Political Work

One Ladder, Holding Up a Company's Cohesion and Centripetal Force (凝聚力与向心力)

一把梯子，撑起连队的凝聚力与向心力

PLA Daily (解放军报) 7 August 2026

Summary

A political instructor (政治指导员) in a command support company of an unspecified battalion under the 80th Group Army spent several consecutive days personally painting walls and repairing barracks fixtures on a ladder during a pre-deployment overhaul, working alongside enlisted soldiers rather than supervising from the sideline. The article documents a recurring genre in PLA political work media: the 'officer leads by example' narrative used to address low morale during high-tempo, overlapping task periods — here, simultaneous equipment maintenance and barracks renovation ahead of field garrison training (野外驻训). Its value is as a record of how the institution frames grassroots political officer effectiveness for junior soldiers, not as evidence of a policy shift or changed unit posture.

Translation

That day, Staff Officer Liu from the Propaganda Section of a certain brigade under the 80th Group Army went to a certain battalion's command support company to confirm matters related to publicizing the company's advanced model deeds. The moment he stepped through the battalion gate, he felt a bit "dizzy" — the garrison area was a scene of bustling activity: on one side, officers and soldiers were repairing barracks fixtures, their tools clanging away; on the other side, soldiers were removing rust from bed frames, their camouflage uniforms smeared with white paint… The dormitory building was strewn with all manner of tools, leaving no place to step. Staff Officer Liu carefully picked his way around the various "obstacles" and entered the barracks. The noise was so loud that he had to raise his voice: "Political Instructor Li! Is Political Instructor Li here?"

"Who's looking for me?" A face covered in white suddenly popped out from beside the door frame, giving Staff Officer Liu a start. Looking more carefully, he saw that the one who had answered was indeed Political Instructor Li, who was standing on a ladder painting the wall. He was gripping a paint roller, his hair dusted with wall plaster, his clothes spotted with grime, and his face was a sight to behold — white lime and sweat mixed together, as if he were "wearing a face mask."

Staff Officer Liu didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "How did you end up like this?" "The company is small and short-staffed — when there's work to be done, everyone has to pitch in." Political Instructor Li wiped his face and climbed down from the ladder.

Before long, the two finished coordinating their work. After seeing the other man off, Political Instructor Li nimbly climbed back up the ladder and resumed painting the wall — over this period, he had grown quite accustomed to this kind of "work at height."

Previously, with field garrison training (野外驻训) coming up soon and an opportunity to "air out" the barracks, the company had decided to carry out a concentrated overhaul of the barracks facilities. But equipment maintenance work was also underway at the same time. The company had a small headcount and a large amount of equipment; it had to complete tasks including equipment inspection and repair, materiel inventory, and gear organization, while also renovating the barracks before the garrison training deployment. The pressure was considerable.

Upon hearing the news, some officers and soldiers began to grumble: "We're run ragged during the day, and now we have to overhaul the barracks at night — this is harder than garrison training itself"; "Big mess, not enough hands — leadership has grand ideas, but it's still us who suffer"… However, on the very evening that the barracks overhaul officially got underway, Political Instructor Li dissolved these negative sentiments through his actions.

At the time, Second-Class Staff Sergeant Shang Liang walked into the club carrying cleaning tools, ready to begin sweeping. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Political Instructor Li standing on a ladder with a paint roller in hand; the ceiling above his head was nearly finished. Shang Liang hurried over and reached out to take the roller: "Instructor, let me have that — we'll take care of it." But Political Instructor Li replied: "No need. When there are few people, lots of work, and little time, everyone who is part of this company has to contribute."

Watching Political Instructor Li swaying about on the ladder to dodge his reach, Shang Liang quickly withdrew his hand. He picked up his tools, moved to the other side, and began sweeping — working and thinking at the same time: it's the first day, the instructor is probably just here to "set an example" (打个样); with so many routine duties, surely he won't come back tomorrow.

However, early the next morning, after deploying the company's various tasks, Political Instructor Li once again threw himself into the barracks overhaul. In the days that followed, he was almost always climbing up and down, taking part in the dirty and heavy work of painting walls and repairing equipment. When someone came looking for him, the answer they most often got was: "The instructor is up on the ladder."

At first, working alongside Political Instructor Li, the officers and soldiers were somewhat reserved. But as the clanging of tools and the scraping of rollers filled the air, everyone gradually opened up. Worries and confusions that they had been too embarrassed to raise in ordinary times came spilling out, carried along by the warmth of working together. Political Instructor Li listened while he worked, chiming in from time to time, and everyone worked with more and more energy.

Through the collective effort of the entire company, the barracks changed by the day: sanitation blind spots (卫生死角) were thoroughly cleaned out, damaged facilities were repaired, and the suspended ceiling wiring in the club was completely renewed.

Recently, the barracks overhaul was successfully completed, and the company's officers and soldiers broke camp on schedule and set out for the garrison training site. In the freshly painted barracks, the ladder that had been so heavily "relied upon" by Political Instructor Li during this period has been put away in the tool room — but the image of him swaying back and forth on that ladder remains in the hearts of the soldiers.

Original Chinese

这天，第80集团军某旅宣传科刘干事前往某营指挥保障连，确认该连先进典型事迹宣传相关事项。一进营门，他便觉得有些“眼晕”——营区里一片热火朝天景象：这边的官兵修缮营具，手里的工具敲得叮当作响；那边的战士对床架进行除锈，迷彩服上蹭得都是白漆…… 宿舍楼内摊着各种工具，让人无处下脚。刘干事小心翼翼地绕过各种“障碍”走进兵舍，现场太吵，他不得不提高声音问道：“李指导员！李指导员在吗？” “谁找我？”一张白花花的脸一下从门梁旁探了出来，把刘干事吓了一跳。定睛一看，答话的正是李指导员，他正站在梯子上刷墙，手里抓着刷墙的滚筒，头发上落满墙灰，衣服上也有不少斑斑点点的脏污，脸上更是“精彩”，白灰和汗水混在一起，仿佛在“做面膜”。刘干事有些哭笑不得：“怎么搞成这个样子？”“连队小、人员少，干起活来就都得上。”李指导员抹了抹脸，从梯子上下来。没过多久，二人完成工作对接。送别对方，李指导员又动作轻快地爬上那架梯子继续刷墙——这段时间，他已对这种“高空作业”十分熟悉了。此前，考虑到即将开展野外驻训，可以趁机“晾一晾”营房，该连决定集中整治一下营房。可正值装备保养工作展开，连队人员编制少、装备多，既要完成装备检修、物资清点、器材整理等任务，又要在驻训前把营房整治一新，压力着实不小。得知消息，有些官兵开始嘀咕：“白天忙得团团转，晚上还得整治营房，这比驻训还累”“摊子大、人手少，领导想得好，苦的还是我们”……然而，在营房整治工作正式展开的当天晚上，李指导员就用行动化解了这些负面情绪。当时，二级上士商亮拎着清扫工具走进俱乐部，准备开始打扫。余光一瞟，却见李指导员正拿着刷墙的滚筒站在梯子上，头顶位置的天花板已快粉刷完毕。商亮赶忙上前想接过滚筒：“指导员，给我吧，我们干就行。”李指导员却表示：“不用，人少活多时间紧，是连队的一分子就得出力。” 看着李指导员在梯子上晃晃悠悠地躲避，商亮连忙收回了手。他拎起工具，走到另一边开始清扫，一边干一边想：开工第一天，指导员应该只是来“打个样”，日常事务那么多，想必明天就不会来了。然而，第二天一早，李指导员部署连队各项工作之后，便再次投身营房整治。接下来的几天，他也几乎都在爬高爬低，参与粉刷墙面、检修设备等脏活重活。有人找他，得到的回答大多是“指导员在梯子上”。起初，与李指导员一起干活，官兵们都有些拘谨。但伴随着工具的叮当声、滚筒的摩擦声，大家的话匣子慢慢打开，平时不好意思说的烦恼困惑，借着干活的热乎劲，都顺着聊了出来。李指导员边干边听，时不时插几句话，大家都越干越有劲。在全连的共同努力下，营房一天一个样，卫生死角彻底清理干净，破损的设施完成了检修，俱乐部的吊顶布线也焕然一新。最近，营房整治工作顺利完成，该连官兵如期拔营前往驻训地。粉刷一新的营房里，这段时间被李指导员“重用”的梯子已收进了工具间，但他站在梯子上晃晃悠悠的身影，仍留在战士的心中。