The "Andrew Boyd" international military competition is hosted by the Slovak military, a member of NATO, and is an annual heavyweight competition in the international special forces competition.
The "Green Berets" of the United States, the "Goldman" of Britain, the "Wild Boys" of Israel, and other internationally renowned special operations units all sent elite teams to participate, and the competition was very fierce.
The international special forces military competition not only shows the combat capability of a certain team, but more importantly, shows the spirit of a country's soldiers to fight for national honor under extreme conditions.
In 2009, when the mainland special forces participated in the "Andrew Boyd" international military competition for the first time, their incredible results impressed everyone.
As Asians, due to differences in genes and dietary habits, there are innate differences in physique and strength compared to military personnel in Europe and the United States, so in some strength-based events, our team members are weak.
But this does not prevent the Chinese special forces from winning many times in international competitions!
When the mainland first participated in the "Erna Assault" international scout competition sponsored by Estonia in 1999, our team was not found in the "enemy reconnaissance" project for two days and two nights, and it was not until the Estonian defense minister personally led more than 1,000 scouts that eight of our special forces members were successfully contained.
In the "Andrew Boyd" international military competition, our army completely defeated the United States, Britain, Israel and other favorite teams to win the championship, broke six world records, and won 8 individual first, 6 individual second, and 4 individual third in 13 competitions, and ranked first in the number of gold medals, medals and team total scores.
And Zhang Jintao, a special soldier who led the team to participate in this competition, is known as the "King of Zhoukou Soldiers".
He was rated as an "outstanding soldier" for four consecutive years, and was awarded a second-class merit once and a third-class merit twice before the competition, and was successively commended as an "excellent squad leader" and the "top ten elite military pacesetters" of the Jinan Military Region, and since joining the army in 2003, he has been regarded as a role model with excellent results.
1. Transformation of special forces
Zhang Jintao, the "King of Zhoukou Soldiers", is a young man from Henan, born in Zhang Gutong Village, Luyi County, Zhoukou City, Henan Province.
When he was a child, Zhang Jintao was smart and active, very lively, and when playing games with his friends, the leadership and competitiveness of his personality can be seen.
After graduating from high school in 2003, Zhang Jintao was unable to apply for a good university because his academic performance was not particularly good, so at this important fork in his life, Zhang Jintao fell into confusion for a while.
His mother suggested that he enroll in a skills school to learn a technology so that he would not have to worry about finding a job in the future, which seemed to be a very good choice.
However, after Zhang Jintao learned about the relevant schools and majors, and looked at the thick enrollment brochure in his hand, he couldn't help but think: "Is my life going on step by step?"
So Zhang Jintao, who was not interested in school life, did not intend to listen to his mother's opinion, and secretly signed up for the physical examination of the army behind his parents' back.
After learning of Zhang Jintao's intention to join the army, his parents were very distressed, but at the same time they were also very proud.
I feel distressed because as the only child in the family, my parents don't want him to be far away from home and rarely visit him once a year, and I am proud to see that my son still has no hesitation even though he understands the hardships of military training, and he is worthy of being a good man.
After passing the physical examination and various examinations, Zhang Jintao became a recruit soldier as he wished.
In the recruit training, Zhang Jintao quickly stood out and showed stronger psychological quality and physical fitness than his comrades in the same period.
During daily training, Zhang Jintao always secretly "added weight" to himself, carrying five kilograms more than others, and it was this kind of dedication and effort that made him choose special forces.
In December 2003, Zhang Jintao joined the Special Forces Brigade of Jinan Military Region.
The training of special forces is more than ten times more arduous than that of ordinary battalions, and many projects are to promote the breakthrough of soldiers in a way that approaches the limits of the human body.
Zhang Jintao looked at the huge banner in front of the dormitory, which read "Be a special soldier, be a special person, practice special skills, and cast a special soul", and his heart was surging for a while.
This 16-character policy became his motto for the future.
Zhang Jintao has had a slight fear of heights since he was a child, so when he first encountered the "traction crossing" project on the cliff, Zhang Jintao, who has always been the leader of the team, encountered the biggest enemy, that is, to overcome himself.
The "Traction Crossing" project has also been trained many times in the camp, so Zhang Jintao has no problem in climbing skills and speed.
But looking at the bottomless cliff and the iron ring hanging alone in the middle of the two iron ropeways, which was tied to his waist, Zhang Jintao felt that he was already weak, his legs trembled, and he almost couldn't stabilize his body and had a big embarrassment in front of his teammates.
After taking a deep breath, Zhang Jintao climbed the iron rope hard.
He looked straight ahead, not daring to hesitate, and kept reminding himself that "this is the camp", "there is no difference between this and the camp", and "the 'traction crossing'" is not difficult for me......
In this way, Zhang Jintao finally crossed the cliff, but his results were very unsatisfactory, and even reached twice the time spent in the camp.
The counselor saw Zhang Jintao's abnormality, but she couldn't force him, because the psychological barrier could only be overcome by herself.
After returning to the dormitory, Zhang Jintao couldn't sleep, he did not allow himself to be a special team member, but there was a weakness, and this weakness could even become the fatal point for others to surpass him in actual combat.
After thinking about it, Zhang Jintao decided to get up where he fell.
He erected two ropeways between two four-story dormitory buildings and practiced himself every night.
However, this move was very dangerous because the safety measures were not in place, and the counselor found out and criticized it fiercely, so he had to give up.
So Zhang Jintao set up equipment between the two big trees in the camp and practiced, and he would also carry weights on himself to increase the difficulty of training.
At first, some passing comrades-in-arms would sneer when they saw his slightly funny appearance, but after seeing Zhang Jintao's persistence day after day, they couldn't help but admire his spirit.
The hard work paid off, Zhang Jintao finally overcame his fear of heights, and "beat the invincible opponents of the whole army" in the "traction crossing" project, and was known as the "king of traction".
It is this kind of character of striving for perfection that makes Zhang Jintao stand out in the army, get one medal after another, and especially participate in the "Reconnaissance Squad" filmed by CCTV Channel 7.
Second, the competition shows its edge
Abilities and skills can only be truly tested in actual combat.
The special forces competition, which the international community attaches great importance to, is even more so at home.
From major military regions to various battalions, all kinds of competitions and tests have emerged one after another.
And the team led by Zhang Jintao also showed its edge from many special forces.
In 2008, Zhang Jintao led four team members to participate in the Jinan Military Region Scout Competition, this competition not only has many items, but also the difficulty of the projects is higher than usual.
During the 5-kilometer armed attack, Zhang Jintao's team suddenly had an accident when they were only 500 meters away from the finish line.
Zhang Jintao's team will be stricter than others in ordinary training.
Normally, it is a 120-kilometer exercise, but Zhang Jintao will ask everyone to practice 40 kilometers more, and he himself will tie two additional sandbags to his ankles.
It was this kind of training that allowed his team to far outperform others in the 5-kilometer run.
However, just when victory was within reach, his comrade-in-arms Zhang Guangyu suddenly fainted and fell to the ground, convulsing all over.
Seeing this, Zhang Jintao quickly unloaded Zhang Guangyu's backpack, relaxed the collar, and helped him clean up the dirt in his mouth to prevent suffocation.
At this moment, the other teams had already caught up and rushed forward one by one.
Seeing this situation, Zhang Jintao was very anxious, but he couldn't leave his teammates behind, the purpose of the team competition is that everyone has completed the task to reach the standard.
Zhang Jintao handed the backpack to another teammate and carried the tall Zhang Guangyu on his shoulder. He looked at the red ribbon at the finish line, fought hard to catch up, and with amazing perseverance and endurance, led the team to first place.
In this competition of the Jinan Military Region, Zhang Jintao's squad won the first place in eight groups, and Zhang Jintao won the first place in the overall score of his individual, and was commended as the "Top Ten Pacesetters" of the Military Region.
In December of the same year, under the joint recommendation of the battalion, he went to the Turkish Special Forces Military School to study.
During training in Turkey, Zhang Jintao's Chinese team earned everyone's respect.
This team of Chinese from a foreign country are the best in the domestic special combat team, and the strength of the fighters of the Turkish military school is not underestimated, and a Turkish second lieutenant officer known as the first in Europe is also a trainee of this school.
In Turkey in December, it was extremely cold, and outdoor training, which was a must-have event, was a huge challenge for everyone.
Wearing heavy cotton clothes and military boots, Zhang Jintao lost 5 kilograms in just two weeks after 30 kilometers of extreme long-distance running every week.
The most famous project of the Turkish military academy is called the "Road to Hell".
In addition to climbing over ditches and quagmire, they also had to climb over fire nets, and in the final stage, there was also live machine gun tracking and strafing, and many soldiers were injured in this project, or even killed on the spot.
At the end of the 30-kilometer training that day, Zhang Jintao and other Chinese soldiers were taken to the training site.
The soldiers sitting on the periphery of the venue all looked like they were watching a good show, as if to say: "Let you Chinese know how cruel the real special forces training is!"
At this moment, Zhang Jintao and his teammates are already very tired, and most of them are exhausted by the 30-kilometer training, gasping for breath.
"Be a special soldier, be a special person, practice special skills, and cast a special soul", this sentence suddenly appeared in Zhang Jintao's mind.
Looking at the metallic light of several machine guns in front of the finish line, Zhang Jintao took the lead to the starting point of the competition.
With the command of the instructor, all the Chinese team members rushed out in an instant, like a cheetah that had found its prey.
Jumping, leaping, climbing, crawling, and dodging, the Chinese team members passed this "road to hell" with no one left behind, no one injured, and an outstanding score of 20 seconds beyond the highest record.
The foreign soldiers sitting on a plate watching, the contempt in their eyes has turned into a strange thing at this moment, and they no longer dare to underestimate these Chinese in the subsequent training.
After seeing the results, the teammates are very proud, they did not disgrace the motherland, and at the same time, they also know that after showing their strength, these foreign friends will also work harder to catch up with themselves, so they can not relax in training for a moment.
Zhang Jintao continued to break through himself in the Turkish military school, and immediately after returning to China, he was selected to participate in the international competition held by the Slovak military and led the team.
3. The "Andrew Boyd" International Military Competition
In 2009, the Slovak military sent an invitation to the headquarters of the Continental Army Commission, hoping that the Chinese side would send a team to participate in the special forces competition.
"The drunkard does not mean to drink", and the "Andrew Boyd" military competition has always been the home of the European and American militaries, and some countries are congratulating China, which is developing with each passing day, while the vast majority of countries are blushing.
Therefore, this competition is exactly the international stage that NATO member states carefully want to make China stand out, and even several veteran special forces teams that are usually hostile to each other have a concerted attack target this time.
But it can only be said that the organizer's good intentions are not worth mentioning at all in the face of absolute strength.
After receiving the invitation, the Central Military Commission attached great importance to it and quickly sent a telegram to all major military regions, demanding that the best special teams be selected to participate in this "ill-intentioned" competition.
In the end, after layers of screening, Unit 71770 of the Jinan Military Region stood out and sent 8 warriors to represent the mainland and go to Slovakia to compete on the same stage with 13 other teams from different military powers.
Zhang Jintao, who led the team, looked at the resolute eyes of the leaders who came to see him off before stepping on the plane, and suddenly felt a heavy responsibility on his shoulders.
Although Zhang Jintao's individual and team achievements are very good in various domestic competitions, there are people outside the people and mountains outside the mountains, and the arduous training has cultivated his fighting consciousness of not slackening and not underestimating the enemy, and he attaches great importance to this expedition.
Upon arrival in Slovakia, the organizers hosted a welcome dinner.
This is the 14th edition of the "Andrew Boyd" International Military Competition, which has received a very warm reception in the international community, and this is the first time that the Chinese representative has come to participate.
At the welcome dinner, the head of the Slovak Special Operations Regiment, Colonel Lyumir, unabashedly expressed his thoughts.
"Welcome the Chinese delegation to Europe across thousands of miles, your team members are not as tall as Europe and the United States, just do your best in the competition, don't be reluctant. He said.
The Chinese representative did not say much, but only smiled slightly, the Chinese have always been reluctant to speak quickly, everything will be seen on the real battlefield.
On July 1st, the competition officially opened.
In the 13 events, some teams fight as a team, and some teams can send 4 players who are better at each team to participate in different competitions.
In the first round of low-altitude extreme skydiving, the Chinese team won the first place with excellent skills.
The wind speed on the competition site had reached 11 meters per second, and the limit of low-altitude skydiving was 8 meters per second. If you don't jump, it means that you will be eliminated directly, and if you jump, your life may even be in danger.
The team leader, Zhuang Xuzhou, had just been newly married a week before he left for Slovakia, but he did not hesitate at all, made a gesture and jumped out of the helicopter first.
The team members followed closely behind without hesitation.
Because the wind speed was too fast, they were sometimes thrown up, sometimes they were blown into a ball by the wind, and the referee on the helicopter looked at the figures of the Chinese players one after another, and there was a ridicule in his heart: "This extreme weather is enough for them to eat a pot." ”
But what he never imagined was that such extreme challenges were actually commonplace in the daily simulation training of the Chinese team.
In the end, the Chinese team landed at the designated place with an absolute advantage, and no one was injured.
In the subsequent projects, the Chinese team showed a superb level, and repeatedly "turned decay into magic", stunned those foreigners who wanted to see China go wrong.
In the rock climbing event, the Chinese team set a new record with a time of 6 minutes and 11 seconds.
This time, the climbing site is located on the edge of a cliff, and there is not only extreme climbing, but also "traction crossing" when reaching the top of the cliff.
Looking up from the ground, there are simple steel cables between several towering peaks, which are obscured by clouds and mist, and appear and disappear from time to time.
Zhang Jintao and three other team members participated in the project as representatives.
Following the referee's command, several Chinese players rushed to the top like monkeys.
Zhang Jintao pulled his speed to the limit, reached the top in an instant, and then only needed to cross the iron cable, and all the team members reached the central assembly point to be completed.
Zhang Jintao was still a weak-legged person with a fear of heights when he first encountered a cliff "pulled across", but after experiencing a number of times more arduous training, he is now able to represent his country and compete for honor on the battlefield in a foreign country.
He climbed the chain bridge as quickly as he could, without any ups and downs in his heart, just moving forward at a rapid pace.
Israel's "Wild Boys" special operations regiment, which specializes in rock climbing, also saw the strength of Chinese soldiers in this competition.
In the end, the Chinese team became famous in 13 events with an absolute advantage of 8 golds, 6 silvers and 4 bronzes!
Colonel Liu Mill, who made the Chinese team "not have to be forced" before the start of the game, had to say with admiration: "The Chinese have created the history of 'Andrew Boyd'!"
IV. Conclusion
After returning to the motherland with the glory of victory, Zhang Jintao and his entourage were personally received by the leaders and awarded them a first-class meritorious service commendation order. You must know how difficult it is to obtain first-class merit in peacetime, which shows the hardships of special forces operations.
After returning to the army, Zhang Jintao did not get pampered and carried away, but trained more hard, and then he was escorted by the army to the Nanchang Army Academy in Jiangxi for further study.
After graduating, he became the commander of a special operations company of the 80th Group of the Army.
A young man, ambitious in all directions. Through his unremitting efforts in the army, Zhang Jintao won various medals and achievements, and important government officials of Zhoukou City even personally arrived at Zhang Gutong Village to present him and his family with a plaque of "Home of First-Class Meritorious Heroes."
In his subsequent career in the army, Zhang Jintao led the company to win many good results and broke out a different wonderful life.