Political Work

Good Partners Are Not Afraid of "Collisions" — Only Through Perspective-Taking and Mutual Support Can a Company Be Led Well

好搭档不怕“碰撞”，换位思考、相互支持才能带好连队

PLA Daily (解放军报) 22 May 2026

Summary

A PLA Daily feature profiles Company Commander Peng and Political Instructor Wang of the 'Red Eighth Company,' a brigade under the 80th Group Army, using a dispute over pre-meal song selection and a live-force opposition exercise to illustrate effective military-political dual-command coordination at the company level. The article documents a persistent institutional friction point — the structural tension between the commander's operational authority and the political instructor's ideological mandate — and presents a model resolution through mutual deference rather than hierarchy. It fits a recurring genre of PLA political work content aimed at junior officers, its narrow value being as a record of how the institution currently frames the military-political relationship: not as a chain of command question, but as a partnership problem requiring perspective-taking, with combat effectiveness explicitly invoked to legitimize both roles.

Translation

Pre-Meal Song: Whose Call Is It?

■ Qi Sheng, PLA Daily Special Correspondent Fu Junchen

"No idea what song we're singing today." "The company commander wants a 'short' one, the political instructor wants a 'long' one — what a dilemma…" In early summer, this reporter visited the "Red Eighth Company" of a brigade under the 80th Group Army. Before the lunch formation, the soldiers' whispered exchanges caught the reporter's attention — the company's two principal officers had recently issued diametrically opposed requirements for the "pre-meal song."

"If you want to be able to fight, you need that drive." Company Commander Peng is swift and decisive in speech and action, and emphasizes efficiency in work and training. He felt that after a hard morning of training, soldiers were inevitably hungry, so the "pre-meal song" should be something short and forceful like "Return from the Firing Range" — "clean and crisp, belt it out and then eat."

"To win battles, you first need to know for whom you carry the rifle and for whom you fight." Political Instructor Wang had different considerations: the "Red Eighth Company" was born in the Nanchang Uprising and is a Red Army unit as old as the people's army itself. He therefore believed that even the "few seconds" before a meal constituted a classroom for inheriting the red gene (红色基因), and that songs like "The Red Star Guides Me to Battle" — with their long melodies and deep meaning — should be sung, so that soldiers could, through song, reflect on past hardships and present blessings and savor the iron-and-blood glory forged through the flames of war.

One was thinking of the soldiers' immediate and pressing needs; the other was calculating the long-term account of education. On the surface it was a disagreement over song selection; in reality it reflected different understandings by Company Commander Peng and Political Instructor Wang of how to manage the "micro-time" (微时间) at the grassroots level.

At the Party branch meeting, everyone raised the dispute over the "pre-meal song." What was unexpected was that Company Commander Peng and Political Instructor Wang did not "turn red in the face" over it — on the contrary, they each praised the other.

Company Commander Peng said: "The political instructor is right. The Eighth Company is an 'iron fortress.' Our soldiers must not only be hard in their fighting skills — their thinking must be hard too. This time cannot be cut."

Political Instructor Wang said: "The company commander is right to care about the soldiers. On reflection, if it drags on too long and the food goes cold, that's bad for the soldiers' stomachs — and if their health suffers, how are they going to train and win battles?"

Pre-meal song: whose call is it? Everyone expected an unavoidable argument, but not only was the atmosphere harmonious — with a word from one and a word from the other, the two quickly found the "greatest common denominator." The "Red Eighth Company" now has a new "rule" for the pre-meal song: on ordinary days, the emphasis is on "short, flat, and fast" — sing it and eat, ensuring soldiers get a hot meal; every Friday or on special commemorative days, the entire company stands at attention and sings in full voice songs such as "The Red Army Fears Not the Long March's Hardships," looking back through song on the road traveled and revisiting glorious traditions.

This quickly resolved "song-selection incident" is just one of many instances of tacit coordination between Company Commander Peng and Political Instructor Wang as "partners." In the "Red Eighth Company," this tacit understanding is reflected not only in every aspect of daily life and work, but also permeates combat training and war preparedness.

Not long ago, the company participated in a live-force opposition training exercise organized by a higher echelon. During an infiltration maneuver, the command post came under sudden "enemy" artillery fire and communications were temporarily cut off. At the critical moment, Company Commander Peng bellowed "Follow me!" and led the assault team charging into the blue force's rear area. Political Instructor Wang adapted on the fly, rapidly rallied the remaining personnel, conducted battlefield morale work (战场鼓动), and organized the follow-on echelon to clear the battlefield and treat the "casualties." Their close coordination and outstanding performance earned unanimous commendation from higher echelons.

"Military and political responsibilities are divided but not separated. The two of us have different duties, but the same objective — to lead the company well. Once you understand that clearly, no matter what contradictions or disagreements arise, you can channel your energy in the same direction." Political Instructor Wang told the reporter.

As he said this, the reporter was touring the company's honor room. Behind Company Commander Peng and Political Instructor Wang, a slogan happened to be written on the wall: "Every person is a victory-winning bullet." The reporter thought: if Company Commander Peng is the "warhead" that flies out first with the greatest penetrating power, then Political Instructor Wang is the "primer" that ignites the propellant charge. The many military and political principal officers of our army should all be like them — "warhead" and "primer" working in close coordination, concentrating into the battle-winning force of a single decisive strike against the enemy.

Short Commentary

Good Partners Are Not Afraid of "Collisions"

■ Zhang Aihui

Grassroots affairs are complex. Military and political principal officers occupy different positions and think about problems from different angles; when handling matters, differing opinions are inevitable. In day-to-day work, there is no need to worry excessively about these "collisions," because very often the tacit coordination between two principal officers is precisely what is forged through these "collisions."

As with the "song-selection incident" in the "Red Eighth Company" of a brigade under the 80th Group Army — a short song roars out fighting spirit, a long song sings out sentiment; Company Commander Peng was thinking about time and efficiency, Political Instructor Wang was thinking about tradition and conviction. Neither was right or wrong. But after this "collision," the "Red Eighth Company's" pre-meal song now carries both the killing spirit of thunderous force and a remembrance that reaches across time.

A truly good partnership is not the "you're fine, I'm fine" of mutual retreat, nor the head-on confrontation of all-or-nothing opposition, and still less the "each minding his own patch" of mutual indifference. Only by being like Company Commander Peng and Political Instructor Wang — holding different opinions, yet able to engage in perspective-taking (换位思考) and mutual understanding and support — can one lead a company to unite into "a single solid piece of steel."

Original Chinese

饭前一支歌，到底听谁的 ■齐晟解放军报特约记者付君臣 “不知道今天唱啥歌”“连长让唱首‘短的’，指导员让唱首‘长的’，两难啊……”初夏时节，记者来到第80集团军某旅“红八连”采访。午饭集合前，战士们的“悄悄话”引起了记者的注意——该连的两名主官，最近对“饭前一支歌”提出了截然相反的要求。 “要能打仗，就要有那股子冲劲。”该连彭连长说话办事雷厉风行，工作训练注重效率。他觉得战士们辛苦训练一上午，难免饥肠辘辘，所以“饭前一支歌”应该唱《打靶归来》这类短促有力的歌曲，“干脆利落，吼一嗓子就开饭。” “要打胜仗，先要知道为谁扛枪、为谁打仗。”王指导员有着不同考量：“红八连”诞生于南昌起义，是一支与人民军队同龄的红军部队。因此，他认为饭前的“分秒之间”也是传承红色基因的课堂阵地，应该唱《红星照我去战斗》这类旋律悠长、意蕴深刻的歌曲，让战士们在歌声中忆苦思甜，品味从烽火硝烟一路走来的铁血荣光。一个考虑战士当下急迫需求，一个算着教育的长远账……表面上看是对歌曲的不同选择，实则体现出彭连长和王指导员对基层“微时间”管理的不同理解。党支部会议上，大家谈起关于“饭前一支歌”的分歧。令人意外的是，彭连长和王指导员没有因此“红脸”，反而相互“点赞”—— 彭连长说：“指导员说得对。八连是‘铁的堡垒’，咱们的战士不光打仗本领硬，思想也要硬，这个时间不能省！” 王指导员说：“连长心疼战士没错。我反思，时间拖得太长，饭菜凉了对战士的肠胃不好，身体坏了还怎么搞训练、打胜仗？” 饭前一支歌，到底听谁的？原以为免不了一场争执，没承想不仅气氛和谐，你一言我一语之下，两人还很快就找到了“最大公约数”——现在的“红八连”，“饭前一支歌”有了新“规矩”：平日里主打“短平快”，唱完就开饭，保证战士吃上热乎饭；每逢周五或特殊纪念日，全连肃立高唱《红军不怕远征难》等歌曲，在歌声中回望来路，重温光荣传统。这场迅速平息的“选歌风波”，只是彭连长和王指导员作为“搭档”的众多默契配合之一。在“红八连”，这种默契不仅体现在生活工作的方方面面，更渗透在练兵备战之中。前不久，该连参加上级组织的实兵对抗训练。在穿插行动中，指挥所突遭“敌”炮火覆盖，通信一度中断。危急时刻，彭连长大吼一声“跟我上”，带领突击队冲入蓝方腹地。王指导员临机应变，迅速收拢其余人员，进行战场鼓动，组织后续梯队清理战场、救治“伤员”。他们的密切配合和出色表现，获得上级一致好评。 “军政分工不分家。我俩职责不同，但目标一致，都是带好连队。想明白这一点，无论有什么矛盾分歧，劲儿都能往一处使。”王指导员告诉记者。说这话时，记者正参观该连荣誉室，彭连长和王指导员的身后，恰好写着一句标语：“每个人都是一颗制胜子弹。”记者想，如果说彭连长是那颗最先出膛、穿透力最强的“弹头”，那么王指导员便是点燃发射药的“底火”。我军的众多军政主官都应该像他们一样，“弹头”与“底火”紧密配合，凝聚出一击制敌的胜战之力。短评好搭档不怕“碰撞” ■张爱辉基层事务繁杂，军政主官战位不同，思考问题的角度不同，处理事情时难免产生不同意见。日常工作中，不必因为这些“碰撞”过于担忧，因为很多时候，两个主官的默契配合正是在这些“碰撞”中磨合出来的。如同第80集团军某旅“红八连”的“选歌风波”——短歌吼出士气，长歌唱出情怀，彭连长想的是时间与效率，王指导员念的是传统与信念，两者并没有对错之分。但经过这番“碰撞”，“红八连”的“饭前一支歌”既有了雷霆万钧的杀气，又有了穿越时空的追思。真正的好搭档，不是各退一步的“你好我好”，也不是非此即彼的“针锋相对”，更不是事不关己的“各管一摊”，只有像彭连长和王指导员一样，虽有不同意见，但能换位思考、相互理解支持，才能带领连队团结成“一块坚硬的钢铁”。