Internal Security Political Work

Going on Night Sentry Duty and Getting Up in the Dark Worrying About Waking Comrades—A Small Magnetic Night Light Warms Soldiers' Hearts

上夜哨摸黑起床担心吵醒战友，一盏磁吸式小夜灯温暖兵心

PLA Daily (解放军报) 13 May 2026

Summary

A company of the People's Armed Police Shanghai Corps Mobile Second Detachment has adopted a soldier-designed magnetic night light, dubbed 'Night Sentry Glow,' to ease nighttime guard-duty transitions without disturbing sleeping personnel; the device includes an infrared sensor and speaker that plays pre-recorded motivational messages when sentries depart for and return from their posts. The article is a PAP political-work feature highlighting grassroots morale and unit cohesion initiatives, and it signals nothing beyond routine coverage of company-level quality-of-life innovation; it contains no new information about PAP posture, capability, or operational activity.

Translation

"Night Sentry Glow" (夜哨微光) Illuminates Soldiers' Hearts

■ Lu Shuai

Deep in the night, all is still. A nighttime guard-duty handover is underway at a certain company of the People's Armed Police Shanghai Corps Mobile Second Detachment.

Shift leader and Second Staff Sergeant Chen Yu affixed the "Night Sentry Glow" magnetic night light to the bedside of the next-shift sentry, Private First Class Wang Riteng, and gently woke him.

[Caption] Using the "Night Sentry Glow" night light, the shift leader wakes the sentry. Photo by Wang Zhuo

By the faint light of the small lamp, Wang Riteng rose carefully, dressed quickly, and walked out of the dormitory with light steps. His bunkmates were not disturbed in the slightest and continued sleeping soundly.

Before heading to his post, he gently snapped the night light back onto its "Glow Home" (微光之家) base, and from the base came a soft, heartfelt reminder: "The sentry post is the battlefield; standing watch is combat. Comrade, carry out your duties diligently and safeguard the security of the garrison." At that moment, Wang Riteng's drowsiness gradually faded, and he walked to his post in high spirits.

[Caption] The on-duty sentry returns the "Night Sentry Glow" night light.

This compact and practical magnetic night light—affectionately called "Night Sentry Glow" by the company's officers and soldiers, and designed and invented by the officers and soldiers themselves—has a story behind it. Company political instructor Li Shuo recalls several earlier experiences conducting nighttime sentry inspections.

The company maintains surveillance sentry posts as a routine matter, requiring officers and soldiers to rotate on watch every night. Li Shuo noticed that when personnel got up for night sentry duty, the dormitory was pitch dark. They could only dress and gear up by feel in the darkness, which not only easily produced noise that disturbed other comrades' rest but also posed certain safety hazards. Using a flashlight, on the other hand, produced glaring light that could easily startle sleeping comrades. These problems seemed minor, yet they affected the quality of rest and the efficiency of duty performance among officers and soldiers.

At a company affairs meeting, Li Shuo put these problems on the table and asked everyone to pool their ideas for a solution. They ultimately decided to design a night light tailored to the needs of officers and soldiers. The bottom uses a magnetic design that can attach to iron bed frames—convenient to pick up and put down, and small enough not to take up space. The lamp body uses a warm-light source with moderate brightness, sufficient to meet the basic lighting needs of dressing and gearing up without disturbing others' rest.

Worth noting is that inside the magnetic base of the night light, they also installed a miniature infrared sensing module and a speaker. When the night light is removed, the light automatically turns on; when it is snapped back onto the magnetic base, it plays a pre-recorded heartfelt reminder: "Comrade, thank you for the hard work on duty"; "It's late at night—stay warm" … Plain words, one after another; warm reminders, one after another—ensuring that officers and soldiers feel warmth and encouragement every time before heading to their post.

"Before, getting up in the dark, I was always worried about knocking something over and waking my comrades. Now with 'Night Sentry Glow,' it not only solves our nighttime duty lighting problem but also makes the sentry post in the dead of night no longer feel cold," said Corporal Huang Zhenxi. He recalled that a while back, the temperature swings between day and night at the garrison were significant. One night, as he returned the night light to the "Glow Home" before heading to his post as usual, a warm reminder sounded from the recording: "Tonight the temperature is low and the wind is strong—put on more clothes and stay warm." That reminder from the political instructor warmed Huang Zhenxi's heart, and he immediately threw himself into his sentry duties in full spirits.

Original Chinese

“夜哨微光”照亮兵心 ■鲁帅深夜，万籁俱寂，武警上海总队机动第二支队某中队夜间执勤交接正在进行。领班员、二级上士陈雨将“夜哨微光”磁吸小夜灯贴在担负下一时段执勤任务的哨兵、上等兵王日腾床头，并轻轻唤醒了他。借助“夜哨微光”小夜灯，领班员唤醒哨兵。王灼摄借着小夜灯微亮的光，王日腾轻手轻脚起身，快速穿好衣物，脚步轻盈地走出宿舍。同班战友丝毫没有受到打扰，依然香甜安睡。上哨前，他将小夜灯轻轻吸附回“微光之家”，只听灯座上响起一段轻声的暖心提醒：“哨位就是战场，执勤就是战斗。战友，请认真履职，守护营区安全。”此刻，王日腾的困意逐渐散去，精神振奋走向哨位。执勤哨兵放回“夜哨微光”小夜灯。这盏小巧实用的磁吸式小夜灯，被中队官兵亲切称为“夜哨微光”，由官兵自行设计发明。谈及小夜灯的由来，中队指导员李硕回忆起此前几次夜间查哨的经历—— 中队常态设有监控哨，每天夜里都需要官兵交替上哨。李硕发现，大家起床上夜哨时，宿舍内漆黑一片，只能凭借感觉摸黑穿衣、整理装具，不仅容易发出响动，影响其他战友休息，还存在一定安全隐患。如果使用手电筒，刺眼的光亮很容易惊扰战友。这些问题看似很小，却影响官兵的休息质量和执勤效率。一次队务会，李硕将这些问题摆上台面，请大家集思广益寻找解决办法。最终，他们决定设计一款贴合官兵需求的小夜灯，底部采用磁吸式设计，可以吸附在铁质床架上，不仅取放方便，还小巧不占空间。同时灯体采用暖光光源，亮度适中，既能满足穿衣整装的基本照明需求，又不影响他人休息。值得一提的是，在小夜灯磁吸座里，他们还放置了一个微型红外感应模块和扬声器。当小夜灯被取下时灯光自动亮起，被吸回磁吸底座后，就会播放一段事先录制的暖心提醒：“战友，执勤辛苦了”“夜深了，注意保暖”……一句句朴实话语，一声声暖心叮嘱，让官兵在每次上哨前，都能感受到温暖和期望。 “以前摸黑起床，总担心碰倒东西吵醒战友。现在有了‘夜哨微光’，不仅解决了我们夜间执勤照明的难题，更让深夜的哨位不再冰冷。”下士黄振喜说，前段时间驻地昼夜温差较大，一天夜里，他上哨前像往常一样把小夜灯放回“微光之家”时，留言里响起一句温馨提醒：“今晚温度低、风也大，多穿衣服，注意保暖。”这句来自指导员的叮嘱，让黄振喜心头一暖，他随即精神饱满地投入执勤工作。