Party Member Responsibility Chart: Shifting Evaluation from 'Displaying a Report Card' to 'Signing a Responsibility Pledge'
A Party Branch of a Certain Fire Support Company Under a Certain Regiment of the Xinjiang Military District Explores a Party Member Mentorship Mechanism——
Less 'Report Card Displaying,' More 'Responsibility Pledge Signing'
■ Tian Xiaodong, Wu Jiaqing
"Mortar specialty: Party member Wang Zhiye mentoring Corporal Qu Shiyao—azimuth mechanism operation precision improved." "Anti-tank missile specialty: Party member Li Zhen mentoring Private Xu Wanshuai—fault-clearance time for the launch system significantly reduced." ……
Not long ago, at the training ground of a certain regiment under the Xinjiang Military District, after a round of live-equipment drills concluded for a certain fire support company, officers and soldiers gathered around the 'Party Member Responsibility Chart' display board at the edge of the range. The company Party branch secretary Yan Tingjie announced results while marking the responsibility chart with a marker pen; the names of several young soldiers appeared in the 'Completed' column for the first time.
This reporter moved in for a closer look: behind each Party member cadre's name on the responsibility chart were the names of several young soldiers, with task content, completion deadlines, and current progress all visible at a glance. Several entries were also annotated in red with the words 'completed ahead of schedule,' standing out conspicuously.
A soldier nearby explained that in the past, this display board had shown what everyone called the 'Honor Roll'—an 'achievements display board'—bearing almost exclusively information on Party member cadres' merits and commendations, theoretical study credits, and specialty records across various disciplines.
"The names and results up there all belonged to top-tier cadres—it felt too far removed from us," soldier Xiao Wang said frankly. Those results, though impressive, bore little relation to his own actual situation, and over time everyone was left only glancing at it from a distance.
What truly struck the Party branch was a live-fire assessment exercise the previous year. At the time, Staff Sergeant Xu, the senior sergeant responsible for sniper rifle instruction, was away at an external training course. As a result, three young marksmen participating in the assessment made consecutive operational errors, and their scores fell far below their routine training levels.
During the after-action review, the group reflected: the company's specialties were numerous and highly technical, and training instruction, live-fire assessments, and equipment maintenance had long been heavily dependent on a few senior Party member cadres. Once any of them went on leave or traveled away, young soldiers were often unable to step up at critical moments.
"The vanguard nature (先进性) of Party members cannot be displayed only on a wall of honors—it must be reflected in every soldier's progress and translated into warfighting capability (打赢能力)." After deliberation, the Party branch reached consensus: abolish the traditional 'achievements display board,' and—centered on tackling key and difficult training subjects, clearing equipment faults, and mentoring young soldiers—shift evaluation from 'displaying a report card' to 'signing a responsibility pledge.'
From this, the entirely new 'Party Member Responsibility Chart' was presented before the officers and soldiers.
To ensure that commitments were carried through, the company Party branch introduced a complementary mechanism of weekly updates and monthly reviews. After each week's training concluded, all officers and soldiers of the company assembled before the display board to update mentorship task progress item by item on the spot; each completed item was checked off, with the entire process subject to supervision.
"The tasks are posted on the chart, displayed in front of the whole company—it's like having a pair of eyes watching you at all times," Wang Zhiye said frankly. In the past, he only thought about doing his own work well and scoring good results; now his name is bound to the growth of his mentee, and the pressure is greater than competing for first place himself.
Some time ago, Wang Zhiye proactively approached the branch to claim a task: coaching Qu Shiyao to break through the bottleneck in simplified mortar firing. To help Qu Shiyao correct his longstanding problem of applying excessive force on the azimuth mechanism, he worked overtime for two consecutive weeks to fabricate an auxiliary training device, and carefully recorded data from each of Xiao Qu's training sessions in a notebook for analysis and study.
Before long, Xiao Qu achieved excellent results. Wang Zhiye wrote 'Completed' on the responsibility chart and gave a satisfied nod.
Party members mentoring, advancing together—such changes are happening every day. Sniper Sun Hongjian takes Private First Class Li Ze through wind reading and ballistic calculation, passing on all relevant experience without reservation; heavy machine gunner Peng Cheng compiled fault-clearance steps into a mnemonic rhyme, and Private Lü Guanglong memorized in just three days a procedure that used to take half a month to learn.
"In the past, when you looked at a Party member, you saw honors; now, when you look at a Party member, you see responsibility," Secretary Yan told this reporter. Since the 'Party Member Responsibility Chart' was introduced, Party members throughout the company have successively completed eight key and difficult training subjects, identified and resolved 17 equipment fault hazards, and the results of mentored soldiers have improved across the board.