Internal Security Political Work

A Subordinate Brigade of the PAP 2nd Mobile Corps Explores a Joint Military-Family Co-Cultivation Mechanism

武警第二机动总队某支队探索部队与家庭共育机制

PLA Daily (解放军报) 20 May 2026

Summary

A brigade of the PAP 2nd Mobile Corps has institutionalized a 部队与家庭共育 (joint military-family co-cultivation) mechanism in which political instructors write personal letters to soldiers' parents, maintain 24-hour phone availability for family emergencies, and coordinate with local authorities to resolve soldiers' domestic problems — such as arranging community childcare and in-home dialysis — in exchange for families reinforcing retention messaging from the home end. Brigade leadership reports a measurable drop in 思想波动率 (ideological fluctuation rate) since implementation, framing the mechanism as an extension of 思想工作 (political work) into the domestic sphere. The article documents how the PAP is operationalizing family networks as a retention and political-work tool, a practice that extends the reach of company-level political officers well beyond the barracks — though the article gives no data on scale, timeline of rollout, or whether this brigade's approach has been formally adopted above brigade level.

Translation

A subordinate brigade of the People's Armed Police 2nd Mobile Corps explores a joint military-family co-cultivation mechanism — officers and soldiers say: "The political instructor writes letters home to our moms and dads"

■ Ying Muzhen, PLA Daily reporters Yang Mingyue and Yan Zhenyu + AI illustration

On a quiet summer night, Instructor Chen of a company subordinate to a brigade of the PAP 2nd Mobile Corps sat at his desk, spread out a sheet of writing paper, and let his pen glide across it, words flowing: "Uncle, last time you mentioned that Auntie had not been well — I have had that on my mind ever since. I recently heard from Pengfei that Auntie has been recovering nicely, and only then did I feel at ease. Pengfei has been performing very well in the unit; he even earned a Third-Class Merit Citation last year…" This letter, addressed to the father of company soldier Zeng Pengfei, was already the 15th letter Instructor Chen had written this year.

Officers writing to soldiers' family members — recounting the small details of their growth in the unit — is one practice this brigade has explored as part of its joint military-family co-cultivation (部队与家庭共育) mechanism for officers and soldiers.

Instructor Chen still remembers writing his first batch of letters. At the time, he had just become a political instructor and, facing the family members of dozens of soldiers across the entire company, did not know where to begin. "Later I figured it out — you can't write in a stiff, literary style. You have to talk about the soldiers' growth and changes in the tone of casual family conversation (拉家常)," he said.

After the letters were sent out, the response was very positive. Instructor Chen pulled a stack of reply letters from his drawer, opened one at random, and read it aloud to the reporter: "Instructor Chen, thank you. This child never told us any of this when he was at home. After reading your letter, I finally understood that he has grown up!" These were the words of soldier Xu Ziyi's father in his reply.

It turned out that Xu Ziyi had never left his parents before enlisting. When he first arrived at the unit, he had cried under his covers several times out of homesickness. When writing the letter, Instructor Chen made a point of mentioning one thing: "Uncle, Ziyi is now the 'Interior Orderliness Model Soldier' (内务标兵) in his squad — just yesterday he was teaching new comrades how to fold their quilts, and he did it with real skill."

Instructor Chen shared an amusing anecdote with the reporter: upon learning that Ziyi had been named "Interior Orderliness Model Soldier," Xu's father encouraged him over the phone: "Son, back when your dad was a soldier, I was never named 'Interior Orderliness Model Soldier' — you've already surpassed your old man! Work hard in the unit!"

In the process of the unit and family jointly cultivating soldiers, family members have also become capable assistants to company officers in carrying out political work (思想工作).

Staff Sergeant Second Class Ma Guoliang is the company's top training performer, but last year he briefly entertained the idea of leaving the service. Instructor Zheng spoke with him several times, and Ma Guoliang finally told him the truth: there was no one to take his child to and from kindergarten, and an elderly family member needed to go to the hospital twice a week for dialysis — he wanted to go home and help his wife.

Instructor Zheng reported Ma Guoliang's family difficulties up through the battalion and brigade chain of command. Before long, he found Ma Guoliang and said: "I have good news for you — the brigade has already coordinated with local authorities to help arrange community childcare services and has also liaised with the hospital to provide dialysis for the elderly family member at home!"

Ma Guoliang stood there in a daze for a long moment, too moved to know what to say.

Not long ago, when he returned home on leave, his wife told him: "Your Instructor Zheng calls often to check on the family." She paused, then added: "You do your job well over there — don't worry about things at home!"

With both his family and his instructor working on him from both ends, Ma Guoliang's resolve to remain in the unit was strengthened.

In this brigade, there are also several firm regulations: regardless of the time, when an officer's or soldier's family member calls, the commanding officer must answer immediately; in the event of an emergency, it must be reported immediately up the chain; if the officer or soldier genuinely needs to return home to handle the matter, it must be coordinated immediately.

Late one night at the beginning of this year, Instructor Zheng's phone suddenly rang. On the other end of the line, a middle-aged man, his voice breaking, asked: "Is this Instructor Zheng? I'm Liu Longtao's father. His mother has suffered a sudden cerebral hemorrhage and is in emergency care. I don't know what to do — can Liu Longtao come home as soon as possible…"

After hanging up, Instructor Zheng threw on his clothes and ran to Liu Longtao's dormitory, reporting to his superiors as he ran. The next day, Liu Longtao successfully boarded the earliest available flight home.

Before he left, Liu Longtao, eyes red, said to Instructor Zheng: "Instructor, I thought that if my dad called in the middle of the night, no one would pick up…"

Instructor Zheng patted him on the shoulder: "Don't worry — our phones are on 24 hours a day now. If you run into difficulties after you get home, call me any time."

One soldier wrote in a political thought report (思想汇报): "I used to always worry that my family wouldn't be able to reach me if something happened at home. Now I know the instructor's phone is always on — that gives me real peace of mind."

Brigade leadership told the reporter that since the joint military-family co-cultivation mechanism for officer and soldier development was implemented, the rate of ideological fluctuation (思想波动率) among officers and soldiers has dropped noticeably. "Before, we always thought political work meant sitting down with soldiers for heart-to-heart talks. Now we understand that real political work sometimes happens thousands of li away. When officers' and soldiers' parents feel at ease, when their wives feel reassured, the officers and soldiers themselves settle down. And when their minds are settled, they train with energy, and combat effectiveness goes up," Instructor Zheng said with feeling.

Original Chinese

武警第二机动总队某支队探索部队与家庭共育机制，官兵们说—— 指导员给咱爸妈写家书 ■应牧臻解放军报记者杨明月延振宇+AI绘静静夏夜，武警第二机动总队某支队某中队陈指导员坐在办公桌前，摊开信纸，笔尖摩挲，文字流淌：“叔叔，上次您提到阿姨身体不好，我心里一直惦记。最近听鹏飞说阿姨恢复得不错，我这才放了心。鹏飞在部队表现很好，去年还立了三等功呢……”这封写给连队战士曾鹏飞父亲的信，已经是今年陈指导员写的第15封信。干部给战士的家人写信，讲述他们在部队成长的点滴细节，是该支队探索部队与家庭共育官兵的一个做法。陈指导员至今记得他写的第一波信。那时，他刚当指导员不久，面对全中队几十个战士的家属，不知道该从何下笔。“后来想明白了，不能写得文绉绉，得用‘拉家常’的口吻讲述战士的成长变化。”他说。信件寄出后，反响很好。陈指导员从抽屉里取出一沓回信，随手打开一封，向记者念道：“陈指导员，谢谢你。这孩子在家时从没对我们讲过这些，看完你的信，我才知道他长大了！”这是战士徐子益父亲回信中的一段话。原来，徐子益入伍前没离开过父母，刚到部队时，还因想家而躲在被子里哭过好几次。陈指导员写信时，特意说了一件事：“叔叔，子益现在是班里的‘内务标兵’，昨天还教新战友叠被子，教得有模有样。” 陈指导员告诉记者一件趣事——在得知子益评过“内务标兵”后，徐父电话中鼓励他道：儿子，你爸当兵那时候，没当过“内务标兵”，你比你爸强！在部队好好干！部队与家庭共育战士的过程中，家属也成了连队干部做好思想工作的得力助手。二级上士马国梁是中队的训练尖子，但去年一度萌生退伍的念头。郑指导员几次找他谈心，马国梁最终将实情道出：孩子上幼儿园没人接送，老人每周要去医院做两次透析，他想回家帮帮妻子。郑指导员向大队、支队逐级汇报了马国梁家中的困难。没多久，他找到马国梁：“告诉你个好消息，支队已经协调地方，帮助联系了社区托幼服务，并对接好医院，上门为老人做透析！” 马国梁愣了半天，一时感动得不知道该说什么。前不久他休假回家，妻子跟他说：“你们郑指导员经常打电话关心家里。”顿了顿，又说，“你在那边好好干，家里的事，不用你操心！” 家属和指导员两头做工作，坚定了马国梁留队的决心。在这个支队，还有几条硬规定：无论任何时间，官兵家人来电，主官必须第一时间接听；遇有突发情况，必须第一时间上报；确需官兵回家处理的，必须第一时间协调。今年初的一个深夜，郑指导员的手机突然响起，电话那头，一名中年男人带着哭腔问道：“郑指导员吗？我是刘龙涛的爸爸，他妈妈突发脑溢血正在抢救，我不知道该怎么办，能不能让刘龙涛赶快回来……” 接完电话后，郑指导员披上衣服就往刘龙涛宿舍跑，边跑边向上级反映。第二天，刘龙涛顺利登上了最早一班探家的飞机。临行前，刘龙涛红着眼眶对郑指导员说：“指导员，我以为我爸大半夜打电话不会有人接的……” 郑指导员拍了拍他的肩膀：“放心，现在我们的手机24小时开机。回家后有困难，随时打我电话。” 一名战士在思想汇报中写道：“以前总怕家里出事时联系不上我，现在才知道指导员的手机一直开着，心里特别踏实。” 支队领导告诉记者，自推行部队与家庭共育官兵成长机制以来，官兵思想波动率明显下降。“以前我们总觉得思想工作就是找战士谈心谈话。现在明白了，真正的思想工作，有时在千里之外。官兵的父母安心了、妻子放心了，官兵的心就定了。心定了，训练就有劲了，战斗力就上来了。”郑指导员感慨地说道。