"They didn't even wear helmets or combat boots when they went to the exercise?!" To this day, Corporal Zhou Cai of the Twelfth Company of a Certain Zhouqiao Brigade of the Central Theater Army still remembers the surprised glances thrown at them by comrades-in-arms of brother units during that live-fire exercise .-
It was an inspection exercise across the Yangtze River, and they were all dressed up in full gear according to the requirements of their superiors to organize combat training in unfamiliar areas.
During the training, as the operator of the tail boat, Zhou Cai stared at the flag signal of Chen Shengtao, the head of the gate bridge, while accurately controlling the throttle and gear of the tail boat. Suddenly, Sergeant Liu Fangxiao, who was inspecting on the gate bridge, slipped and fell to his feet, almost sliding into the river, but fortunately was caught by his comrades next to him...
"When the door bridge is decomposed and combined on the river, it is inevitable that there will be water and hydraulic oil on the steel plate of the bridge deck, and it is easy to slip and fall when wearing combat boots." At the company's training analysis meeting, Zhou Cai expressed his worries.
Zhou Cai's speech aroused the resonance of everyone: Some officers and men reported that helmets would obscure the line of sight and reduce operational efficiency; some officers and men talked about the narrow space on the gate bridge and the inability to operate normally with guns on their backs; some officers and men complained that once the combat equipment was put on, it was difficult to put on the life jacket, and even if it was put on, the buoyancy of the heavily armed personnel after falling into the water was not enough...
Coincidentally, these problems also occurred from time to time in the brotherly companies, and they were gathered together on the desk of the brigade party committee's training committee.
The brigade leader's investigation found that although the existing combat equipment is more convenient in infantry tactical operations, it is not very practical in the special environment of boat and bridge operation, and even affects the speed and safety of bridge construction to some extent.
However, can you take off your combat equipment? This issue has aroused considerable controversy among officers and soldiers:
Some people frankly say that all units now wear combat equipment when training, and it will look "irregular" if we do not wear combat equipment; some people believe that in fighting a war, we must seek truth from facts, and whether or not to closely follow actual combat lies not in dressing neatly, but in completing the effect of actual combat tasks.
What is right and wrong? After repeated study, the brigade party committee pointed out: Combined with the background of actual combat, when building bridges, the superiors will be equipped with professional defense forces such as air defense and reconnaissance to coordinate operations. It is recommended that the officers and men of Zhouqiao not wear combat equipment when working on the river.
Their opinions were approved after consulting the Director's Department and higher authorities. As a result, such a scene appeared during the exercise: the officers and men who built the bridge "went into battle lightly, and the vigilant personnel were fully armed.
A bridge flys north and south, and the graben changes its path. This battle, which brought zhou Cai and his comrades-in-arms to reflect, is still continuing...