"In the past five years, I have experienced a lot of setbacks. Whenever I can't hold on, I always think of the letter I wrote to myself five years later, and the flag of honor that has become more and more dazzling under the baptism of time. This strength inspires me to overcome difficulties and obstacles and move forward. Instructor Yang's affectionate narration won bursts of applause from his comrades-in-arms in the audience.
As the long-sealed letter was opened, Liu Haijun, a staff officer from a certain brigade, opened the conversation: "Five years ago, my dream was to become a grassroots cadre with 'military and political excellence'......" After graduating from the National University of Defense Technology, Liu Haijun took up the post of platoon commander. In the past two years, he gave full play to his expertise in theoretical Xi, led the comrades-in-arms of the whole platoon to learn the party Xi's innovative theories, established the "Spark Theory Xi Group", and trained a group of backbone members for the "Safflower Seed Theory Propaganda Team". In 2020, after careful consideration, Liu Haijun decided to participate in the group army's pre-appointment staff training.
As soon as the news came out, "obviously there are more development advantages in political work...... my comrades-in-arms around me were puzzled. However, Liu Haijun has his own ideas, and as a grassroots officer, only by making up for his shortcomings in military work as soon as possible can he better meet the needs of the troops.
Intensive training, assessment, return to the grassroots level...... The six-month intensive training and quenching have greatly improved Liu Haijun. Returning to the place where the dream began, he was transferred to the post of staff officer of the brigade organ because of his outstanding performance in the training. Today, Liu Haijun's eyes are full of expectations for the future.
On the stage, the special guests affectionately told their growth stories, and off the stage, the young officers listened with relish. "The road to realizing dreams is destined to be full of thorns, but time will not give up on every enterprising dreamer, and sweat will not disappoint every brave struggler......" In the audience, the new platoon commander Xue Dongfang wrote these words in his notebook after listening to the experiences of several narrators.
Since he was in college, Xue Dongfang has planted the goal of "joining the army and dedicating himself to national defense" in his heart. After graduating from university, she gave up the opportunity to study and applied to serve in a difficult and remote area.
During his tenure as a soldier in the border guards, Xue Dongfang always adhered to the dream of "striving for promotion and serving in the army for a long time". In the harsh climate of the station, she often fought alone late at night to prepare for the exam. The cracked backs of her hands and dark cheeks are the marks she left on her dream-chasing path. In 2022, Xue Dongfang will become the only female soldier in her unit and successfully realize her dream.
"Dream chasers who run hard, the future must be promising, when the dream shines into reality, we will be grateful for every footprint of struggle!" Before the end of the exchange meeting, Xue Dongfang stood up to speak, sharing his growth experience with everyone, and his eyes flashed with the determination to chase his dreams.
When personal dreams are gathered, they will form a surging torrent on the new journey of strengthening the army
Recently, as the new platoon commanders have been left one after another, Officer Wang of the Human Resources Section of a brigade of the 72nd Group Army has become more and more busy, and he has carefully sorted out the "Basic Information Collection Form" one by one, and improved the files of dozens of new platoon commanders in the unit one by one, one of which is everyone's specialties and their personal development wishes.
"Knowing their personal dreams, we have to find ways to help them realize them. The reporter learned that the brigade sorted out the dreams and aspirations of these new platoon commanders, and tailored a "growth roadmap" based on personal characteristics.
Director Wang said that after formulating the "growth roadmap" for everyone, they will continue to track and evaluate their performance, analyze the growth status in a timely manner, and dynamically update the growth path, so as to promote the rapid growth of the new platoon commanders.
is also as busy as Officer Wang, as well as Instructor Zhu of a certain brigade. This year, two new platoon commanders have arrived in the battalion: one is platoon commander Yu Pei, who was a special soldier before being promoted to work and has excellent military qualities and has won medals in many competitions and assessments at higher levels; and the other is platoon commander Liu Baiquan, who participated in college speech competitions many times during his Xi studies at the military academy and is an "excellent student" of the military academy with excellent character and learning.
"Doing a good job in the training of new cadres is an important responsibility of the party organizations of grassroots battalions and companies. This is the big stage for their dreams to come true, and we have to set up the stage. During the exchange with the two, Instructor Zhu learned that Yu Pei hoped to improve his ability to write lesson plans and produce courseware and strengthen his political work skills, while Liu Baiquan was worried that his personal military skills were not strong and it would be difficult to play the "first three feet" well. For this reason, after analyzing the differences in their personality traits and abilities, Instructor Zhu decided to form a helping pair between them. Now, by learning from each other's strengths and weaknesses to achieve common progress, the two of them have risen in their ability to serve.
"The intersection of specializations, the exchange of posts, and all-round training have become powerful measures for the training of young officers in the group army units. The person in charge of the human resources department of the group army told reporters that on the road to helping the new platoon commanders realize their dreams, they actively build and improve the talent training platform, expand the cross-post platform and the regionalized military-civilian cooperation and talent training platform, and train young officers in multiple positions, channels and levels, effectively shortening their ability generation cycle.
At the various training grounds of the group army, the young officers' struggle to pursue their dreams and strengthen the army is gratifying-
In the depths of the jungle, Zhou Bo, platoon commander of the anti-chemical warfare company, led the team to participate in a training competition, and in the billowing smoke, he led the crew members to quickly find out the type of poison, complete the "poisoned" road and the "infected" detachment to wash it out, and won the first place.
Between the mountains, Wu Haojie, the platoon commander of the reconnaissance company, led the reconnaissance team through the mountains and canyons, quietly interspersed in depth, and finally successfully raided the "enemy" command post and attacked the "enemy" target.
"To help them realize their dreams is to help them become talents. Talking about the exciting stories of realizing their dreams, the leaders of the group army confidently said that by drawing a blueprint, paving a path, and building a good platform for the growth and progress of young officers, and by gathering personal dreams, a surging torrent on the new journey of strengthening the army will be formed.
Sharp viewpoint
Every dream is the seed of a strong army
■杨旭
President Xi once sent a message to young people: The vast number of young people are not only dreamers, but also dreamers. Chasing dreams requires passion and ideals, and realizing dreams requires struggle and dedication.
At present, the people's army is striding forward on the new journey of strengthening the army, and the vast number of officers and men are actively devoting themselves to the practice of strengthening the army and marching forward courageously and resolutely on the road of chasing their dreams. No matter how the times change, the road to pursuing dreams is always under the feet of every officer and soldier. We must strengthen our belief: as long as everyone has "my dream" and everyone bravely pursues their dreams, then the dream of strengthening the army will inevitably be realized as scheduled.
As the fresh blood and solid strength of the contingent of qualified military personnel, young officers shoulder the hope of realizing the modernization of national defense and the armed forces, and have a heavy responsibility and a glorious mission. Encouraging young officers to dare to dream, dare to pursue their dreams, and be diligent in realizing their dreams is an effective means to realize the dream of strengthening the army, and is also the unshirkable responsibility of party committee leaders at all levels.
The characteristics of young officers in the new era are more distinct, and their ideas are more diverse, some want to take root in the grassroots and steadily improve, some want to take the postgraduate examination for a doctorate and further study Xi, and some hope that the elite and strong can stand out...... Although their personal dreams are different, they are all working the vast land of the grassroots. Leaders at all levels should take advantage of the momentum, fully stimulate the upward momentum of young cadres, and guide them to establish lofty ideals, pursue their dreams of strengthening the army, bravely shoulder the heavy responsibilities entrusted by the times, and unswervingly strive to advance for their dreams.
Every dream is the seed of a strong army, which needs to be watered and cared for. As the post-00s group has become the main body of young officers, they have grown up in the Internet age and have been influenced by the information age, have more ways to perceive the world, and have more aspirations and higher expectations for the future. Leaders at all levels should fully respect the status of young officers and men as the main body, understand their aspirations for growth and success, take care of their youthful dreams with an eye of appreciation, trust, and development, strengthen their confidence and increase their strength in pursuing their dreams, and let their youth burst out with brilliant sparks in pursuing their dreams.
In the world of dream chasers, there is no word "easy". The only way to realize our dreams is to "struggle" and to break through ourselves in order to "realize our dreams". Young officers are in the climbing period of their lives and the jointing period of their growth, and the road of chasing their dreams is bound to be tortuous and long, and they need a broad stage for growth and success, rich experience accumulated in practice, and strong confidence in making meritorious contributions. This requires leaders at all levels to always pay attention to their dreams, help them find the right "development positioning", customize the "dream route", plant nutritious fertile soil for the flowers of dreams, and help them strive to strengthen the army and make contributions to the military camp.
Source: People's Liberation Army Daily