From 'Taking a Detour' to 'Stepping Forward to Meet Them': Experiencing the New Atmosphere Brought by the Change in Staff Officers' Work Style

A reporter enters a brigade of the 77th Group Army to experience officer-soldier relations in the new era——

Smiles Written on Their Faces, Trust Rooted in Their Hearts

■ Li Jiayuan, PLA Daily reporters Ma Jialong and Zheng Qingyue

Summer combat training, waves of heat washing over the face. At a brigade camp of the 77th Group Army, during a break in training, officers and soldiers sat together in a circle exchanging knowledge on the prevention of training injuries.

"Pay attention to force application technique during training, reduce pressure on the knees, and avoid injury." Zhang Tao, chief medical officer of the brigade's combat service planning section, explained while demonstrating.

"My ankles feel tight when I run—is my form wrong?" "Are there specific guidelines for rest periods?" ... After the demonstration and explanation ended, Zhang Tao responded one by one to the questions the officers and soldiers kept raising, and the atmosphere on the scene was relaxed and harmonious.

It was unexpected that the rank-and-file soldiers and the staff officers would be so familiar with one another. "Director Zhang is an old acquaintance of ours," said soldier Xiao Wang, noticing the reporter's surprise, pointing to his comrade Xiao Wei. "Last year when he had an urgent family matter, it was also Director Zhang who stepped in to help."

Recalling that experience, Xiao Wei was still full of gratitude: "At the time, my newborn child had a medical condition and urgently needed to be transferred to another hospital for treatment. After Director Zhang learned of the situation, he expedited the coordination of the transfer procedures for my child. The next day, I took my child to Beijing for medical care."

When it came to talking about their past interactions with staff officers, the officers and soldiers on the scene opened up: "Whenever staff officers came down to the grassroots for inspections, there was always a sense of apprehension in our hearts"; "We felt there was a distance between us and them—if we spotted them from far away on a path, we would instinctively 'take a detour,' let alone become close friends" ...

As political rectification training (政治整训) has advanced in depth, the brigade party committee has guided party member cadres to improve their work style and firmly establish the consciousness of respecting and serving officers and soldiers. The "wall in the heart" between grassroots officers and soldiers and staff officers is slowly dissolving. Today, grassroots officers and soldiers can match faces to names and call staff officers by name, and some have even become good comrades-in-arms.

The experience of Huang Jiatao, a soldier in the repair company, is a vivid illustration. "Not long ago I went to the human resources section to handle the approval procedures for my marriage, and at the time I was worried about causing trouble for the staff." Huang Jiatao said, "I didn't expect Staff Officer Fu to be so warm toward me. To get things handled efficiently, he proactively contacted the police station and community in my hometown to coordinate the stamping of documents."

One visit led to another, and Xiao Huang and Staff Officer Fu became familiar with each other. In fact, the two have even made plans to play ball together this weekend.

"Staff Officer Wu, you've come at just the right time—I was just telling the reporter about you!" The reporter followed the direction pointed by Wei Guangtong, squad leader of a squad in the self-propelled rocket artillery battalion, and saw operations section staff officer Wu Yuanfei walking over at a brisk pace.

"Do you have new ideas again? Perfect timing—help me give some feedback on this training plan"; "Overall it's quite good, but these two points might conflict with our company's other training tasks" ... The two dispensed with pleasantries when they met and went straight to talking work, growing more animated as the conversation went on.

This rapport stems from Wu Yuanfei's experience of being paired with the company for support work (挂钩帮建) the previous year. He slept in the bunk above Wei Guangtong for more than half a month; everyone ate, lived, and trained together, and once they grew close there was naturally nothing they couldn't talk about. Now, Staff Officer Wu frequently comes to the company to solicit ideas from officers and soldiers, and everyone can speak their minds freely.

From "taking a detour" to "stepping forward to meet them," from "dreading encounters" to "daring to open their hearts" ... The change in staff officers' work style is reflected precisely in the genuine recognition and willing acceptance shown by grassroots officers and soldiers.

"This is a trust that comes from the heart," said platoon leader Qiu Hang, giving voice to everyone's feelings. "Now everyone genuinely feels that the staff organs are actually helping us solve real problems. For comrades who have never been to the staff organs to handle business, the company will say, 'Make one trip and you'll see for yourself.'"

As the sun set in the west, the evening glow blazed brilliantly. On the training ground, grassroots officers and soldiers and staff officers stood shoulder to shoulder conducting physical training. They wore smiles on their faces and had trust rooted in their hearts, giving the reporter a vivid sense of a new, wholesome atmosphere (新风正气) washing over them.