In the vast ocean, aircraft carriers, as the country's mobile fortresses on the sea, carry the heavy responsibility of safeguarding national security and interests.
But inside this behemoth, there are a lot of "moths", which make people have a headache, and this "moth" is a mouse.
The U.S. military exterminated rats by keeping cats on aircraft carriers, but the results were not satisfactory.
In the end, it is China's "stupid way" that is the best!
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As the iconic equipment of the modern navy, the aircraft carrier can be called a "floating city" on the sea because of its huge internal space and complex structure.
In this steel-forged world, thousands of officers and soldiers work together to maintain the normal operation of this behemoth.
In order to maintain the daily life of the officers and men and meet the needs of the operation, the aircraft carrier has stockpiled a large amount of food, ammunition, and various materials, like a miniature material warehouse.
It is these abundant resources that unexpectedly attract uninvited "guests" - mice. These small and cunning creatures have an amazing ability to reproduce and are extremely adaptable.
In the relatively closed but resource-rich environment of aircraft carriers, they have simply found a paradise for survival.
Rats not only wantonly steal food and destroy supplies, which brings great trouble to the daily management of the aircraft carrier, but also gnaws on key equipment such as wires and pipelines.
Their teeth are so sharp that they can easily penetrate the insulation, causing circuits to short-circuit, equipment failure, and even fires! The damage of the pipeline may lead to water leakage, air leakage and other potential safety hazards, posing a huge threat to the combat effectiveness of the aircraft carrier.
And rats are also transmitters of many diseases. They carry all kinds of viruses and bacteria, and they move around in the relatively closed environment of the aircraft carrier, which greatly increases the health risk of the officers and men on the ship.
Once the epidemic breaks out, it will not only affect the health and combat effectiveness of the officers and men, but may also have a serious impact on the combat mission of the entire aircraft carrier.
The U.S. aircraft carrier's plan to raise cats has had little success
Faced with the problem of rat infestation on aircraft carriers, the US military initially thought of using cats, the natural enemies of rats, to deal with them. It's a simple idea, and it's in line with the laws of nature.
So the U.S. military raised a lot of cats on the aircraft carrier, hoping that these "ship cats" could reduce the number of mice.
At first, it worked a lot. The kittens have sharp noses and agile skills, and they have caught a lot of mice, and the rat infestation problem on the aircraft carrier has been alleviated a little.
However, the good times did not last long, and these "ship cats" slowly adapted to the good environment on the aircraft carrier and became lazy. They are no longer actively catching mice, but enjoy the care of the officers and soldiers and live a comfortable life.
But the rats are also quietly getting smarter, they are becoming more cunning and stealthy, and it is difficult for the kittens to find them.
What's worse is that the space inside the aircraft carrier is too complicated, and many corners and crevices can't be entered by kittens, and these places have become hiding places for rats. So although there are kittens, the rodent problem on the aircraft carrier has not been completely solved.
And having a cat also brings new problems. The feces and smell of cats pollute the environment inside the aircraft carrier; And the activity of cats can also cause damage to the precision instruments and equipment on board the aircraft carrier.
These problems have forced the U.S. military to reconsider whether the idea of raising a cat will work.
China's stupid approach
Unlike the United States, China has taken a seemingly clumsy but actually efficient approach to dealing with aircraft carrier rodents – plugging holes.
The main reason why rats can survive and reproduce on aircraft carriers is because they are able to enter the ship through various holes in the aircraft carrier.
Therefore, as long as these holes are completely blocked, the invasion route of rats can be fundamentally cut off. Whenever an aircraft carrier docks for maintenance or replenishment, the officers and men of the Chinese Navy will launch a large-scale "hole plugging operation".
They scrutinized every nook and cranny of the carrier, finding all the holes that could be a passage for rats to invade, and using special materials to seal them up.
The work requires a lot of manpower and time, but the officers and men of the Chinese Navy are engaged in it without complaint. Because they know very well that only by completely solving the problem of rodent infestation can the safety and combat effectiveness of aircraft carriers be ensured.
After a period of hard work, the rodent infestation problem on China's aircraft carriers has been fundamentally improved. The number of rats has decreased dramatically and is almost extinct.
This not only reduces the burden on the officers and men, but also reduces the hidden safety hazards of the aircraft carrier. What's more, this approach is relatively inexpensive and easy to implement and maintain.
The strategies of China and the United States to deal with the rats on aircraft carriers are very different. The U.S. military has engaged in a "cat plan", which sounds quite lofty, but the effect is just like that, and the rats are still making trouble.
We in China use a "stupid method", that is, plugging holes, although it sounds simple and crude, but the effect is very good, and the problem of rats is basically solved.
First of all, this incident illustrates a truth: to solve the problem, we must proceed from reality. The U.S. military's "cat plan" looks quite natural and ecological, but the environment inside the aircraft carrier is complex, and the mice are also smart and adaptable, so the cat may not be able to handle it when it comes.
Our "stupid method" in China is directly aimed at the root of the problem, and once those holes are opened, the rats will not be able to enter. This method looks stupid, but in fact, it is the most practical and the most problematic.
And prevention is much more important than cure. Both China and the United States waited for more rats to start figuring out a way, but the results were far from perfect. We in China are plugging holes in advance, and rats can't get in at all, and the hidden dangers are gone.
The U.S. military only caught rats when there were many mice, and after catching them, they had a headache. Therefore, the prevention work must be done sufficiently, otherwise the problem will come, and the trouble will be big.
The problem of rats on an aircraft carrier may seem simple, but in reality it is not that way. It's like a microcosm of the challenges we humans can face when designing and using those complex systems.
No system can be perfect, there will always be some loopholes and flaws that are exploited by those "clever" outsiders.
Even with advanced technology and equipment, it may not be possible to solve all problems. Sometimes what seems clumsy is more practical and effective.
Just like the ancestors said, black cats and white cats, those who can catch mice are good cats!
This rodent problem is also a reminder that when designing and using complex systems such as aircraft carriers, maintenance and upkeep must be fully considered.
Only when maintenance and maintenance are done at ordinary times can the system operate normally and be used for a long time. Otherwise, once something goes wrong, the consequences will be serious, and it may affect the combat effectiveness of the entire aircraft carrier.
Therefore, in the future, we should continue to carry forward this spirit of pragmatic innovation, and continue to explore more efficient and economical solutions to meet various challenges.
There are so many talented people in the masses, do you have an idea of better governance of the rats on the aircraft carrier? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment section.
Text / Editor: ToT
Resources:
Lizhi.com News - "Do the warships of the mainland navy have ship cats?" - April 20, 2019