The three companies and five classes on the training ground are a forgotten corner. People outside call it "a paradise for bad soldiers, a grave for good soldiers", and even the commander of the 702nd regiment, Wang Tuan, thinks that it is a place where good soldiers are wasted. Lao Ma, the squad leader of the fifth class of the third company. 
In the year and a half he has been in Class 5, he has passed the time by playing cards with his three pawns or studying bridge by himself.
Too much time to use or not, it is the same feeling of every soldier who came to the fifth class, and it is the norm to get by and live a chaotic life. After Xu Sanduo came, Lao Ma was touched by his self-discipline and persistence.
In heaven and on earth and in the middle are yourselves. You're messing around, be careful that the days are messing you up.
Even if demobilization is imminent, Lao Ma is determined to find his former self. Lao Ma, who was the king of soldiers in the third company, was the best squad leader. How good was the old horse in the past?
Before I put this aside, I'll be able to outrun you on one leg.During the five-kilometer cross-country training, the old horse, who was out of breath, proudly said to Li Meng and the three of them.
Of course, this is an exaggeration, but it is undeniable that Lao Ma's past is shining and brilliant.
He Hongtao, the instructor of the Third Company, said more than once that Lao Ma was the best squad leader he had ever met. When Lao Ma retired, three rows of people were neatly lined up at the door of the 702 Regiment to see him off, and these people were all soldiers led by Lao Ma back then. Among these people, there are Xu Sanduo who he brought at the end, instructor He Hongtao, and Shi Jin, who were also soldiers brought out by Lao Ma's men.
From this alone, it can be seen that Lao Ma's contribution to the 702nd Regiment is not small, why was such a squad leader who was praised by his subordinates assigned to the third and fifth classes that no one wanted to go to? From the clues in the plot, let's analyze it, maybe these three reasons:
One, the old horse was injured.
After the fifth class later helped Xu Sanduo repair the road together, everyone "flew" Xu Sanduo and Lao Ma in order to celebrate this great success. Xu Sanduo is young, and his training has not been left behind, and there is no problem after "flying"; But the old horse is different, after being "flew", he covers his waist for several days.
Although Lao Ma is a veteran, he is not old, and with the physique of a soldier, he will not become like this when he falls. The plausible reason is that the old horse had suffered a back injury before, and it was difficult to continue the difficult training task, so he was assigned to the fifth class that could "recuperate". 
Second, it is true that Lao Ma has brought out outstanding soldiers like Shi Jin and He Hongtao, but the times are advancing, the troops are also changing, and the requirements for veterans and recruits are also beginning to change.
When the Seventh Company of Steel was about to be reorganized, a new recruit came to the third class of the Seventh Company, Ma Xiaoshuai.
It is foreseeable that in the future, absorbing highly educated talents like Ma Xiaoshuai and Wu Zhe is the general direction that the ministry should take. The old horse, the former king of soldiers, can no longer keep up with this pace, and even Shi Jin, who is younger than him, has not been able to stay in the team, and the old horse is even more impossible.
Third, arranging the old horse in the fifth class is a test. Although He Hongtao is Lao Ma's soldier, he is now the instructor of the Third Company and Lao Ma's superior.
But Lao Ma spoke to this superior and was not polite. When I was angry in my heart, my words were full of gunpowder, and I didn't say a word about the mouth that should be topped or the mouth that shouldn't be topped.
You, you, you, ruined by your mouth.He Hongtao once pointed out the problem of Lao Ma, but Lao Ma didn't take it to heart, and even when he talked to Director Zhang, who had no friendship with him, he was straightforward.
It is important to know that the army is a collective, and unity is the most basic.
People who are too distinct are prone to stab others and themselves. The old horses of the past, although excellent, have yet to be smoothed out.
Arranged in three consecutive five shifts, it can smooth out his edges and corners, but at the same time, it is also a test. However, not all of them are Xu Sanduo.
Coming to Class 5 is a lucky thing for Xu Sanduo, who has "less roots and tendons". But for others, it's not over. Lao Ma is not like Chengcai, Chengcai's sense of goal has always been strong, that is, he climbs up step by step, so in order to be a non-commissioned officer, he can leave the seventh company and throw himself into the third company in order to be a non-commissioned officer.
But such an outstanding talent was also assigned to the fifth class. Again, this is also a test of success, just like the test of the old horse back then.
But the difference is that when Chengcai understands what he is missing, he still has the opportunity to return to Class 5 to find his "branches"; When Lao Ma understands that he can't mess around anymore, it's time to retire. Time is what Shi Jin has always emphasized to Xu Sanduo, but time, not only Xu Sanduo needs, Shi Jin himself also needs, and Lao Ma also needs it. In the end, Lao Ma not only found his former self and influenced Li Meng, but insisted on returning the credit for road construction to Xu Sanduo, which was between the future and the bottom line of the soldiers, and Lao Ma chose the bottom line. But no matter what, as the instructor said, those who can stay in Class 5 should be worthy of a third-class merit. 
Lao Ma is not just a name, not just a person, but a microcosm of thousands of soldiers. They dedicated their youth to the army and held on to the most difficult places, but under the general trend and their own reasons, they could no longer continue to struggle, so they could only retire from the army. But they've always been the loveliest people. Hats off to them!