Doctrine Political Work

@Front-Line Unit Leaders: Pass More "Microphones" to Grassroots Officers and Soldiers

@一线带兵人：多把“麦克风”递给基层官兵

PLA Daily (解放军报) 24 August 2026

Summary

A PLA political work commentary published in official military media calls on front-line unit leaders at all levels to create structured channels for enlisted soldiers and junior officers to raise complaints, offer suggestions, and participate in unit governance, invoking Zhu De and Peng Dehuai as models of egalitarian leadership. The article explicitly names a recurring institutional problem—organs setting plans and leaders issuing requirements while bypassing grassroots input—and prescribes a five-step closed-loop mechanism (collection, sorting, assessment, rectification, feedback) to prevent soldier feedback from becoming performative. This is standard political work content; its value is as a record of how the PLA frames the tension between top-down command culture and grassroots legitimacy, and of the specific procedural language (兵声/兵意/兵智) the institution is currently using to address that tension.

Translation

The grassroots is the cornerstone of the troops' combat effectiveness, and officers and soldiers are the principal actors in grassroots development. Grassroots officers and soldiers stand at the very front line of training for war preparedness; they understand front-line realities most clearly, grasp grassroots difficulties most thoroughly, and know best what officers and soldiers hope for. In the new era, consolidating the foundation of a strong military and building strong grassroots units requires that front-line leaders at all levels firmly stand on the side of the masses, respect the principal status of officers and soldiers, and listen to their voices. More "microphones" must be passed to grassroots officers and soldiers, so that grassroots vitality can fully burst forth and the driving force (动能) for building a strong military can flow continuously.

When the strength of all is brought to bear, nothing is unconquerable; when the wisdom of all is applied, nothing is unachievable. The voices of the grassroots are the "barometer" of force development; the wisdom of officers and soldiers is the "source of vitality" for strengthening and revitalizing the military. Fully respecting the principal status and pioneering spirit (首创精神) of officers and soldiers is a fine tradition and a secret to victory of the People's Army. Yet in reality, certain units carry out their work with a degree of habitual thinking—accustomed to having organs set the plans and leaders issue the requirements—while neglecting the right of grassroots officers and soldiers to speak, participate, and express themselves. What such units fail to recognize is that no matter how sound a policy or plan, no matter how detailed a work deployment, if it is divorced from grassroots realities and runs counter to the voices of officers and soldiers, it will easily become a formality and lose its shape upon implementation. Only by opening clear channels for soldiers' voices (兵声), respecting soldiers' will (兵意), and pooling soldiers' wisdom (兵智)—truly ensuring that all work meets the needs of actual combat, fits grassroots realities, and aligns with the wishes of officers and soldiers—can we resolve the difficult problems of grassroots governance and consolidate the foundation of the troops' combat effectiveness.

On one hand, leaders must set aside airs and engage sincerely, so that grassroots officers and soldiers are willing to speak up and tell the truth. Leading soldiers begins with winning their hearts; governing the military begins with loving the soldiers. Comrade Zhu De went deep into companies, ate coarse grain and slept on straw mats alongside the fighters, and patiently listened to their hardships. Comrade Peng Dehuai went to the grassroots without an entourage, squatted with squads and platoons to chat with soldiers about their lives, and humbly solicited opinions on training. The older generation of revolutionaries consistently upheld the fine work style of loving and respecting soldiers, broke down hierarchical barriers, shared hardships with fighters, and dealt with them frankly and sincerely—setting an example for those who lead soldiers in the new era. On the road ahead, bureaucratic thinking and notions of privilege must be resolutely discarded. The concept of "grassroots first, soldiers first" must be firmly established. In day-to-day work, there must be less top-down, directive-style lecturing and more equal, candid heart-to-heart exchanges. Different voices must be actively accommodated, and grassroots remonstrance must be treated with goodwill, so as to dispel the ideological reservations of officers and soldiers and enable them to dare to open their hearts and speak frankly about problems and shortcomings.

On the other hand, leaders must pursue closed-loop implementation and ensure that every matter receives a response, so as not to betray the trust and expectations of grassroots officers and soldiers. The value of speaking up lies in solving problems; the meaning of offering suggestions lies in seeing them take effect on the ground. Listening without follow-through is mere formality; accepting remonstrance without rectification is empty talk. It is therefore necessary to establish a full-chain closed-loop working mechanism of "collection—sorting—assessment—rectification—feedback." Reasonable suggestions raised by officers and soldiers must be adopted promptly and implemented rigorously; prominent problems in training and management must be corrected immediately and resolved to the bottom; difficulties that cannot be resolved for the time being must be patiently explained and tracked for progress. Every matter must receive a response and every issue must receive a reply. The genuine results of rectification must be used to answer the expectations of officers and soldiers, and the intrinsic motivation (内生动力) of officers and soldiers to be masters of their own affairs and offer suggestions must be continuously inspired.

Original Chinese

基层是部队战斗力的基石，官兵是基层建设的主角。基层官兵身处练兵备战最前沿，最清楚一线实情、最了解基层难题、最懂得官兵期盼。新时代夯实强军根基、建强基层队伍，广大一线带兵人必须站稳群众立场、尊重官兵主体、倾听官兵心声，多把“麦克风”递给基层官兵，让基层活力充分迸发、强军动能持续涌流。积力之所举，则无不胜也；众智之所为，则无不成也。基层的心声，是部队建设的“晴雨表”；官兵的智慧，是强军兴军的“活力源”，充分尊重官兵主体地位和首创精神，是人民军队的优良传统和制胜密码。但现实中，个别单位开展工作一定程度上存在惯性思维，习惯于机关定方案、领导提要求，忽视了基层官兵的话语权、参与权与表达权。殊不知，再好的政策方案、再细的工作部署，脱离了基层实际、背离了官兵心声，就容易流于形式、落地走样。唯有畅通兵声、尊重兵意、汇聚兵智，真正让各项工作满足实战所需、契合基层实际、贴合官兵心愿，才能破解基层治理难题、夯实部队战斗力根基。一方面，要放下架子、真诚相待，让基层官兵愿开口、道实情。带兵先带心，治军先爱兵。朱德同志深入连队，与战士同吃粗粮、同铺草席，耐心倾听战士难处；彭德怀同志下基层不搞陪同，蹲班排和士兵拉家常，虚心听取训练意见。老一辈革命家始终秉持爱兵尊兵的优良作风，消除层级隔阂，与战士同甘共苦、坦诚相待，为新时代带兵人树立了典范。前进道路上，必须摒弃官僚思维和特权思想，牢固树立“基层至上、士兵第一”理念，在日常工作中少一些居高临下的指令性说教，多一些平等坦诚的谈心交流，主动包容不同声音、善待基层谏言，从而打消官兵思想顾虑，让官兵敢于敞开心扉、直言问题短板。另一方面，要闭环抓落实、件件有回音，不辜负基层官兵的信赖和期望。发声的价值在于解决问题，建言的意义在于落地见效。没有落实的倾听只是形式，没有整改的纳谏只是空谈。因此，必须建立“收集—梳理—研判—整改—反馈”全链条工作闭环机制，对官兵提出的合理建议及时采纳、抓好落实，对训练、管理中的突出问题立行立改、清零见底，对暂时无法解决的困难耐心解释、跟踪推进，做到事事有回应、件件有答复，用实实在在的整改成效回应官兵期待，持续激发官兵当家作主、建言献策的内生动力。