This Activity Allowed Officers and Soldiers to "Not Participate"
This Activity Allowed Officers and Soldiers to "Not Participate"
■ Liu Yaozhou, Cadre of a Certain Air Force Brigade
Recently, the brigade organized field garrison training. To better accomplish the relevant tasks, higher authorities required the formation of a garrison training task detachment and appointed me to serve temporarily as the detachment's political instructor.
Considering that the detachment's officers and soldiers had been drawn from various units, I was somewhat concerned that cohesion would be insufficient and morale lacking. So, before executing the first mission, I organized a "Write Down Your Wish" activity, distributing a "wish slip" and a "wishing bottle" to each officer and soldier, encouraging everyone to speak their wishes and set their goals.
By rights, since the activity was being conducted, I should have vigorously mobilized officers and soldiers to participate actively and pour out their feelings. But watching some soldiers clutch their pens and scratch their heads, I had a sudden inspiration and added: "This activity is meant to cheer everyone on. If you have nothing to say, you don't have to write anything. Comrades who don't want others to know their goals can keep them in their hearts—just hold onto the bottle yourself." I then left the club tent to give everyone some space.
Before long, Private Li Wenbo came over cradling his bottle, somewhat embarrassed, and asked me to confirm: "Political instructor, is it really okay not to write? I'm afraid I'll set a goal and then fail to meet it……" "Then don't write—it's fine!" Receiving that affirmative reply, Li Wenbo visibly relaxed. That evening, right up until lights out, he was maintaining and servicing the vehicle under his care, polishing it until it gleamed.
After the mission ended, we returned to camp. The soldiers were all exhausted; some went back to their tents to rest, while others reviewed the mission with their squadmates and summed up lessons learned. Senior Private Zhao Lei had fulfilled his own wish: he used the phone to let his family know he was safe.
After dinner, I had everyone open their "wishing bottles" to see whether their wishes had been fulfilled. When Zhao Lei opened his bottle, he flushed red and stuffed the slip of paper into his trouser pocket. When he had written down his wish earlier, he had not "made it public." It turned out his wish was "to make a phone call home"—the mission had strict requirements and a harsh environment, and during the mission period officers and soldiers had no way to contact their families.
"Everyone else wrote that they wanted to earn merit citations or accomplish the mission. I felt my own wish was too small-minded……" At this point, Zhao Lei explained his reasons to me with some embarrassment. I patted him on the shoulder and said: "This is your wish. There's no need to compare yourself to others. Congratulations—your wish came true."
Afterward, I also organized an anonymous questionnaire survey to understand everyone's views on the activity. More than half of the officers and soldiers gave the activity a thumbs-up. Among the returned questionnaires, one comment left a particularly deep impression on me: The activity was very interesting—and even more interesting was being allowed to "not participate."
A couple of days ago, Li Wenbo walked into the club tent and placed his own "wishing bottle" together with those of his fellow soldiers. He said: "Next time, I also want to write down my goal." No one had asked him to do this—he had gradually changed his mind on his own.
The change was not Li Wenbo's alone; the atmosphere within the detachment had quietly shifted as well. Previously, when carrying out various work tasks, people were often unwilling to voice difficulties face to face, though complaints in private were unavoidable. Now, everyone is more willing to put problems on the table openly, because raising a problem will not bring criticism—and help can be obtained. I think this is the strength of the collective (集体的力量). It is reflected not only in everyone shouting the same slogan in unison, but also in each person exerting effort in their own way, advancing in the same direction.
(Compiled by Zhang Zixuan)