Author: Chen Qijun.
When the training team is studying.
Just after the Spring Festival in 1971, the 19th Army held the first three-month intensive training for staff officers, which was a major measure taken by the Party Committee of the Army to deal with the shortage of personnel in the staff contingent after the restoration of the structure.
More than 100 trainees participated in this training camp from various units under the jurisdiction of the 19th Army. Each formed regiment is allocated 6 places and organized into a squad. Among the cadets were cadres, and there were also fighters. The 165th Regiment determined that Wang Chunfu, deputy company commander of the 4th Company, Yao Weixin, platoon commander of the 1st Company, Miao Hebo, squad leader of the 4th Company, Yang Junfeng, ordnance officer and clerk of the Special Service Company, Yue Yongsheng, secretary of the 2nd Battalion, and I participated in the training. Deputy Company Commander Wang and Platoon Commander Yao served as the principal and deputy squad leaders respectively.
Chief of Staff Wang Chenguang presided over the opening ceremony, and Commander Du Shao personally made a mobilization speech.
The intensive training course is mainly based on staff business, taking into account the relevant knowledge and skills that should be known and should be known. The key content is the basic skills of staff officers in "writing, drawing, transmitting, reading, calculating, and calculating" and the "six skills" business. It takes into account military theory, knowledge of military arms, knowledge of foreign armies, military topography, as well as subjects such as shooting, bomb throwing, assassination, platoon, individual tactics and military physical fitness.
In view of the large number of contents and the limited time available in the intensive training, I am determined to highlight the key points and devote my main energy and efforts to studying and mastering the basic operations and skills of staff officers. For the learning of other subject content, it is combined with the previous foundation to strengthen the strong and make up for the weak to ensure that the test is passed.
After the focus and direction of my efforts were clear, I eliminated distractions, listened carefully in class, took notes, worked hard to complete my homework after class, practiced repeatedly, and deepened my memory. Maybe it's because I've been longing for the opportunity to study in the academy since the end of the "Cultural Revolution", and I seem to have a feeling of going to school and reading when I participate in the intensive training.
During the three-month intensive training, I did not take Sundays and holidays, and my spare time was also used for study and training. If you don't know the questions, ask the instructor for advice in time, and learn from other students with an open mind. A drop of sweat is a harvest, a point of hard work is a result. At the end of the course, I completed the training task with excellent results in all the subjects I trained.
In 1975, I participated in the training of the current staff officers led by the chief of staff of the military division regiment. The first training camp laid the foundation, and the second training camp consolidated and improved. The two intensive training camps have laid a solid foundation for me to do a good job as a staff officer.
During the staff training, I experienced the attack of the black wind in the Zhangye area at the end of April 1971. At noon, when the instructor Zhu Anlong clearly drew the area, and the students opened the drawing board to carry out the operation, the sky was suddenly dark, the wind was blowing, and the thick pine trees like the bowl mouth were blown by the wind and almost uprooted. One by one, we couldn't stand on our feet, we couldn't open our mouths, we couldn't open our eyes, and we had a lot of trouble breathing. Some of the students' drawing boards and command rulers were blown into the air by the wind, and they felt that the entire Qilian Mountain was shaking, and everyone hurriedly hugged the pine trees on the hillside and waited for the wind and waves to calm down. It was the biggest wind I've ever encountered in my life, and the locals call it the Black Wind. After the strong wind, despite the discomfort of the whole body, we still completed the homework according to the requirements of the instructor, showing the spirit of hardship and fighting style.
When I returned to Zhangye the next day, I saw that the chairs and beds in the dormitory were covered with a thick layer of sand. At this time, I learned that when the wind blew, we were protected by forests and grasslands in the mountains, and the situation was relatively better. And Zhangye was not so lucky, according to the left-behind staff of the teaching team, it was the end of work and the students were out of school, and the black wind wrapped in sand and stones roared and rolled in, and Zhangye was suddenly swallowed by the sand. The sudden sandstorm caused many people to lose their way and find their way home, and even some went missing, and some fell into the canal and drowned. He Tong, deputy chief of staff, who was recognized as a great filial son by the military organ, walked out of the office building with his hands on the stairs, and returned home to comfort his frightened old mother-in-law by touching the outer wall with both hands from memory. Sandstorms are ruthless, and the chief's filial piety has moved and educated many young people.
In fact, as a soldier in the Great Northwest, it is not uncommon to encounter sandstorms. I have encountered sandstorms during the 1976 Shandan exercise, the 1977 Lanxin Junction Topographic Survey, the "684 Exercise" Xilanwu and the 1997 "Lansila" fiber optic cable construction, as well as many training and exercises. Every time, the mouth, nose, and ears are filled with dust, and the face is dusty. During the picnic of the troops during the construction of the "9311" optical cable, sand and dust were accidentally blown into the pot. The officers and soldiers could only stir the spoon, put it in a bowl, eat it in their stomachs, and let it digest slowly. During the construction of the "971" optical fiber cable, the tent was overturned and blown away by strong winds, and the officers and soldiers found it and set it up again. Regardless of the wind and sand, I did not move.
Among the sandstorms I have experienced, the sandstorm in the Jiuquan area in the spring of 2003 is the most memorable for me. At that time, I was riding a milky white off-road vehicle along the Anxi Dunhuang Highway to Dunhuang, and when I reached the side of Sanwei Mountain, I saw a sandstorm between the heavens and the earth in front of me, and the flood rolled like a beast. The driver, Chen Zijiang, hurriedly turned the head of the car, turned his back to the direction of the sandstorm, parked the car steadily, and closed the doors and windows. In an instant, it was dark, and the car shook violently, as if it was jolting on a battlefield full of craters, which was incredible. Thankfully, the car didn't get overturned. After the sandstorm, Xiao Chen looked at the car that had become a "sandblast craft", and shook his head in distress.
It is conceivable what kind of result it will be for people to encounter strong sandstorms without protection. My comrades-in-arms, as well as those unknown officers and soldiers who have been fighting in the great northwest and even in the vast northern region all year round, have never been afraid of sandstorms. They are like red willows and poplars, taking root in the frontier and guarding the border passes. Resisting the wind and sand, fighting the scorching heat and the severe cold, patrolling and standing guard for the motherland and the people day and night.
(To be continued).