Officers and Soldiers of the Entire Army Celebrate the 105th Anniversary of the Founding of the Communist Party of China with a Spirited and Striving Posture

The military flag forever flies alongside the Party flag; the armed forces forever follow the Party. On the occasion of the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, officers and soldiers of the entire army have submitted a qualified answer sheet to the Party's birthday through high-level combat readiness and high-quality training results. Across the land of China, military barracks everywhere surge with the roiling ardor of loyalty to the Party and unswerving commitment to strengthening the armed forces, and one magnificent tableau after another of dragons soaring and tigers leaping, of war drums urging the march forward, unfolds before us——

At the foot of the Tianshan Mountains, the sun blazes like fire. An anti-hostage-taking exercise by the 1st Special Operations Company of a certain Special Operations Battalion of the People's Armed Police Xinjiang General Command gets underway. A reconnaissance element uses unmanned aerial vehicles and through-wall radar to determine the number and positions of targets; an assault element uses terrain for cover to close rapidly and completes in sequence a series of tactical actions including window breaching, entry, encirclement, and strike, effectively testing and improving its capability for combined-arms victory. In the summer of 2021, Chairman Xi signed an order conferring on the company the honorary designation "Counter-Terrorism Vanguard Company (反恐尖刀中队)." Stepping off the training ground, recalling the glorious moment five years ago when he received the award pennant from Chairman Xi's hands, then-company commander Han Zhenwei remains moved to this day: "We will firmly bear in mind Chairman Xi's instructions, temper our war-winning capabilities with a sense of urgency that brooks no delay, and do everything in our power to forge a 'counter-terrorism vanguard' that guards the people's happiness."

In a certain sea area of the South China Sea, the winds are fierce and the waves run high. The Navy's CNS Nanchang and warships from sister units have formed a naval formation pressing forward through the waves, conducting focused and intensive training in subjects including integrated offense and defense, anti-air engagement, and area anti-submarine warfare. Since commissioning, CNS Nanchang has vigorously advanced the development of new-domain, new-quality combat capabilities (新域新质战斗力), exploring and resolving key and difficult problems such as integrating the Type 055 destroyer into the carrier strike group combat system and joint operations among services and arms, hardening and tempering itself through one distant voyage after another. For outstanding completion of tasks assigned by higher authorities, CNS Nanchang was commended by the Central Military Commission as a "Model Unit for Practicing the Goal of Strengthening the Armed Forces Across the Entire Army," and the CNS Nanchang Party Committee was awarded the title "Role Model of the Era (时代楷模)" by the Central Propaganda Department. The ship's officer Chi Jianjun said: "We will absolutely bear in mind the Supreme Commander's instructions and not disgrace our responsibilities and mission — deeply studying tactics and training methods on the distant seas and great oceans, painstakingly honing our war-winning capabilities, and striving tirelessly toward the comprehensive establishment of a world-class navy."

This year marks the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan, and also a critical year for fighting and winning the hard battle to achieve the centenary goal of army building (建军一百年奋斗目标). Standing at a critical historical juncture in the strengthening and revitalization of the armed forces, all units of the entire army consistently use Xi Jinping Thought on Strengthening the Military (习近平强军思想) as their navigational guide, build strength and fortify their bones through political rectification training (政治整训), anchor themselves to the fundamental orientation of being capable of fighting and winning battles, and strive to forge crack troops and strong forces that come when called, fight when they arrive, and win every battle.

In the Karakoram, the snow-capped mountains tower majestically. A full-process, all-element live-fire shooting training exercise by a certain Red Army Division of the Xinjiang Military District is in fierce progress. Since arriving for training, this heroic unit carrying on the red bloodline has carried forward the fine tradition of "lacking oxygen but never lacking spirit (缺氧不缺精神)," successively completing combat performance tests of multiple new types of equipment under special conditions such as high-altitude, extreme cold, and complex electromagnetic environments, and effectively breaking through training difficulties for multiple new types of equipment under extreme conditions. The division's officer and Army "Strengthening-the-Military Elite Warrior (强军精武标兵)" Ding Weichang said: "As border-defense soldiers of the new era, we will absolutely bear our mission in mind, resolutely heed the Party's command, and guard every inch of the motherland's territory."

In the dense forests of the south, the moon is bright and the stars are sparse. Multiple launch elements of the "Missile Launch Vanguard Battalion (导弹发射先锋营)" of a certain Rocket Force brigade advance under orders toward designated positions. In recent days, the battalion's officers and soldiers have driven missile launch vehicles on cross-regional maneuvers into unfamiliar terrain to conduct combined-arms training, continuously tempering their real-combat capability of "being ready to fight at any time, launching on schedule, and achieving effective destruction (随时能战、准时发射、有效毁伤)" by increasing training intensity and setting training and exercise subjects under the most demanding conditions. He Shunjie, commander of a certain launch frame, said: "Wielding the great power's long sword (大国长剑), we strive to train the weapons in our hands to the utmost, and faithfully fulfill the sacred duty of defending the security of the motherland."

Where the Party flag points, the military flag follows; the path of the expedition gleams like a rainbow, advancing in a mighty torrent. Officers and soldiers of the entire army are thoroughly implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Strengthening the Military, closely focused on the centenary goal of army building, and with a spirit that brooks no delay and a striving posture that advances with no retreat, are orienting toward combat, concentrating strength toward jointness, and breaking through toward the new — presenting new progress, new results, a new appearance, and new accomplishments as a tribute to the 105th anniversary of the Party's founding.

In the heartland of the Central Plains, a certain Air Force unit conducts day-and-night real-combat flight training, tempering the sharp blade of air and space power in a complex electromagnetic environment. In deep mountain forests, officers and soldiers of a certain Rocket Force brigade wield the great power's long sword and confront high-temperature, high-humidity environments, handling all manner of sudden special situations with precision and efficiency, completing full-process operations with "zero errors." In the river city of Wuhan, inside a certain Joint Delivery Operations Laboratory of the Engineering University of the Joint Logistic Support Force, outstanding teacher of the entire army and university professor Li Peng leads students in participating throughout a joint delivery exercise of a certain unit, relying on a self-developed war-gaming system to outstandingly complete important tasks including joint delivery mission planning. On the southern slopes of the Yanshan Mountains, at a certain exercise and training center of the Information Support Force, a system-of-systems support exercise (体系支援演练) is in fierce progress; officers and soldiers complete in sequence real-combat subjects including network-information communications (网信通联) and electronic countermeasures, opening up information coordination links on the invisible battlefield, further enhancing information support capabilities.

Chairman Xi has pointed out: "The fundamental reason our military has been able to overcome all manner of hardships and difficulties and continuously advance from victory to victory is our unswerving adherence to heeding the Party's words and following the Party. This is the soul and lifeblood of our military — it can never change, and it can never be lost." Striding into the new era and pressing forward on the new journey, guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Strengthening the Military, the People's Army will certainly defend national sovereignty, security, and development interests with stronger capabilities and more reliable means, submit an outstanding answer sheet to the Party and the people through the hard competence of being capable of fighting and winning battles, go all out to fight and win the hard battle to achieve the centenary goal of army building, and accelerate the building of the People's Army into a world-class military.

Photos provided by: Jiang Guangzhen, Pu Hongbin, Li Zhiqiang, Huang Baochuan, Qiao Chenxi, Ni Yiyan, Ti Zhangfeng, Jiang Tao, Lai Bingzhang, Li Shaojun, Mu Ruilin, Li Bin