Becoming a Squad Leader Is Not Easy; Being a Good Squad Leader Is No Simple Matter
One day last month, Liang Zheyu — acting squad leader and private in a certain company of a certain unit of the Information Support Force — finished his bunk inspection, gently closed the door, and stood for a long while in the corridor. Thinking that tomorrow he would finally be "relieved" of his acting squad leader duties, he felt a weight lift from his shoulders. Yet just a few days earlier, when Liang Zheyu had taken over the duty armband, he had been nursing a stubborn conviction: "Being a squad leader, being a backbone — isn't it just moving your mouth, drawing up rosters, and handing out tasks? How hard can it be?"
That streak of defiance had its roots in an earlier misunderstanding. During that period, the company's support missions were coming in rapid succession, and Liang Zheyu kept feeling that Squad Leader Liu Haofeng's scheduling was uneven. His mood soured, and in private he grumbled to his comrades: "If I were squad leader, I'd definitely hold the scales level for everyone!"
Those words were overheard by Political Instructor Lin Yijie. He had already noticed that Liang Zheyu's condition was off and that his training scores had slipped somewhat, so he had been paying him particular attention. Observing further, he found that Liang Zheyu was not an isolated case — other squads showed the same situation to varying degrees. Rather than jumping to conclusions, he first sought out Liu Haofeng for a heart-to-heart talk. It turned out that recently many personnel in the company had been away on leave or training, and scheduling required balancing multiple factors; much of the behind-the-scenes coordination work was invisible to others, and Liu Haofeng himself felt deeply aggrieved.
After Liu Haofeng left, Lin Yijie felt unsettled. It was true: with the company's present strength stretched thin, no scheduling arrangement could possibly satisfy everyone, and he had reviewed and approved Liu Haofeng's roster himself. But soldiers think in straightforward, simple terms — when they run into a temporary imbalance of hardship and ease, some grievance is understandable. The crux of the problem was this: a company is a collective, and mutual understanding among comrades is a basic obligation. Seeing things only from one's own perspective and ignoring the other person's difficulties only deepens the divide between people and can even damage internal cohesion.
The next day, Lin Yijie sought out the company commander to discuss a response. The two decided to arrange for young soldiers from each squad to take turns serving as acting squad leader for one week, so that everyone could experience the difficulty through role reversal and deepen their mutual understanding.
At that evening's roll call, Lin Yijie announced the activity. After the formation was dismissed, Liang Zheyu went on his own initiative to find the political instructor and sign up, becoming one of the first acting squad leaders.
Monday morning exercises: Liang Zheyu stood at the front of the formation, sweat beading on his forehead. His commands lacked force, his procedures were irregular, and the script he had memorized went completely blank in an instant. Facing the burning stares of his comrades, he fumbled about in a fluster, his face flushed with embarrassment.
Before the "formation incident" had settled, a vehicle-park rectification task arrived on its heels. The company had set a clear requirement: vehicle maintenance and transport support must both be ensured without compromise. To that end, Liang Zheyu deliberated repeatedly over the division of labor, revised the duty roster through several drafts, and coordinated with the backbone personnel of other squads — busy until deep into the night. But the next day, when the vehicles were about to set out, the mission changed without warning and the original plan was thrown into disarray. Liang Zheyu panicked and hastily reassigned personnel, leaving the maintenance team short-handed and falling behind schedule.
Afterward, Liang Zheyu's feelings were a jumble. In that moment, he had felt, in a visceral way, the heavy weight of responsibility and pressure resting on a squad leader's shoulders.
Relaying higher-level notices, organizing professional training, arranging fatigue duties and garrison tasks — the days that followed passed in a rush of busyness.
On the final night of his acting squad leader tenure, Liang Zheyu returned from his bunk inspection and lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. In that moment, he recalled the words the political instructor had said with quiet significance when he signed up: "Becoming a squad leader is not easy; being a good squad leader is no simple matter." In the past, he had assumed a squad leader did nothing but handle trivial matters. Now, having personally worked through vehicle arrangements and personnel adjustments from start to finish — shifting from simple execution to comprehensive management — he had come to understand one truth: some roads, you only know their depth after you have walked them; some burdens, you only understand their weight after you have carried them.
The next morning, golden sunlight spread across the garrison. Liang Zheyu solemnly returned the duty armband to the political instructor, then strode toward the training ground with his head held high. His steps were light and strong. In his heart there was now a measure of empathy for squad leaders that had not been there before — and a new goal for his own growth and development.