This Support Unit Comes with a "User Manual" for Every Person — Officers and Soldiers' Growth Now Has a "Navigation Map"
A certain support unit of a certain base under the Southern Theater Command Navy establishes capability files for officers and soldiers——
Personnel Come with a "User Manual," Growth Has a "Navigation Map"
■ Feng Guangming, He Yuming, Zhang Xiangyuan
Editor's Note: Chairman Xi has pointed out that we must grasp the laws governing the growth of military talent, grasp the developmental characteristics and requirements of various types of talent, innovate management concepts and methods, and strengthen specialized (专业化), refined (精细化), and scientific (科学化) management. A certain support unit of a certain base under the Southern Theater Command Navy has established capability files for officers and soldiers, helping everyone scientifically plan individual development paths in accordance with post and mission requirements, carry out targeted strengthening of strong points and remediation of weak points, and achieve mutual promotion and a double harvest between ship-based support and talent development. Their experience and practices carry instructive significance for grassroots units in the precise cultivation and use of talent.
On the summer shores of the South China Sea, a ship's whistle sounded as a warship departed the pier and headed for a certain sea area to carry out a mission. What surprised the ship's commander was that every officer and soldier of the certain support unit of a certain base under the Southern Theater Command Navy embarking on the voyage carried an individual capability file, providing a basis for the scientific organization of personnel into groups.
Soldier Zhu Qisheng is the squad leader of the unit's missile launch squad. Opening his capability file, one can see professional specialties, training history, assessment scores, vocational skills certification results, and records of major mission participation — all laid out in clear, itemized detail. The ship's commander noticed that Zhu Qisheng had extensive experience in disassembling mechanical structures and assigned him to participate in maintenance and support work for missile launch control equipment. Zhu Qisheng quickly integrated into his new battle station and blended in with the ship's crew.
"The capability file is like a 'user manual' for employing talent — wherever officers and soldiers go to carry out a mission, it goes with them." In discussing the original intent behind establishing capability files, unit commander Wang Wei recalled the following experience.
Late one night, the support unit received notice that a certain type of electro-optical tracking device on a certain vessel needed to be repaired before the ship's departure. Considering that optical guidance squad leader Wang Haixu had strong overall personal competence and had similar repair experience, Wang Wei assigned him to go alone. However, upon on-site inspection, Wang Haixu discovered that the fault lay in the control system of the electro-optical tracking device — an area in which he was not proficient. He had no choice but to request that the unit send an additional technical specialist in the relevant field, and the task was ultimately completed on time.
At the after-action review, Wang Wei took the lead in reflecting: "Precisely grasping each officer and soldier's specialties and weak points cannot rely solely on subjective impressions — we must establish an effective mechanism for identifying and employing talent. Only in this way can we, when faced with urgent, difficult, dangerous, and heavy missions, scientifically allocate forces and assign the right people." Everyone agreed wholeheartedly and offered suggestions.
In the end, with the support of higher-level organs, the support unit established a capability file for every officer and soldier, dynamically recording their service history, conducting regular professional assessments, annotating professional strengths and weak points, and presenting the information visually through multi-dimensional charts — making it clearly visible what each person excels at, what skills they have mastered, and what missions they have carried out.
Not long after, the support unit was temporarily assigned an emergency repair mission for a certain type of reconnaissance equipment. Wang Wei was not present at the time, and the newly arrived political instructor had not yet fully grasped the personnel roster. He consulted the officers' and soldiers' capability files and quickly identified the best candidate — optical guidance squad soldier Gu Mansong. Gu Mansong lived up to expectations, quickly identifying the cause of the fault and repairing the equipment.
After a period of practice, the support unit's leadership felt that establishing capability files not only provided a basis for employing talent but also broadened their thinking on talent cultivation. Benchmarking against post and mission requirements, they scientifically constructed a personnel capability and quality model, planned and designed development paths, formulated "one person, one policy" (一人一策) cultivation and mentoring plans, and adjusted growth targets at any time based on the actual circumstances of officers and soldiers — like a "navigation map."
A warship's main gun involves multiple specialties including mechanical, electrical, and hydraulic systems, making the development of maintenance and support capabilities difficult and time-consuming. Based on this characteristic, the support unit tailored a talent development plan for the naval gun squad soldiers. The capability file of First Sergeant Li Kangzhen showed that his assessment scores in subjects such as naval gun principles and live-equipment operation were all above 90, but his theoretical assessment in the ammunition feed system was only 80. To address this, the support unit specifically sent him to a certain research institute for observation and follow-on training to help him remedy his weak point. Today, Li Kangzhen has grown into an expert in warship main gun maintenance and has been selected for a technical research and development team for a certain new type of naval gun.
"In our support unit, everyone has a direction for growth, and everyone has something to strive toward." Li Kangzhen explained that initially the unit Party committee had set a growth target for soldier Zhang Jingcheng of developing the capability to independently repair the main gun within two years. But several months later, the unit leadership analyzed that he was better suited to repairing a certain new type of secondary gun, and adjusted his growth target accordingly. Having switched "tracks," Zhang Jingcheng's professional competence advanced by leaps and bounds.
The thicker the capability file, the greater the confidence in fulfilling one's duties. When missile launch squad soldier Zhao Junjie first reported to the support unit, his capability file was only a few pages long. Refusing to be outdone, he set annual goals, threw himself into study and training with great enthusiasm, gradually mastered basic skills such as electrical work and fitting, and that same year earned his qualification to go aboard ships for maintenance. He has since been promoted to Corporal, and his capability file has grown ever thicker. "Every time I open my capability file, I can see my own progress — that sense of achievement is itself a tremendous incentive for personal growth." Zhao Junjie noted that professional and technical specialists now make up more than half of the unit's total officers and soldiers, with more than ten having obtained intermediate-level or above vocational qualifications.
Every effort is seen; every breakthrough is recorded. The scorecard the support unit has produced in recent years is the best testament to these words — it was the first among units of the same type to form, as a complete unit, the maintenance and support capability for a certain new type of main gun; it possesses independent repair qualifications for multiple types of equipment; it has successfully completed ship-based support missions on multiple occasions; and it has been commended by higher authorities as an advanced unit of the "Four-Iron" (四铁) standard.