A Rocket Force Unit Enhances the Wartime Political Work Capabilities of Political Cadres
A Rocket Force Unit Enhances the Wartime Political Work Capabilities of Political Cadres——
The "Lifeline" (生命线) Demonstrates Its Vitality Beneath the Launch Erector
■ Deng Liyong
Recently, deep in a dense forest, missile combat vehicles of a Rocket Force unit raced through the night, maneuvering toward designated areas.
Shortly after a full-process combat-realistic exercise (全流程实战化演练) began, officers and soldiers encountered a special situation (特情): "'enemy' unmanned aerial vehicles scattering leaflets." The political work team rapidly moved forward, collected and destroyed the scattered leaflets, simultaneously activated contingency plans for public opinion control and ideological stabilization (舆情防控、思想稳控), and flexibly conducted short, direct, and fast battlefield agitation (短平快的战场鼓动). In the subsequent exercise, officers and soldiers completed operations including occupying positions and erecting missiles with high morale, and successfully carried out a "strike" against the target.
"Political work during combat operations is an important component of combat action; only through combat-realistic testing can its proper effectiveness be ensured," the unit's leadership explained. They closely align with their mission tasks and combat-realistic requirements, place the study and practice of wartime political work (作战中政治工作) in a prominent position, and use opportunities such as combined-arms training and cross-region exercises to plan and implement political work and military operations in an integrated and unified manner, ensuring that wherever the mission extends, political work follows.
At the exercise site, this reporter observed: inside the command post, the political work station tracked the progress of the mission at all times, flexibly conducting combat mobilization (战斗动员), battlefield culture (战地文化), and battlefield discipline enforcement (战场执纪); beneath the launch erector, political cadres organized battlefield agitation, merit citation and model creation (立功创模), and the promotion of exemplary individuals in accordance with the progress of the battle; on the forward positions, political work backbone personnel moved between various posts, simultaneously conducting battlefield evidence collection (战场取证) and other work.
"Your unit has been 'struck.' The company commander has been 'killed in action.' Equipment has been 'damaged.'" As the confrontation entered a critical phase, the exercise control element (导演部) issued an impromptu special situation. At this critical juncture, Political Instructor Wang of the company immediately assumed command. After comprehensively assessing the battlefield situation, he simultaneously organized backbone personnel to carry out emergency equipment repairs, adjusted the combat disposition, and boosted the morale of officers and soldiers, leading the company to continue fighting. In the end, the company successfully completed the exercise mission within the prescribed time limit.
Being able to step up at the critical moment is the result of dedicated and refined training in normal times. This reporter learned that the unit routinely organizes political cadres to conduct training in subjects including the drafting of combat documents (作战文书拟制) and information system operation; through a paired mentorship (结对帮带) approach, it organizes political cadres and military cadres to jointly study battle cases, analyze situations, and handle special situations, continuously strengthening political cadres' capabilities in combat planning and command decision-making; it arranges for political cadres to shadow and observe at launch sub-units and combat posts, so they can proficiently master equipment operating skills; and centering on content such as battlefield situation assessment and the handling of sudden special situations, it invites academic experts and outstanding political cadres to deliver lectures, enhancing political cadres' ability to analyze, make decisions, and respond flexibly in actual combat. In addition, the unit distinguishes three phases—combat preparation, execution, and conclusion—to sort out and identify multiple categories of wartime political work subjects, including organizational work and security and protection, and requires political cadres to take on and tackle these subjects in close connection with actual mission conditions, broadening their thinking on how to conduct wartime political work by solving difficult problems.
After the battle concluded, an after-action review (复盘) was conducted. Political cadres who participated in the training examined shortcomings exposed during the exercise, focusing on areas including the functioning of Party organization (党组织功能发挥), wartime public opinion and propaganda (战时舆论宣传), and honor incentives (荣誉激励), and collectively studied improvement measures. At the same time, they comprehensively sorted out and summarized the experience and practices of conducting political work during the exercise, continuously optimizing the content, forms, and methods of wartime political work.
As new orders arrived, the participating political cadres, in full combat gear, rushed to their combat positions and maneuvered with the missile combat vehicles toward the next target area……