Political Work

At the Physical Training Camp, Company Cadres Lead the Way in Training—Building Confidence and Shedding Reservations

体能训练营连干部带头练，练出底气更卸下顾虑

PLA Daily (解放军报) 27 May 2026

Summary

Battalion Commander Yao at an unidentified PLA battalion instituted mandatory tiered physical training for all cadres after observing that company-grade officers were avoiding unit PT—some training privately to hide weak fitness baselines, others standing aside under the pretense of supervision. The article documents a recognized institutional problem: cadre physical fitness gaps and face-saving avoidance behaviors that visibly undermine unit training culture, a problem serious enough that a battalion commander had to impose a structural fix rather than rely on individual compliance. This fits a persistent pattern in PLA ground-force training coverage where the gap between officer and soldier physical standards erodes unit cohesion and training credibility, and the article's value is as a ground-level record of how that problem manifests and how mid-level commanders are expected to address it.

Translation

"Company Commander, one more round!" A few days ago, soldier Li Qingbiao wiped the sweat from his forehead and shouted at Company Commander Liang with a look of defiance. The words had barely left his mouth before Company Commander Liang stepped forward in response, standing shoulder to shoulder with Li Qingbiao on the hundred-meter starting line. At the sound of the whistle, the two charged toward the finish line once again.

This scene of officers and soldiers competing against each other and charging forward side by side moved me deeply, and my thoughts drifted back to several months earlier.

At that time, I had only recently been assigned to the company. I noticed that the company's physical training had a problem of no small significance: although the cadres always accompanied the unit in training, many were going through the motions and had not truly integrated themselves into it.

Observing further, I found that a small number of cadres had a weak physical foundation—they wanted to train but feared they could not keep up with the unit, so they often slipped away to the gym to work on their weaknesses alone. Other cadres, afraid of poor scores and losing face in front of the soldiers, simply stood to the side under the guise of "providing guidance."

During one 3,000-meter run, the soldiers had barely taken their first steps when I heard a soldier behind me mutter quietly: "The company commander just gives orders and doesn't train himself—easy to talk when you're not the one doing it."

Those words lodged in my heart like a small thorn, yet as a new platoon leader, I did not know how to handle the situation.

What I did not expect was that Battalion Commander Yao had been watching both the soldiers' shifting morale and the cadres' training reservations all along.

"I believe none of the comrades present are deliberately slacking off. Getting to the root of the problem: first, it's about saving face; second, it's about lacking a foundation." At a battalion affairs meeting held not long after, Battalion Commander Yao pierced through this paper screen and decided on the spot: "Starting next week, with the exception of duty cadres who will train alongside the unit, all other cadres will be organized by the battalion for centralized physical training!"

Soon, I experienced the battalion's first centralized cadre training session. On Monday afternoon, all the battalion's cadres assembled on the training ground. Battalion Commander Yao stood at the front of the formation and laid down two rules: "First, everyone is an ordinary trainee and will complete the training to standard from start to finish. Second, training will be organized in tiers according to physical fitness baseline—those with strong fitness will enter the intensive group to tackle the hardest challenges, while those with a weaker foundation will enter the remedial group to address their specific shortcomings in a targeted manner."

Once training began, the intensive group was led by Battalion Commander Yao. Core strength exercises such as planks and crunches were conducted in succession; Battalion Commander Yao led by example, personally completing every movement to standard. In the subsequent 3,000-meter run, he maintained his position in the middle of the formation. As the final kilometer approached, many began to slow their pace. Battalion Commander Yao ran and called out encouragement: "Open up your stride, regulate your breathing. Hold on—let's charge through together!"

In that moment, my heart surged. All I could see before me was a group of trainees single-mindedly training to build their physical strength and close their gaps: the battalion commander leading the charge, running ahead with the company commanders; the company commanders gritting their teeth and pressing on, in turn spurring the platoon leaders not to let up……

Day by day, the cadres gradually trained their way to confidence and shed their reservations entirely. When they returned to train together with the soldiers, they dared to take the lead—and were capable of taking the lead. The soldiers took note of this change. Scenes of cadres and soldiers competing against each other on the training ground grew more and more common, and the training enthusiasm of officers and soldiers alike surged ever higher.

Original Chinese

“连长，再来一局！”几天前，战士李庆彪抹着额头上的汗，一脸不服气地冲着梁连长喊道。话音刚落，梁连长便应声上前，和李庆彪并肩站在百米起跑线上。随着一声哨响，两人再次向终点冲去。官兵之间比拼较劲、并肩冲锋的这一幕，让我很是感动，思绪不禁飘回到几个月前。那时，我才下连没多久。我发现，连队体能训练存在一个不大不小的问题：干部们虽然始终跟队参训，但不少浮于表面，没有真正融入。我进一步观察到，少数干部体能底子较弱，想练又怕跟不上队伍，常常躲去健身房独自补短板；还有干部怕成绩不佳，在战士面前丢面子，索性以“指导”为名站在一旁。一次3000米跑，战士们刚迈开步子，我就听见身后有战士小声嘀咕：“连长只管部署也不练，真是站着说话不腰疼。” 这话像根小刺扎在我心里，可我作为新排长，也不知该如何处理。没想到，战士们的情绪变化、干部们的训练顾虑，都被姚营长看在眼里。 “我相信在座的同志，没有谁是有意偷懒。问题说到根上，第一是要面子，第二是缺底子。”不久后的营务会上，姚营长把这层窗户纸捅破，当场拍板：“下周开始，除值班干部跟训外，其余干部由营里集中组织体能训练！” 很快，我迎来了第一次全营干部集中训练。周一下午，全营干部在训练场上集结完毕，姚营长站在队伍前，定下两条规矩：“第一，所有人都是普通受训者，全程按标准完成训练；第二，按体能基础分层组训，体能好的进强化组攻坚，底子弱的进补差组，针对性补短板。” 训练开始后，强化组由姚营长带训。平板支撑、卷腹等核心力量训练轮番进行，姚营长以身作则，每一个动作都带头练到位；随后的3000米跑，他更是保持在队伍中间。跑到最后一公里，不少人脚步放慢，姚营长边跑边鼓劲：“步子迈开，调整呼吸。坚持住，咱们一起冲！” 那一刻，我心潮澎湃，眼前只有一群一心练强体能、补齐短板的受训者：营长身先士卒，带着连长往前跑；连长咬牙坚持，也激励着排长不松懈…… 日子一天天过去，干部们渐渐练出了底气，彻底卸下顾虑。等再回到战士中间一起训练，他们敢带头、能带头。这份变化也被战士们看在眼里，训练场上干部和战士比拼较劲的场景越来越多，官兵的训练热情更加高涨。