Be an "Innovation Factor" in Training
■ Li Jinliang
Author: Mao Wenkuan
"If training always follows the same old tune, where will the winning moves come from when war breaks out?" Recently, Chen Siqi—a "Most Beautiful Revolutionary Soldier of the New Era" and pilot in a unit of the Western Theater Command Air Force—spoke at a combat-readiness symposium of a certain unit: "Whether it is headquarters-level training or grassroots training of all kinds, if everyone dares to be an 'innovation factor' in training, training will surely achieve new breakthroughs." As he said this, Chen Siqi placed special emphasis on the word "dare" and the term "innovation."
Outstanding student, Western Theater Command Air Force Pioneer of the Era, National Advanced Individual in Epidemic Prevention and Control… Since enlisting, Chen Siqi has earned many honors, but the ones he values most are two Air Force First-Innovation Awards. Officers and soldiers sometimes call Chen Siqi "Bold Chen" or "Chen the Unconventional." In Chen Siqi's view, a soldier who dares to think and dare to try in training is a true warrior, while a soldier who is paralyzed by fear in training is unfit for great responsibilities.
This is indeed the case. On the battlefield, from the "young divine general" Huo Qubing, to the "renowned anti-Wokou commander" Qi Jiguang, to Peng Dehuai who "stood astride his horse with saber raised"—which capable and resourceful commander was not grounded in the word "dare"? In training, from Su Ning, who insisted on first asking whether there was a more scientific method for any training task, to Yang Yegong, who held that innovation must serve as the guiding principle of training, to Chen Siqi, Zhang Cancan, Chen Song, Yang Fuxiang, and other "Most Beautiful Revolutionary Soldiers of the New Era"—which soldier determined to win was not guided first by the word "create"?
Military thinkers have pointed out that an army and soldiers whose thinking and training are rigid are in fact cowards, and cowards can absolutely never win battles. Remember: to seek victory, first seek change. Today, technology is changing, war is changing, and adversaries are changing; the concepts, elements, and methods of achieving victory in war are also undergoing major transformation. "What accords with the natural order is easy to accomplish; what moves against the times is hard to achieve." Only when every officer and soldier dares to be an "innovation factor" in training—vigorously developing new-type combat forces and means, and innovating the models for building and employing combat power (战斗力)—can they accelerate the transformation and upgrading of military training and seize the commanding heights of military struggle.
Having both courage and insight (有胆有识) is an idiom people commonly use to describe a person of strong capability. In the military, soldiers have always admired commanders who possess boldness, fighting spirit, and strategic daring. Courage is the most precious quality of a soldier. In the course of training troops and preparing for war, commanders at all levels who do not cling to outmoded ways, who dare to try new training methods; who do not follow convention, who dare to explore new organizational formations; who do not tread the same old path, who dare to innovate new models—these commanders are better positioned to drive change through innovation and achieve strength through that change.
A poet said that it is wave upon wave that makes the ocean magnificent. When it comes to innovation, even the "small" is worth speaking of. It must be recognized in particular that today's officers and soldiers include many with advanced education, many who brought specialized skills when they enlisted, and many with pronounced individual strengths. They are like "innovation factors": once their energy is activated, they can create miracle after miracle. In training troops and preparing for war, pursuing the new without rejecting the fine-grained, pursuing change without rejecting the small-scale, being adept at gathering the "wisdom of the swarm (群蜂智慧)," and absorbing more "grassroots suggestions (草根建议)"—the force will inevitably become what our revolutionary predecessors hoped for: a force where "even the cook thinks about contributing a word or two toward improving training quality."
(Author's unit: People's Armed Police Sichuan General Corps)