Doctrine Personnel Political Work

Strong Military Forum | Put Talent to Use in the Most Suitable Place

强军论坛丨把人才用在最合适的地方

PLA Daily (解放军报) 10 July 2026

Summary

A PLA commentary published under the 'Strong Military Forum' banner endorses the ongoing military-wide cross-unit selection and transfer exchange program, using the case of Sun Jiangtao — a 2026 China Youth May Fourth Medal recipient who transitioned from special operations to instructor duty at a corps-level training base — to illustrate optimal talent placement. The article makes visible a persistent personnel management problem: unit-level hoarding of trained personnel, described explicitly as blocking outbound transfers and erecting artificial mobility barriers, which the PLA acknowledges is producing mismatches between individual capability and assigned post. This fits the broader post-reform pattern in which centrally mandated human resources policies encounter friction at the unit level, and the article documents the institutional framing being used to pressure commanders to release talent rather than retain it.

Translation

Recently, cross-unit selection and transfer exchanges (跨单位选调交流) have been carried out extensively across the entire military. Many units have firmly established a "broad talent concept" (大人才观), proactively holding policy briefings to clearly explain relevant regulations, procedures, and standards, helping officers who intend to apply for selection and transfer to identify their positioning and make rational choices based on their own professional expertise and work experience, and guiding them to achieve merit in the most suitable place.

Chairman Xi has pointed out that talent of all kinds must be put to good use and fully utilized, adhering to the principle of use as the foundation (以用为本), precisely and efficiently allocating military human resources, and ensuring that talent receives optimal placement and delivers maximum effectiveness. Talent is the key factor in driving our military's high-quality development, winning advantages in military competition, and seizing the initiative in future wars. Only by making good use of talent resources and maximizing the value of talent can the potential of talent be continuously converted into a decisive advantage (制胜优势). If the match between personnel and posts is imprecise, it will result in a waste of talent resources and bring adverse effects to force building.

"Each talent has what suits them best; used suitably, talent shines; used unsuitably, talent dims." Our advocacy of use as the foundation and tempering talent through posts (以岗砺才) requires fully considering each individual's distinctive strengths and placing talent in the most suitable post. Talent cannot do everything—only when placed in the right position can it shine. If talent is not placed in the right position, not only will it fail to give talent proper tempering, but it will also, due to "incompatibility with the environment" (水土不服), dampen their enthusiasm for work and delay their growth. One must understand the principle that "a fine horse can traverse险terrain, but for plowing fields it is no match for an ox; a sturdy cart can carry heavy loads, but for crossing a river it is no match for a boat"—one must avoid both using great talent for minor tasks and minor talent for great tasks, and must never commit the absurd act of "having Zhang Fei do embroidery or Lin Daiyu command troops" (张飞绣花、黛玉挂帅).

Sun Jiangtao, a recipient of the 2026 China Youth May Fourth Medal, joined the military with ten years of martial arts training as his foundation. He excelled in physical fitness and combat, and through rigorous training, shortly after enlisting he won the all-around championship in the corps-level special operations officer and backbone skills competition. After leaving the special operations post, Sun Jiangtao again applied his professional expertise, going to the teaching and research section of the corps training base to serve as an instructor—an "iron-faced drill master" (铁面教头)—teaching more people the grappling and combat techniques that subdue the enemy at every turn. Since taking up teaching, a large cohort of students trained by Sun Jiangtao has grown into training backbones and special operations elite soldiers, charging to the front lines of stability maintenance, emergency response, and disaster relief.

For some time, reform of our military's military human resources policy and institutional system has continued to deepen, with policies on precise recruitment (精准征集), targeted cultivation (定向培养), and selection and transfer exchanges becoming increasingly mature, providing young officers and soldiers with a broader stage on which to display their talents. But it must also be recognized that individual units employ a crude model for selecting and using personnel, neglecting the precise allocation of talent: some are narrow in outlook, allowing mature backbones only to come in but not to go out; some artificially erect barriers, restricting talent mobility, resulting in talent being "underutilized on one side and in short supply on the other." These practices not only fail to achieve the rational allocation and efficient use of talent resources, but also cause some talent to miss the "golden period" for tempering, growth, and career achievement.

We often say, "gather talent from all under heaven and put it to use" (聚天下英才而用之). Talent does not end with "gathering"—the emphasis is on the word "use." Party organizations at all levels should allocate and use talent from a long-term and overall perspective, adhering to the primacy of winning wars (以胜战打赢为重) and calculating for overall effectiveness (以整体效能为计), accurately identifying and fully utilizing all types of talent, genuinely improving the precision of talent selection and use, and ensuring the maximization of talent benefits. One must not only "build the nest to attract the phoenix" (筑巢引凤) but also "consolidate the nest to nurture the phoenix" (固巢养凤), fostering a strong atmosphere of trusting, respecting, supporting, and caring for talent, wholeheartedly supporting the growth of young officers and soldiers, doing more to build ladders, create platforms, and pave the way, and efficiently elevating talent's contribution to combat effectiveness. Notions such as seniority-based advancement (论资排辈) and demanding perfection (求全责备) must be broken down; talent must be selected with an open field of vision and used without rigid constraints (不拘一格), achieving a mutual pursuit between talent and the cause of military strengthening (强军事业).

Original Chinese

近期，全军广泛开展跨单位选调交流工作。很多单位树牢“大人才观”，主动开展政策宣讲会，讲清相关规定、程序和标准，帮助有意向申请选调的干部结合自身专业特长和工作经历找准定位、理性选择，引导他们到最合适的地方建功立业。习主席指出，要用好用活各方面人才，坚持以用为本，精准高效配置军事人力资源，确保人才得到最佳配置、发挥最大效能。人才是推动我军高质量发展、赢得军事竞争优势和未来战争主动的关键因素。把人才资源用好，实现人才价值的最大化，才能源源不断地把人才潜力转化为制胜优势。如果人岗匹配不准，就会造成人才资源的浪费，给部队建设带来不利影响。 “人才各有所宜，用得其宜，则才著；用非其宜，则才晦。”我们提倡以用为本、以岗砺才，就要充分考虑每个人的特点优长，把人才放到最合适的岗位上。人才不是什么事都能干，只有放对地方才能发光。如果人才没有放对位置，不仅不能让人才得到很好的锻炼，还会因“水土不服”削弱其工作的积极性，耽误人才成长。要明白“骏马能历险，力田不如牛；坚车能载重，渡河不如舟”的道理，既避免大材小用、小材大用，更不能做让“张飞绣花、黛玉挂帅”的滑稽之事。 2026年度中国青年五四奖章获得者孙江涛，带着十年习武基础投身军营，体能、格斗样样拔尖，加之训练刻苦，入伍不久就在总队特战干部骨干比武中夺得全能冠军。退出特战岗位后，孙江涛又发挥专业特长，奔赴总队训练基地教研室教员岗位，当起“铁面教头”，把招招制敌的擒拿格斗术教给更多人。执教至今，孙江涛带出的一大批学员已成长为训练骨干、特战尖兵，冲锋在维稳处突、抢险救灾一线。一段时间以来，我军军事人力资源政策制度改革持续深化，精准征集、定向培养、选调交流等政策越来越成熟，为青年官兵提供了施展才华的更大舞台。但也要看到，个别单位选人用人模式粗放，忽视人才精准化配置，有的格局狭隘，成熟骨干只进不出；有的人为设坎，限制人才流动，导致人才“一边没用好，一边不够用”。这些做法，不仅未能实现人才资源的合理配置和高效使用，也使一些人才错失了锻炼成长和干事创业的“黄金期”。我们常讲，“聚天下英才而用之”。人才不是一“聚”了之，重在一个“用”字。各级党组织应站在长远和全局的角度配置使用人才，坚持以胜战打赢为重、以整体效能为计，识准认准、用好用活各类人才，切实提高人才选拔使用的精准度，确保人才效益最大化。不仅要“筑巢引凤”，还要“固巢养凤”，营造信任人才、尊重人才、支持人才、关爱人才浓厚氛围，用心用情托举青年官兵成长，多做搭梯子、建平台、铺路子的事，高效提升人才对战斗力的贡献值。要破除论资排辈、求全责备等观念，放开视野选人才、不拘一格用人才，实现人才与强军事业的双向奔赴。