Internal Security Political Work

Keeping the Troops' Welfare at Heart, This Instructor Fought Back

把官兵的冷暖放在心上，这个教导员打了场“翻身仗”

PLA Daily (解放军报) 13 June 2026

Summary

A battalion instructor named Yao Ye, assigned to an unnamed regiment under the Xinjiang Military District, recovered from a formal public criticism for substandard political education by adopting direct engagement methods—participating in training, monitoring mess hall feedback, and installing a written suggestion box—and was subsequently praised at a regimental handover meeting. The article documents a recurring institutional problem: officers transferred laterally into political work roles from non-political backgrounds struggle to deliver effective ideological education because they lack established relationships with enlisted personnel and default to rote document-reading. It fits a well-documented pattern in PLA political work literature of using individual redemption narratives to model the correct method—here, proximity to 'live thinking (活思想)'—as a corrective to formalism in grassroots political education.

Translation

The Instructor's Comeback

■ Jiang Zheng

"Your political education this week was very well done—lively methods, grounded in reality, and well received by the officers and soldiers." At a recent weekly handover meeting of a certain regiment under the Xinjiang Military District, the headquarters' assessment of one battalion surprised many of the officers present—because just a few months earlier, that battalion's instructor, Yao Ye, had been publicly criticized by name for failing to meet standards in conducting political education.

"I finally fought my way back." After the meeting, speaking to this reporter, Yao Ye opened up about his experience. Having transferred from a logistics support position to serve as a political work officer, he had gone through the ordeal of "failing to find his footing (水土不服)."

Conducting political education was the first "stumbling block" Yao Ye encountered when he first took up the role of instructor. Because he was unfamiliar with what the officers and soldiers were thinking, he would rarely put down the documents during political education classes, reading mechanically from the text. "The content was stiff, and the response was flat." A comment left after one class stung him like a needle.

An even sharper pain came from an inadvertent encounter. That day, after class, he was walking around a stairwell corner when he overheard several soldiers talking quietly: "Everything the instructor says is correct, but listening to it feels like there's a layer of paper in between—it's too far removed from our training and daily life..." The soldiers' offhand words jolted him to attention: political work is not about reading documents; you must get close to the officers and soldiers and move their hearts.

Shame spurs one to strive harder (知耻而后勇). Yao Ye treated every work review and every moment of self-reflection as a tempering of himself. He proactively stepped out of his office, drew close to the officers and soldiers, and got a clear picture of their "live thinking (活思想)."

On the training ground, Yao Ye no longer stood by as a "spectator" but rolled in the dirt alongside the soldiers until the edges of his camouflage uniform frayed. In the mess hall, he always lined up last for meals, taking note of which dishes had the most leftovers and which soup pots were scraped clean, then promptly discussing adjustments with the cooks. Over time, soldiers joked privately: "The instructor's chopsticks are more sensitive than a thermometer!" In daily life, he became a "listener"—the tree-lined path after dinner and the shade of trees during training breaks all became his "mobile office."

However, Yao Ye found that some soldiers still held back out of pride or shyness, keeping certain matters buried deep. So he installed a "Soldiers' Voice Suggestion Box (兵心留言箱)" outside his office door and told everyone they could write down work troubles and daily needs at any time.

From that day on, Yao Ye looked forward each day to his comrades' notes. At first, the suggestion box was empty, and his heart felt equally hollow. Gradually, one slip of paper appeared, then two, then three—the notes multiplied, and the officers' and soldiers' needs became clearer: "Training and duty tasks are heavy on a daily basis, and daytime exercise time is limited—we hope the gym can extend its evening hours"; "We suggest opening the bathhouse after evening roll call so everyone can wash up at staggered times..."

Those small slips of paper gave voice to the troubles and hopes of the officers and soldiers. Yao Ye sorted and logged these issues one by one and followed up promptly to address them.

"The instructor is like an older brother to us—he keeps the welfare of the officers and soldiers at heart!" said a veteran soldier in the battalion. On the training ground, listening to the officers and soldiers' resounding battle cries, Yao Ye felt a sudden clarity: "The smiles on the officers' and soldiers' faces, the drive they show on the training ground—these are the proof of political education's results."

Today, officers and soldiers throughout the battalion are willing to seek out the instructor whenever something is on their minds, and the insights from their work and daily lives—along with the troubles once written on those slips of paper—have all become the material Yao Ye uses to move hearts in his political education classes.

Original Chinese

教导员的“翻身仗” ■江正 “这周你们政治教育搞得很好，方法活、接地气，官兵反响好。”近日，新疆军区某团一次周交班会上，机关对某营的点评，让在场不少干部感到意外——要知道，这个营的教导员姚野，几个月前还因开展政治教育“不达标”被点名批评。 “终于打了‘翻身仗’。”会后，面对笔者采访，姚野坦露心迹。从后勤保障岗位转任政工主官，他经历了“水土不服”的考验。开展政治教育是姚野初任教导员时遇到的第一道“拦路虎”。由于不熟悉官兵的所思所想，政治教育课上，他常是文件不离手，照本宣科。“内容生硬，反响平平。”一次课后留言里的话，像针扎在姚野的心上。更大的刺痛，来自一次不经意的“撞见”。那天课后，他走到楼梯拐角，听见几名战士低声议论：“教导员讲的道理都对，但听着好像隔了一层纸，离我们的训练生活太远了……”战士的无心之话，让他猛然警醒：政治工作不是念文件，必须要走近官兵、撬动心灵。知耻而后勇。姚野把每一次工作讲评、每一次反思，都当作对自己的锤炼。他主动走出办公室，走近官兵，摸清大家的“活思想”。训练场上，姚野不再当“看客”，而是跟战士一起摸爬滚打，迷彩服磨起了毛边；饭堂里，开饭时他总排在最后，哪道菜剩得多，哪盆汤见了底，他都记在心里，并及时跟炊事员商量调整。时间一长，战士私下开玩笑说：“教导员的筷子，比体温计还灵！”生活中，他化身“倾听者”，晚饭后的林荫道、训练间隙的树荫下，都成了他的“流动办公室”。然而，姚野发现，仍有战士碍于面子、心存拘谨，把一些心事藏得很深。于是，他在办公室门口装上一个“兵心留言箱”，并告诉大家随时可以写下工作烦恼和生活需求。从那天起，姚野每天期待着战友的留言条。起初，留言箱里空空如也，姚野的心也随之空落落的。渐渐地，留言箱里有了一张纸条，2张、3张……留言条渐渐多起来，官兵的诉求也更加清晰：“平时训练执勤任务繁重，白天锻炼时间有限，希望健身房能延长晚上使用时间”“建议晚点名后能开放澡堂，方便大家错峰洗漱”…… 小小留言条道出官兵的烦恼与期盼。姚野将这些问题逐一梳理登记，及时跟进落实。 “教导员像是我们的兄长，把官兵的冷暖放在心上！”该营一名老兵说。训练场上，听着官兵响亮的呼号，姚野心中豁然开朗：“官兵脸上的笑容，训练场上的拼劲，就是政治教育成效的见证。” 如今，营队官兵遇事都愿意找教导员聊聊，这些官兵工作生活中的体悟，加上那些曾写在留言条上的烦恼，都成了姚野在政治教育课上打动人心的素材。