Visiting the Watch Stations of a Submarine Crew Unit Under a Certain Naval Formation: The Engineering Officer Stands the First Watch with New Recruits
A Reporter Visits the Watch Stations of a Submarine Crew Unit Under a Certain Naval Formation——
The Deep-Sea "Dragon Palace": The Engineering Officer Stands the First Watch with New Recruits
■ Ran Yihang, Xian Kun, PLA Daily Special Correspondent Song Runpeng; Illustration: Fang Han
In the dead of night during the hottest days of summer (三伏), the reporter followed Chief Engineering Officer Bu of a submarine crew unit under a certain naval formation, bending low to crawl into the submarine's engineering compartment.
The moment the hatch was pushed open, a wave of heat laden with the smell of machine oil hit us in the face. Inside the compartment, instruments flickered with dim light and equipment hummed softly. Within just a few minutes, the reporter's back was soaked through with sweat.
At his watch station, new recruit Xiao Li was nervously flipping through the watch log, beads of sweat visible on his forehead. Several days into the voyage, this was his first time independently standing watch—despite having scored excellent marks in every category of his pre-station assessment, he still felt a measure of unease when actually standing watch alone.
"Don't be nervous. Follow the procedures and you'll be fine." A familiar voice came from beside his ear. Xiao Li turned around to find that Chief Engineering Officer Bu had appeared behind him at some point. Xiao Li suddenly recalled what his comrades had mentioned before: Chief Engineering Officer Bu had a standing rule—for every new crew member's first independent watch, he would always come to stand it with them.
Chief Engineering Officer Bu told the reporter that this rule grew out of a harrowing experience. One year, a new recruit standing his first independent watch became so overwrought with nerves that he overlooked a subtle fluctuation in one parameter. Fortunately, a technician conducting a routine inspection detected the anomaly in time and took emergency action, ultimately preventing serious consequences.
"At temperatures this high, having to stare at parameters for long stretches really does test a person," the reporter said, wiping away the sweat that kept streaming down, unable to suppress the feeling.
"Engineering troops are standing watch right next to the 'Flaming Mountain' to begin with. Only by sweating enough can you develop 'fiery golden eyes' (火眼金睛)." Chief Engineering Officer Bu said calmly. "A new recruit's first independent watch is like a child learning to walk—without someone there to steady them, it's easy to take a fall. But on a submarine, you cannot afford to fall."
And so, from that incident onward, Chief Engineering Officer Bu set a rule for himself: for every new crew member in the engineering department standing their first independent watch, he would accompany them through the entire watch.
Standing watch together means cultivating safety, and even more, cultivating capability. New recruit Xiao Zhang still remembers that deep night of his first independent watch, when Chief Engineering Officer Bu carried a small notebook whose cover had been worn white, accompanying him as they walked and checked instrument parameters together. Past two in the morning, the hull was steady and all parameters were normal. Xiao Zhang's alertness gradually slackened, and when inspecting equipment he gave only a cursory glance.
"Xiao Zhang, come here." Chief Engineering Officer Bu suddenly spoke up, pointing to a pipe joint and handing Xiao Zhang a temperature gauge. "Scan this spot." Xiao Zhang picked up the gauge and scanned it—his expression changed abruptly. The temperature at the joint was slightly above normal, something impossible to detect without careful measurement.
"Any small hidden hazard on a submarine can lead to a major problem." Chief Engineering Officer Bu pulled a wrench from his tool bag and spoke to Xiao Zhang as he worked. The two of them then crouched in the narrow passageway and worked for more than half an hour before finally tightening the loose joint. Xiao Zhang came to truly understand that when Chief Engineering Officer Bu stands watch with you, it is not merely to "keep an eye on" you to prevent mistakes—it is to take his years of experience apart piece by piece and teach it to you.
"First check pressure, second check temperature; third listen for sounds, fourth feel for vibration; fifth inspect lines, sixth inspect valves—go through each item by hand, miss nothing (一看压力二看温，三听声音四摸震，五查管线六查阀，逐项过手不遗漏)—that is the 'inspection mnemonic' Chief Engineering Officer Bu worked out." Xiao Zhang told the reporter that Chief Engineering Officer Bu's experience not only helps new recruits quickly familiarize themselves with inspection procedures, but has also benefited many veteran sailors greatly.
As the night deepened, Xiao Li's first watch came to a smooth conclusion. After the watch was relieved, the reporter followed Chief Engineering Officer Bu through the passageway toward the berthing compartment. The closer they got to the bow, the lower the temperature felt; the enormous difference made the reporter involuntarily shiver. Chief Engineering Officer Bu casually picked up two jackets, handing one to Xiao Li and one to the reporter: "That's just how a submarine is—in different compartments you can experience changes like the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter. You can only take clothes off when it's hot and put them on when it's cold." Only then did the reporter notice that several spare jackets were placed near many of the watch stations.
"Do you ever feel tired from keeping up the practice of standing watch with new recruits?" the reporter could not help asking.
"Officers leading by example is a gene that was etched into the bones of submarine forces from the very moment they were established." Leaning against the slightly cool bulkhead, Chief Engineering Officer Bu told the reporter the story of Zhang Xuesi, who at the time served as Chief of Staff of the Navy.
That year, when a certain type of submarine in our military conducted its first long-distance voyage, Zhang Xuesi volunteered to go to sea with the vessel. In a compartment where temperatures reached 40 degrees Celsius, he shared hardships with the sailors and fought alongside them for more than 30 days and nights. When the voyage ended and Zhang Xuesi returned, his complexion was pallid and his body greatly weakened; as everyone helped him ashore, all those present were moved by his spirit of dedication.
"As officers of a submarine crew unit, passing on good traditions and good conduct is our inescapable responsibility." Chief Engineering Officer Bu told the reporter that as the number of watches he had stood with new recruits grew, he found that the watch station offered a view not only of parameters and equipment, but also of the thoughts of the sailors.
[Photo caption: Crew members conduct damage control training. Photo by Liu Zaiyao]
During one watch, Chief Engineering Officer Bu noticed that new recruit Xiao Wang was intermittently losing focus on the job, and formed a judgment: "This kid has something on his mind." After the watch was relieved, Chief Engineering Officer Bu handed Xiao Wang a cup of water and struck up a casual conversation: "You haven't seemed yourself these past couple of days—is something going on at home?" At those words, Xiao Wang's eyes instantly reddened. It turned out that his mother had recently been hospitalized, and he wanted to request leave to go see her but was worried about delaying training tasks, leaving him inevitably anxious.
The next day, Chief Engineering Officer Bu reported the situation at the first opportunity. The unit granted Xiao Wang special approval to return home for family leave after the current mission concluded, while also coordinating with the rear support team to follow up with assistance. After returning from leave, Xiao Wang trained even harder. This experience also gave Chief Engineering Officer Bu a new understanding of standing watch with new recruits: "Mentoring at the watch station means helping with both technical skills and ideological matters (思想); it means managing both equipment and the hearts of the men."
From that point on, he added a dedicated column to his notebook—a "troop situation ledger" (兵情台账): whose family was in difficulty, whose thinking was unsettled—every entry recorded clearly and completely. "Standing one watch with the engineering officer, you learn nothing but solid substance and hear nothing but heartfelt words," a new recruit told the reporter. Many had begun to look forward to standing watch together with Chief Engineering Officer Bu.
Chief Engineering Officer Bu's perseverance in standing the late-night watch with new recruits has set a standard for officers and soldiers alike. Under his lead, Senior Sergeant Wen, a technician at the grade of Staff Sergeant Third Class (三级军士长), compiled his years of watch logs into a volume that was printed and distributed to new recruits; whenever new recruits come aboard, backbone personnel from each department proactively step forward to guide them—some teaching operational techniques, others explaining points to watch out for……
As the interview concluded and the reporter was leaving the compartment, another new recruit happened to be standing his first independent watch. Chief Engineering Officer Bu straightened his sweat-soaked work uniform and crawled back into the compartment once more.
"Officers Standing Watch Together" Reveals Inheritance
■ Song Runpeng
No more than ten minutes after crawling into the submarine, my work uniform was already soaked through with sweat. In the sweltering compartment, I witnessed the fine example set by Chief Engineering Officer Bu as an officer leading by example—the silhouette crouching beside the pipelines past two in the morning to check for hidden hazards, the warm jacket passed over as we moved through the passageway, the meticulously recorded "troop situation ledger" in his notebook……
Among the "Eleven Commitments" (十一个坚持) of our military's fine traditions of political work, one is "upholding the principle that Party member officers take the lead and set an example" (坚持党员干部带头、以身作则). This visit to the watch stations showed me that tradition is not merely a slogan on the wall or a phrase on the lips—it is the good example of "watch me, follow me" (看我的、跟我上) that leading officers establish through repeated perseverance that spares no effort and charges forward that fears no hardship. From General Zhang Xuesi going to sea and fighting shoulder to shoulder with officers and soldiers, to Chief Engineering Officer Bu establishing the rule that "when a new recruit stands their first watch, I stand it with them"—what has changed is equipment performance and training conditions; what has not changed is the red bloodline (红色血脉) of unity between officers and soldiers and keeping the troops in one's heart.