Political Work

"Committee Members Who Don't Wear Stars" Play a Major Role in Driving Effective Resolution of Urgent, Difficult, and Long-Standing Problems

"不扛星的支委"发挥大作用推动急难愁盼问题得到有效解决

PLA Daily (解放军报) 20 May 2026

Summary

An unnamed Army brigade has institutionalized a structured role for sergeant-grade Party committee members—selecting them by demonstrated performance and public reputation, pairing them with officer mentors, and requiring weekly 'soldier situation diaries' that feed enlisted concerns directly into branch committee deliberations. The article documents a specific organizational problem: grassroots Party branches were functionally bypassing their enlisted committee members, who defaulted to passive attendance and people-pleasing, creating a two-way communication breakdown between soldiers and leadership. The brigade's fix—formalized selection criteria, mentorship pairing, multi-post tempering, and a weekly reporting mechanism—extends a recurring PLA pattern of trying to make the Party branch committee a genuine deliberative body at company level rather than a rubber stamp, with the 'soldier situation diary' mechanism worth tracking as a potential model being pushed more broadly.

Translation

An Army Brigade Clears the Pathway for Sergeant Party Committee Members to Fulfill Their Duties and Responsibilities—— "Committee Members Who Don't Wear Stars" Play a Major Role

■ PLA Daily Special Correspondent Qi Weidong

"I recommend giving full play to the leading role of Party member backbone personnel, and conducting focused, intensive training on difficult and key subjects…" Recently, a company of the 2nd Battalion of an Army brigade convened a Party branch committee meeting, at which sergeant committee member Bi Hailong put forward suggestions for improvement targeting weak links in the company's training. After in-depth discussion, all committee members adopted the suggestions on the spot. This is a microcosm of the brigade's efforts to motivate sergeant committee members to take proactive action and give full play to the Party branch's role as a combat fortress (战斗堡垒).

"Sergeant committee members are mostly top trainers and professional backbone personnel—they are the 'soldier representatives' within grassroots Party organizations. Guiding them to play a bridging and linking role helps grassroots Party branches make decisions scientifically and democratically." The brigade's leadership explained that, with an eye toward strengthening grassroots Party organizations, they have continuously explored effective pathways for sergeant committee members to play their role, driving high-quality development of grassroots construction.

Previously, when brigade headquarters organs conducted research at the grassroots level, they found that in some units the role of sergeant committee members was not being adequately fulfilled: some treated fulfilling their duties as a "side job," content to "show up when meetings are called and raise their hand when asked to take a position," and considered it a job well done if they simply acted as a "mouthpiece" after meetings; some harbored a "people-pleaser" (老好人) mentality in deliberations and decision-making, habitually going along with whatever made everyone happy; some had a mistaken understanding of the functions and role of committee members, always feeling that "without stars on their shoulders, their rank is low and their words carry little weight"… The existence of these problems meant that soldiers' voices were difficult to transmit upward, decisions from higher levels were difficult to convey downward, and there were "blockages" in top-down communication.

In response, the brigade adhered to a problem-oriented approach and implemented comprehensive measures, working to clear the pathway for sergeant committee members to fulfill their duties and responsibilities. They established a selection philosophy of "emphasizing actual performance, emphasizing public reputation, and emphasizing willingness to take responsibility," specifying that sergeant committee members should be selected from Party member backbone personnel, top trainers, and professional leaders who enjoy high prestige among the troops and possess strong deliberative capabilities, thereby ensuring from the source that sergeant committee members have solid capabilities and quality. Addressing the realities that some sergeant committee members lacked experience in fulfilling their duties and had relatively weak deliberative capabilities, the brigade established a development system of "pre-assignment training, mentorship by veterans, and tempering through practice," regularly conducting special instruction sessions on topics such as committee member responsibilities, rules of deliberation, and techniques for offering advice. A paired mentorship mechanism was implemented, organizing officer committee members to pair with sergeant committee members to pass on experience hand-in-hand and provide point-to-point guidance on work. Sergeant committee members were routinely assigned to concurrently serve as squad leaders, Party cell leaders, and other positions, tempering their overall quality through experience in multiple posts.

"Since taking on the role of sergeant committee member, my greatest realization is that one must both dare to speak up for soldiers and be skilled at sharing the organization's burdens; one must both uphold principled bottom lines and pay attention to methods and approaches." Bi Hailong candidly said that when he first concurrently took on the role of squad leader, he felt considerable pressure and a lack of confidence for a time. The company Party branch promptly arranged for an officer committee member to pair with him and pass on experience. After a period of tempering, Bi Hailong not only quickly transitioned into his new role and adapted to his post, but also summarized and refined the "Three Mutuals Work Method" (三互工作法) of "mutual ideological support, mutual training assistance, and mutual care in daily life," effectively improving the quality and management level of squad construction.

The brigade also focused on guiding sergeant committee members to become "confidants" and "trusted friends" of officers and soldiers, encouraging them to conduct heart-to-heart conversations during training breaks and off-duty hours, accurately grasp the ideological dynamics of soldiers, and promptly carry out psychological counseling and assistance with difficulties.

Addressing the problem of new recruits experiencing significant ideological fluctuations and difficulty integrating into the collective during the second adaptation period, sergeant committee member Shu Zhichao proactively conducted heart-to-heart conversations and psychological counseling, helping new recruits strengthen their sense of belonging and quickly integrate into the company. Upon discovering that a company duty officer was not fulfilling his duties adequately, sergeant committee member Zang Qingda pointed out the problem on the spot and urged rectification, then patiently explained the relevant regulations and requirements afterward—both taking a firm stance without going along to get along (一团和气), and reasoning with the soldier so that he accepted the criticism from the bottom of his heart… Today, one warm scene after another of sergeant committee members playing their backbone role has become the norm in the brigade's grassroots companies.

"Sergeant committee members compile and summarize 'soldier situation diaries' (兵情日记) each week, promptly submitting issues of high concern among officers and soldiers to the committee meeting for deliberation, driving the effective resolution of a large number of urgent, difficult, and long-standing problems." The brigade's leadership explained that since the beginning of this year, the opinions and suggestions put forward by grassroots unit sergeant committee members on issues related to training, management, and daily life have been adopted by Party organizations at various levels in the vast majority of cases, driving the overall construction of the grassroots to show a continuously improving trend.

Original Chinese

陆军某旅打通军士支委履职尽责链路—— “不扛星的支委”发挥大作用 ■解放军报特约记者杞卫东 “建议发挥党员骨干带头作用，围绕重难点课目展开专攻精练……”日前，陆军某旅二营某连召开支委会，军士支委毕海龙针对连队训练薄弱环节提出改进建议，全体支委经过深入讨论后当场采纳。这是该旅激励军士支委主动作为，充分发挥党支部战斗堡垒作用的一个缩影。 “军士支委大多是训练尖子、专业骨干，是基层党组织中的‘兵代表’。引导他们发挥桥梁纽带作用，有助于基层党支部科学决策、民主决策。”该旅领导介绍，他们着眼建强基层党组织，持续探索军士支委发挥作用的有效路径，助推基层建设高质量发展。此前，该旅机关在基层调研时发现，部分单位军士支委作用发挥不明显：有的将履职尽责当“副业”，满足于“开会时到场、表态时举手”，会后当个“传声筒”就万事大吉；有的在议事决策中存在“老好人”思想，习惯于“你好我好大家好”；有的对支委职能作用存在认识误区，总觉得“肩上不扛星，人微言也轻”……这些问题的存在，导致战士声音难以上传、上级决策难以下达，上下沟通存在“梗阻”。为此，该旅坚持问题导向、综合施策，着力打通军士支委履职尽责链路。他们树立“重实绩、重公论、重担当”选拔理念，明确军士支委应当从党员骨干、训练尖子、专业带头人，且群众威信高、议事能力强的人员中选拔产生，从源头上确保军士支委能力素质过硬；针对部分军士支委履职经验不足、议事能力偏弱等实际，建立“岗前培训、以老带新、实践锤炼”培养体系，定期围绕支委职责、议事规则、建言技巧等内容开展专题授课；推行结对帮带机制，组织军官支委与军士支委结对，手把手传授经验、点对点指导工作；常态安排军士支委兼任班长、党小组组长等职务，在多个岗位历练中锤炼综合素质。 “担任军士支委以来，我最大的体会是，既要敢于为战士发声，又要善于为组织分忧；既要坚守原则底线，又要讲究方式方法。”毕海龙坦言，刚兼任班长时，他一度感到压力较大、信心不足。连队党支部及时安排军官支委结对帮带、传授经验。经过一段时间的锻炼，毕海龙不仅快速转变角色、适应岗位，还总结提炼出“思想互助、训练互帮、生活互爱”三互工作法，有效提升了班组建设质效和管理水平。该旅还注重引导军士支委成为官兵的“知心人”“贴心人”，鼓励他们利用训练间隙、课余时间开展谈心谈话，准确掌握战士思想动态，及时做好心理疏导和困难帮扶。针对新兵第二适应期思想波动大、融入集体难的问题，军士支委舒志超主动开展谈心交心、心理疏导，帮助新兵增强归属感、快速融入连队；发现连值班员履职不到位，军士支委臧庆达当场指出问题、督促整改，事后耐心讲清规定要求，既较真碰硬不搞“一团和气”，又以理服人让战士打心眼儿里认同……如今，军士支委发挥骨干作用的一个个暖心场景，在该旅基层连队已成常态。 “军士支委每周梳理汇总‘兵情日记’，及时将官兵关注度较高的问题提交支委会研究，推动一大批急难愁盼问题得到有效解决。”该旅领导介绍，今年以来，基层单位军士支委围绕训练、管理、生活等方面问题提出的意见建议，绝大多数被各级党组织采纳，推动基层全面建设呈现持续向好态势。