Political Work

60-Day Journal of a Newly Appointed Flight Battalion Political Instructor: Every Small Matter Is a Building Block of Trust

任飞行大队教导员60天手记：每件小事都是一块信任的基石

PLA Daily (解放军报) 17 June 2026

Summary

A newly appointed flight battalion political instructor at an unspecified PLA Air Force unit published a 60-day duty journal documenting the administrative, logistical, and interpersonal demands of the position, including managing live-fire ground-target exercise coordination, fielding simultaneous unresolved taskings during travel, and improvising solutions to equipment shortfalls such as 3D-printing aircraft models for the flight preparation room. The article documents the institutional problem of battalion-level political officer onboarding: the position combines real-time operational support duties with fragmented welfare and administrative work, and new appointees arrive without procedural scaffolding for the latter category. This fits the PLA's sustained effort, visible across this publication's multi-year grassroots cadre tracking series, to codify tacit knowledge of junior leadership roles through first-person narrative — its value is as a record of what the institution treats as the core competency gap at the political instructor level, not as evidence of a policy change.

Translation

Every Small Matter Is a Building Block of Trust

— 60-Day Journal of a Newly Appointed Flight Battalion Political Instructor

■ Guo Lingling

Editor's Note

A strong grassroots company cannot exist without strong grassroots cadres. Strong grassroots cadres cannot be forged without the tempering that comes from "training through doing" (事上练), day after day and year after year. Over the past nine years, Grassroots Dispatch has long followed the growth of a cohort of newly graduated platoon leaders and tracked three years in the life of a newly appointed company political officer. Those real, vivid, and concrete people and events brought considerable inspiration to the platoon-leader community and the company commander community alike, and drew wide attention.

Now we are expanding our coverage once again, turning the lens on battalion-level commanders. Through the continuous publication of one newly appointed political instructor's journal of duty, we invite the community of battalion commanders and political instructors to explore together the "ways and means" (道道) of being a good battalion-level commander. Today we present the first installment. Please stay tuned.

"Is there anything that was left out?"

The first time I stood duty at the operations console after becoming political instructor, having completed every pre-boarding procedure and standing before three senior leaders and a roomful of pilots, I actually said those words out loud. What I had meant to ask was "Does anyone have anything to add?" — but I was so nervous that the words came out wrong.

That got a laugh out of everyone and lightened the mood for a moment.

The leader accompanying the unit for the training exercise smiled and bailed me out: "Nothing was left out — that was fine!" Then, still smiling, he boarded the aircraft.

This was the first live-fire ground-target training exercise I participated in after taking up the post of political instructor. I had just assumed the position and was still in an adjustment period, and on top of that I was thrown into the high-stakes setting of a live-fire ground-target exercise, with leaders from three echelons — army, division, and regiment — all present on site.

The day before the shoot, I drew up a long list of key elements to review in advance: meteorological conditions, range status, communications, ordnance loads, fuel quantities, bird activity, and so on. But the entire day was packed solid with theoretical instruction, cockpit familiarization, baseline assessments, and technical study, and the advance review never happened.

After seeing the pilots to their aircraft, my job was to monitor and verify a stream of information: wind speed, mean sea-level relative altitude, fluctuations in core parameters, bird-strike numbers, cloud cover — and once verified, to relay all of it to the pilots. After the daytime sorties were done, cross-day-and-night training still awaited me. When training concluded, I still had to help coordinate vehicle dispatch for the pilots' departure and contact the mess hall to arrange meals. Only when the last item on the day's schedule had been checked off did I feel settled.

That was a day of operations-console duty — busy, but at least there were procedures to follow.

What I found truly difficult were the things for which there are no procedures.

Not long ago, while traveling on a work trip, the phone calls came one after another: the Navy Day speech competition needed rehearsal; a pilot reported that the hot-water heater in the dormitory was broken; higher headquarters was pressing for the "six baseline assessments, seven checkpoints" (六摸底七把关) forms and several political education ledgers to be filled out. Before I had even reached my destination, I had received multiple calls. The critical thing was that I had not managed to act on a single one of them — my head was buzzing and my palms were soaked with sweat.

In that moment, I recalled a warning a comrade had given me before I took up the post: the flight battalion political instructor position is very busy, the affairs are very fragmented, and you need to be mentally prepared. I remember I had pushed back on him at the time: "That's nothing!" But when a string of calls came flooding in one after another, I finally understood that his warning had been genuinely necessary.

After arriving at my destination, I took a deep breath, sorted through everything one item at a time, and returned the calls one by one. From that day on, I learned two things: carry a notebook at all times and rank every pending task by urgency and importance; and learn to say "Understood — let me look into it and get back to you shortly," rather than taking everything on the spot and giving rash answers on the fly.

In fact, a large portion of these miscellaneous matters were "livelihood issues" (民生问题): a light bulb burned out, a door frame rotted, the screws on a piece of fitness equipment came loose again. Watching me run around solving these problems, a friend joked with me: "You're a political instructor — why are you bothering with these trivial trifles?"

Why bother? A dark balcony light obstructs visibility and could cause someone to trip and fall at night. A corroding door frame creaks every time the door is pushed open and disrupts rest. Loose screws on fitness equipment could cause injury during training. What appear to be trivial trifles are precisely what determines the pilots' day-to-day "felt temperature" (体感温度), and they are also the proper domain of political work.

Some things are hard to handle on your own. The aircraft model used for ground deduction and technical study in the flight preparation room at the airfield was broken — it is a teaching aid. The administrative office thought about procuring a replacement from the manufacturer, but a custom model requires design drawings and mold fabrication, with a lead time of nearly a month. That long a delay would seriously set back the pilots' study.

Meng, the political instructor from the neighboring battalion, offered a suggestion: "The repair shop has a 3D printer — why not ask them for help?" Following his lead, I found comrades at the repair shop who helped produce the models. The models came out beautifully, but the colors were not realistic. So my clerk and I each picked up a pen and painted the nose black, outlined the wings — and before long the problem was solved. Looking at the dozens of "hand-painted limited editions" on the table, I suddenly understood: when you are overwhelmed, don't tough it out alone. With the organization and sister units behind you, many difficulties can be overcome.

Before taking up this post I had worked in the publicity section and had interviewed many pilots. At the time, my approach to this community was to enter through their training subjects — focusing on what they flew, their tactical objectives, their scores, and their exemplary deeds — and I thought I understood them well. Now, after sixty days living alongside them around the clock, eating, sleeping, and training together, I have seen another side: the tedious repetitive drills on the simulator; the silence and extra practice sessions after an "unsatisfactory" assessment result; the sleepless nights when something goes wrong at home. Now I know that the full picture of a pilot cannot be "assembled" from a few interviews — it has to be perceived through day-and-night proximity.

Two months have passed. My capabilities have not grown by much: when transitioning between training subjects, I still feel a flutter of anxiety; when several calls come in at once, I still get a bit flustered; when a light bulb burns out and no spare can be found, I still pace the corridor. But there is one thing I have worked out: the growth of a grassroots commander is not about never making mistakes — it is about turning every "mistake" into a stepping stone for the next moment of "shining," and turning the pending items from a string of phone calls into an orderly list of resolved outcomes. Those light bulbs, door frames, and models — every small matter is a building block of trust. Lay one block, and the pilots notice it; lay enough of them, and they start to regard you as one of their own.

Looking back now, that morning when I showed my inexperience at the operations console was probably my "initiation rite" (入门礼) in the transition from staff officer to grassroots commander.

Original Chinese

每件小事都是一块信任的基石 ——任飞行大队教导员60天手记 ■郭领领编者按过硬的基层营连，离不开过硬的基层干部。过硬的基层干部，离不开一天天、一年年“事上练”的摔打。在过去的9年间，基层传真长期关注过一批新毕业排长的成长足迹，跟踪报道过一名新任指导员的3年时光，这些真实、鲜活、具体的人和事给排长群体和连主官群体带来不少启发，引起广泛关注。现在，我们再次拓展报道内容，将镜头对准营主官，通过连续刊发一名新任教导员的履职手记，和营长教导员群体一起探讨当好营主官的“道道”。今天推出第一篇，敬请关注。 “有什么说漏的吗？” 担任教导员后第一次参加作战台值班，走完登机前的所有流程，对着3位上级领导、满屋子飞行员，我竟然说出了这句话！明明心里想问的是“大家还有什么要补充的”，可一紧张，话就说错了。这倒把大家逗笑了，轻松了一下气氛。随队跟训的领导笑着替我解围，说：“没有漏的，挺好！”然后带着笑意上了飞机。这是我就任教导员后参与的第一次实弹地靶训练。刚上任，本来就处在适应期，又赶上实弹地靶的大场面，更何况军、师、团3级领导都在现场。打靶前一天，我把气象、靶场、通信、挂载、油量、鸟情等关键要素列了一长串，想挨个预习，可当天一整天时间都被理论教学、座舱实习、摸底把关和技术研究安排得满满当当，预习就这样落了空。送他们上飞机后，我的任务是盯实这些信息：风速、海平面相对高度、核心参数波动、鸟情数量、云量……等核实完，再将这些信息传递给飞行员。白天飞完，等待我的还有晚上的跨昼夜训练。训练结束，还得帮助飞行员协调退场车辆，联系食堂准备伙食……一天的计划表划完最后一项安排时，心里才会踏实。这是作战台值班的一天，虽然很忙，但好在有规程可依。真正让我感到困难的，是那些没有规程的事。不久前一次出差途中，电话一个接一个：海军节演讲比赛要排练；有飞行员反映宿舍热水器坏了；上级催填“六摸底七把关”表格和几项教育台账……还没到目的地，接到多个电话。关键是，一件事也没来得及干，脑子里嗡嗡的，手心全是汗。那一刻，想起上岗前一个战友的提醒：飞行大队教导员岗位很忙，事务很琐碎，要做好心理准备。我记得我当时还“顶”了他一句：这都不是事儿！可真当一串电话先后涌进来时，我才真正明白了他的提醒真的很有必要。到站后，我深吸一口气，一件一件理清楚，一个一个回电话。也是从这天起，我学会了两件事：随身带个本子，把每件待办事项按紧急程度和重要性排列好；学会说“好的，待我了解一下，稍后回复”，而不是当场大包大揽，武断答复。其实，这些琐碎的事项中，很大一部分是“民生问题”：灯泡坏了、门框烂了、健身器材螺丝又松了……看我为解决这些问题到处跑，朋友和我开玩笑：“一个教导员，为什么要折腾这些鸡毛蒜皮的小事？” 为什么要折腾这些？阳台灯不亮，影响视线，晚上走路可能会跌倒；门框腐蚀，一推门就嘎吱嘎吱地响，影响休息；健身器材螺丝松了，训练可能会受伤……看似是鸡毛蒜皮的小事，恰恰关乎飞行员日常的“体感温度”，也是政治工作的“分内职责”。有些事，单靠自己也难办。外场飞行准备室的飞机模型坏了，那是地面推演和技术研究的教具。机关想着找厂家采购，可定制模型需要设计图纸、开模，周期将近一个月。这么长的时间，太耽误飞行员的学习了！隔壁大队孟教导员给我出主意：“修理厂有3D打印机，何不求助他们？”顺着他的指点，我找到修理厂战友们帮忙做了模型。模型很漂亮，就是颜色不逼真。于是，我和文书一人一支笔，给机头涂黑、给机翼描边……没多久，这个难题就被解决了。看着桌上几十架“手绘限量版”，我忽然明白：手忙脚乱的时候，别一个人硬扛。有组织和兄弟单位加持，许多的困难都能克服。上任前我曾在宣传科工作，采访过不少飞行员。那时候对于这个群体，我只是从训练课目切入，关注飞什么、战术目标、成绩和典型事迹，自以为很懂他们。现在朝夕相处60天，吃住训练都在一起，才看到另一面：模拟机上枯燥的重复练习；考核“不合格”后的沉默和加练；家中出现变故时的深夜难眠……现在才知道，飞行员的全貌，不是靠几次采访就能“拼”出来，而是要用日夜相处去感知。两个月过去了，我的能力没见得长多少：课目衔接时，心里依然会慌；几个电话打过来，也有点忙乱；灯泡坏了，没找到备用件，还会在走廊徘徊……但有一件事算想明白了：基层主官的成长，不是从不犯错，而是把每一次“出错”变成下一次“出彩”的台阶，把一串电话中的待办事项变成按部就班解决的成效清单。那些灯泡、门框、模型，每件小事都是一块信任的基石。垒一块，飞行员看见一块；垒多了，他们就把你当成了自己人。现在想来，在作战台露怯的那个早晨，可能就是自己从机关干事到基层主官的“入门礼”吧。