'Two Excellents, One Advanced' Profiles | National Outstanding Communist Party Member He Xianda: Writing Loyalty and Commitment Beneath the Launch Tower
Editor's Note: A great era calls for a great spirit; a noble cause requires the guidance of role models. Through 105 years of trials and hardships, generation after generation of Chinese Communist Party members have united in purpose and pressed forward one after another, composing a heroic epic that shakes mountains and rivers with their blood and faith. Entering the new era, wave after wave of advanced models have devoted themselves to hard work and shouldered their responsibilities, setting benchmarks for the times that others can learn from and emulate.
Role models are philosophy made visible; vanguards are benchmarks made tangible. Beginning today, the PLA Daily launches the "'Two Excellents, One Advanced' (两优一先) Profiles" column to showcase the vanguard image of outstanding Communist Party members, outstanding Party affairs workers, and advanced grassroots Party organizations in the military in the new era—guiding and inspiring officers and soldiers to unite in struggle and advance with courage and resolve, to write a new chapter in building and strengthening the military that is worthy of our revolutionary forebears, worthy of the century-old foundation, and worthy of this great era, and to welcome the centenary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army with a fresh political bearing!
National Outstanding Communist Party Member, Squad Leader and Launch Technician of the 58th Detachment, Unit 96714, He Xianda——
Writing Loyalty and Commitment Beneath the Launch Tower
■ PLA Daily Contributing Reporter Li Bingfeng, Contributing Correspondent Li Hongjie, Reporter Xu Xiaolong
[Photo caption: He Xianda concentrates on technical innovation research in his workshop. Photo by Liu Mingsong]
"Operators, take your positions!" Moonlight bathed the deep mountains as a resonant command shattered the silence over the missile position. The low rumble of vehicles intertwined with operational orders; the silhouettes of officers and soldiers merged with the tall vehicles and long missiles—a vivid scene of combat training unfolded slowly in the night.
Leading the launch element at the very front was He Xianda, Squad Leader and Launch Technician of the 58th Detachment, Unit 96714. On July 1 of this year, at the rally celebrating the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, he entered the Great Hall of the People in military uniform and was honored with the title of "National Outstanding Communist Party Member."
From assembly-line worker to "Missile Soldier King (导弹兵王)," over a 29-year career of tempering his sword, He Xianda has always heeded the Party's words and followed the Party's lead. He has forged exceptional skills, launching missiles into the sky on multiple occasions, and with each magnificent trajectory, has inscribed the loyalty and commitment of a missile operator across the long skies of the Republic.
"I operate the missiles; I follow the Party's command." This oath forged the bedrock of faith for his military life. In 1997, He Xianda, carrying his dream of serving the nation, entered the missile barracks. From cook to transfer operator, then to the unit's first enlisted "Number-One Operator" and first enlisted launch tower commander, he completed one transformation after another. Today, He Xianda has mastered the operational skills of more than 10 positions, participated in compiling more than 20 types of specialized training materials and over 40 operational procedures, and successfully completed more than 30 major missions.
At the turn of the century, during the National Day parade celebrating the 50th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, He Xianda, serving as a transfer operator, was content to work behind the scenes. Through hundreds upon thousands of precise operations, with a performance of zero errors, zero mistakes, and zero hidden hazards throughout, he was admitted into the Party on the front lines at the parade village.
"Joining the Party is the most important thing in my life," He Xianda said. Carrying this burning honor, he fused his faith into his bloodstream and firmly anchored his value coordinates to the missile position. As a Party member, he has always practiced the oath he made upon joining: "Whatever the Party tells me to do, I do it, and whatever I do, I do it well."
In the past, missile operators each had "one radish, one hole (一个萝卜一个坑)"—each person fixed to a single post. During one red-versus-blue confrontation exercise, the exercise control group issued an impromptu special situation of "multiple operators attacked and wounded," and the launch element instantly "fell apart," with the mission declared a failure.
"Can't we launch a missile just because a few operators are missing?" He Xianda fell into deep anxiety. In his view, a soldier should always maintain a state of readiness for combat and must never wait until reaching the battlefield to discover problems. A few days later, he boldly proposed to his superiors the suggestion of conducting reduced-personnel operational training, and volunteered to lead the launch element in piloting it first.
From mastering multiple specialties to operators holding concurrent posts, from reducing by one person to reducing by three, from fixed-post reduction to random reduction, He Xianda "crossed the river by feeling the stones (摸着石头过河)," advancing step by step, and ultimately developed a launch element in which operators can be randomly interchanged and the element can be randomly reorganized. This training methodology was not only incorporated into the new generation of military training outlines but was also widely promoted throughout the strategic missile forces.
In one instance, He Xianda led his launch element in executing an important launch mission. Aside from himself, none of the other operators had live-fire launch experience, and half had been assigned to their posts for fewer than three months. He Xianda proactively shouldered the pressure, teaching operations hands-on and working through details with each individual. On "Launch Day Zero," he remained calm and composed, making decisive responses, and organized the full-process operation in minus-30-degree Celsius cold without a single flaw. The missile ignited on schedule and struck the target with precision.
In recent years, the unit's weapons and equipment have accelerated their upgrading and replacement. During one exercise, He Xianda applied old experience, leading to an error in assessing the enemy situation. He did not evade responsibility; afterward, he conducted self-criticism and organized a review at the first opportunity. This "stumble" gave him a profound understanding: as the "sword" changes, the "swordsmanship" must change with it. He led his operators to break free from outdated concepts and habitual thinking, deeply studied the technical and tactical characteristics of new equipment, explored and innovated combat methods and training methods, and drove the combat capability of his launch element to continuously climb.
He Xianda's gaze has not been confined to the "ignition button" before him. With an eye toward building a noncommissioned officer force capable of winning battles, he conducted extensive and in-depth research and proposed to his superiors suggestions including "establishing a technical grade certification system for sergeant majors (军士长)" and "expanding channels for cross-service branch exchange for noncommissioned officers (军士)," providing decision-making consultation for optimizing the top-level design of the noncommissioned officer system.
In a selection for outstanding political instructors at a certain base, He Xianda stood out from 48 elite candidates as the only noncommissioned officer selected, and was subsequently awarded the title of "Outstanding Political Instructor of the Entire Military (全军优秀政治教员)." After being elected as a delegate to the 20th National Congress of the Party, he used the language of soldiers to disseminate the Party's innovative theories, bringing political and ideological work down to the launch tower.
On one occasion, the detachment was continuously engaged in combat duty shifts, and a small number of officers and soldiers began to show signs of slackness and restlessness. As the "soldier Party member (兵党员)" with the longest Party standing in the entire battalion, he proactively took the podium to give instruction, starting from four charts—the enemy-friendly situation map, the launch procedure diagram, and others—breaking down the military mission and commitment into the daily routine of training and combat readiness. His comrades were deeply moved by what they heard. In the end, the detachment's officers and soldiers remained on full alert for more than 240 days, consistently maintaining a state of "arrow on the bowstring."
With 29 years of military service and 27 years of Party membership, He Xianda has carved the word "vanguard" into his bones and riveted it to his combat post. On the day he returned bearing his honors, He Xianda plunged into the study room and began contemplating new techniques of "great-power swordsmanship (大国剑法)." Bearing the glory of his mission, he will launch a new charge toward the high ground of victory.