Profiles in "Two Excellence, One Vanguard" (两优一先) | The "Cloud Sentinel Post" Stands Fast atop the Snow-Capped Mountains

Nationally Advanced Grassroots Party Organization, Party Branch of Unit 95662, Detachment 66 — The "Cloud Sentinel Post" Stands Fast atop the Snow-Capped Mountains

■ PLA Daily Correspondents Zhang Leifeng and Wang Yue; Special Correspondent Qu Xiyang

Photo: Party members of the detachment reaffirm their Party oath before the position. Photo by Zhu Yuanqiang

In the height of summer, the snow-covered plateau at nearly 5,000 meters above sea level remains bitterly cold. At a certain position of Unit 95662, Detachment 66, as the clouds and mist slowly parted, all Party member cadres faced the Party flag, raised their right fists, and solemnly swore their oath — their resounding vow echoing across the mountaintop.

Stepping into the detachment's honor room, plaques reading "Nationally Advanced Grassroots Party Organization" and "All-Army Combat Readiness Model Unit" stand quietly on display, like the outstanding answer sheets submitted by this combat fortress in the clouds. The detachment's Party branch secretary, Long Wanlun, told reporters that over the years the Party branch has consistently placed forging steadfast loyalty and faith (铸牢忠诚信仰) at the top of its agenda, continuously pressing toward the goal of "building the branch at the company level — and making it strong at the company level" (支部建在连上、更要强在连上), achieving a leap-forward development (跨越式发展) across all areas of construction.

"More than 60 years ago, a single order sent our revolutionary forebears pressing without hesitation into this forbidden zone for life. Oxygen deprivation, water shortages, lack of supplies — no hardship could stop their resolute steps. Taking root at the cloud sentinel post on the snow-covered plateau was sustained by the flame of faith burning in their chests." Long Wanlun said: times have changed and conditions have improved, but the Party branch's standard for carrying forward the red gene (红色基因) and consolidating the ideological foundation has never been lowered by half a measure.

In recent years, they have built an offline main classroom at the position, an online MOOC (massive open online course) lecture hall, and a new-media mobile classroom, allowing theoretical study to truly "come alive" and "move"; they have abandoned rote recitation and transformed the Party's innovative theories into "soldier-speak" (兵言兵语) that officers and soldiers can understand and put into practice; they have persisted in raising political requirements when taking up a post, studying the current situation when powering on equipment, and reminding personnel of handling regulations when logging air situation reports — embedding "obeying the Party's command" (听党指挥) into every shift of duty and every operation, and engraving "loyalty to the Party" (对党忠诚) onto every high-altitude combat position. The thematic practice activity "Remember the Leader's Entrustment, Forge Elite Troops of the Snow Region" (牢记领袖重托、锻造雪域精兵), conducted as a regular practice, works like a spring breeze and rain, allowing the ideal and conviction of "taking root on the plateau and guarding the air and space" (扎根高原、守护空天) to fuse deeply into the blood of officers and soldiers.

Faith internalized in the heart, responsibility externalized in action (信仰内化于心，担当外化于行). The branch has rigorously pursued concentrated intra-Party education, driving basic education and routine ideological education to resonate at the same frequency. "Position organizational life" (阵地组织生活) and "tent Party small-group meetings" (帐篷党小组会) are conducted as routine activities; Party member cadres rectify their conduct through the collision of ideas and temper their loyalty on the front lines of their combat positions.

"Enduring hardship is not the same as making a contribution — winning is the contribution." When it comes to training for combat readiness, the branch leadership has a clear-eyed understanding: being stationed on the plateau does not mean holding the plateau; standing above the clouds means one must achieve merit above the clouds.

In the past, some officers and soldiers relied on old experience when on duty, and their thinking about training trended toward conservatism. The branch leadership took the lead in breaking through this status-quo mentality (守成心态). Targeting the difficulties of heavy clutter interference in high-altitude mountain terrain and blind spots in low-altitude detection, they drove combat readiness to achieve three transformations: from passively waiting for tasks to actively making forward-looking assessments; from single-station independent handling to system-integrated coordinated linkage (体系协同联动); and from relying on experience to judge air situation reports to using data for precise support.

The branch explored and established a "problem-posting challenge" mechanism (难题揭榜机制), posting one by one on the wall the shortcomings exposed during combat readiness duty and exercise-and-training confrontations. Facing the longstanding, stubborn problem of intelligence links between services being unsmooth and data synchronization being obstructed — causing coordinated handling to lag by half a beat — branch leadership personally organized a technical assault, debugging interface by interface, running through process by process, compressing time limits second by second, and exploring and innovating an information-data-sharing mechanism that compressed the construction of the air-ground intelligence and fire-unit coordinated kill chain (空地情报与火力单元协同杀伤链) from the "minute level" to the "second level."

Superior combat capability originates from the silent inspiration of Party member cadres charging at the front. The detachment has an unwritten rule: the most arduous duty shifts — Party members go first; the most difficult specialist subjects — Party members train first; the highest-risk emergency tasks — Party members step forward first.

Staff Sergeant First Class and Party member cadre Zeng Honglin vividly remembers the emergency from last year: late one night, a violent wind carrying a blizzard struck, and the communications antenna faced the danger of damage and fracture. The Party member assault team moved on the order, and under conditions of more than minus 20 degrees Celsius, braved the wind and snow to climb more than ten meters up the antenna mast to remove ice and clear the obstruction. After officers and soldiers fought continuously, the communications antenna emerged unscathed.

Standing at the very front in moments of crisis, taking the lead as a model in high-difficulty training, grabbing the heaviest work in daily tasks — the branch routinely carries out joint-construction and joint-innovation activities (联建联创活动), organizes the practice activity "One Post, One Responsibility; One Party Member, One Flag" (一个岗位一份担当、一个党员一面旗帜), and sets the hard standard of "discipline first, capability first, hard work first, dedication first" (纪律第一、能力第一、实干第一、奉献第一), driving all personnel to forge the ability to be proficient in multiple specialties (一专多能).

Thanks to the mentoring and guidance of Party member cadres, every officer and soldier in the detachment is proficient in multiple posts and capable of working independently; the air situation report qualification rate (空情合格率) has been maintained at one hundred percent year after year; post skills competitions and special assessments have repeatedly produced outstanding results, giving rise to a cohort of advanced models including "All-Army Network-Electronic Warfare and Early Warning Detection Advanced Individual" (全军网电作战和预警探测先进个人) and "Air and Space Vanguard" (空天先锋).

As the sun sets in the west, golden afterglow spreads across the position, and the Party flag that has witnessed countless storms and glories grows ever more vivid and striking. Long Wanlun pointed toward the distant, unbroken snow peaks and told reporters in a firm tone: "Standing fast at the cloud sentinel post atop the snow-capped mountains — we will absolutely never fail the entrustment of the Party and the people!"