New and Veteran Soldiers Face to Face: Cultivating the Root and Forging the Soul (培根铸魂) Must Begin at the "Soldier's Beginning" (兵之初)
Cultivating the Root and Forging the Soul (培根铸魂), Starting from the "Soldier's Beginning" (兵之初)
— A Report on the "New and Veteran Soldiers Face to Face" Activity at a New Recruit Training Brigade of the Southern Theater Command Air Force
■ Li Yixuan, PLA Daily Reporter Chen Dianhong, Special Correspondent Xu Qiushi
On an early-summer afternoon, sunlight filtered through the glass windows and spread a layer of broken gold across the floor of the club hall of a new recruit training brigade of the Southern Theater Command Air Force. A group of new recruits and representatives of outstanding non-commissioned officers gathered together, their eyes fixed in unison on the screen ahead. This was a scene from the brigade's "New and Veteran Soldiers Face to Face" activity.
On the screen, a 78-year-old man sat wearing a faded old military uniform, the medals on his chest gleaming brightly. He was Zhu Fengming — a combat veteran and the grandfather of new recruit Deng Peibin.
Through the video footage, the reporter observed that on the wall behind the old man hung, in neat rows, military portrait photographs spanning four generations: Deng Peibin's great-grandfather was a veteran of the Railway Guerrilla Force; his grandfather had distinguished himself in combat on the battlefield; his father had served in a naval unit; and now he himself had put on an Air Force uniform — four generations in military service, the glorious tradition of defending the homeland passed down through a red bloodline.
"When I first enlisted, I was just like you — full of passion, with a single-minded devotion to serving the country." Zhu Fengming stroked a yellowed old photograph, his thoughts seemingly drifting back to those extraordinary years of artillery fire and gunsmoke.
"My old squad leader taught me to shoot hand-in-hand in the trenches, and patrolled and stood watch with me on the position. That day, while escorting combat supplies to the front line, he was shot and killed…" Before he had finished speaking, tears were already streaming down the old man's face. In front of the screen, everyone sat upright and listened in silence; many could not help but redden around the eyes.
"The skills to win on the battlefield must be passed down from generation to generation; the burden of defending the homeland must be shouldered by one generation after another." The old man's words of exhortation carried the weight of a thousand catties, landing with force.
After hearing Zhu Fengming recount his personal experiences, an exchange between the outstanding NCO representatives and the new recruits immediately got underway.
The brigade's leadership told the reporter that the outstanding NCO representatives participating in the activity included communications specialists from a nationally recognized "March 8th Red Banner Collective" (全国三八红旗集体), soldiers who had spent years garrisoning border islands at the edges of the motherland, "post-2000" radar troopers who are multi-skilled and have won gold and silver in major competitions, and outstanding "soldier-experts" (兵专家) who have spent years in the equipment field and overcome multiple technical difficulties.
As the exchange began, Liu Chengrui — a new recruit enlisting for the second time — was the first to raise his hand and speak: "During my first term of service, I was a highland cavalryman patrolling the border line on horseback; the conviction to dedicate myself to the nation was planted deep in my heart. After completing my studies following discharge, I chose to enlist a second time and join an Air Force unit. From the saddle to beneath a missile, the unfamiliar specialty has thrown me into a panic about my own capabilities (本领恐慌)."
"There are no shortcuts on the military path — every step must be taken steadily and solidly." Radar trooper Li Anzhi picked up the thread: "When I first enlisted, I couldn't even read a basic circuit diagram. My squad leader lent me his training notebook and taught me to break each operational procedure down into individual small knowledge points — starting from a single solder joint, accumulating bit by bit from zero."
As he spoke, Li Anzhi showed everyone his annotation-filled training notebook and said with firm conviction: "Settle your mind, work diligently, never stop moving forward — even the most ordinary post can make youth shine." The reporter observed that Liu Chengrui nodded repeatedly and solemnly wrote eight characters in his own notebook: "Start over from the beginning, keep both feet on the ground (从头再来，脚踏实地)."
Communications specialist Li Kaishan shared her story of striving for zero errors and zero mistakes during duty shifts. After hearing Li Kaishan's account, Deng Peibin could not help but voice the confusion in his heart: "Before I enlisted, my grandfather repeatedly urged me to keep in mind the mission and glory of four generations in military service. But after putting on the uniform, I discovered that being a qualified soldier takes far more than enthusiasm. Your work is meticulous and tedious — how do you manage zero errors and zero mistakes?"
"When I first enlisted, memorizing call signs and practicing pronunciation and finger technique required countless repetitions, yet my scores still wouldn't improve. During that period, I cried out of frustration more than once. When I wanted to give up, my squad leader told me: the communications console may be small, but it connects to thousands upon thousands of troops; the call signs may be many, but every character bears on winning (字字关乎打赢)." Speaking of her own growth, Li Kaishan said with firm conviction: "Throughout my years of service, I have always kept my squad leader's words in mind and have successfully completed more than a hundred major exercise and training communications support missions. This perseverance does not belong to me alone — it has been passed down by one generation of communications soldiers after another."
Equipment technical backbone Tian Lian recounted his experience of improvising with available materials to keep equipment running normally during a major mission; launch technician Zhang Zihao, who has been stationed year-round on a remote border island, recalled the process of inspecting and reinforcing equipment together with his comrades before a powerful typhoon struck; communications technician Zhou Wei spoke of the experience of crawling under a vehicle to carry out repairs in the middle of a sandstorm during an air-ground confrontation training exercise… Different posts, the same mission — the stories told by the veteran soldiers moved every new recruit in the audience deeply.
"To help new recruits button the first button of their military journey (系好军旅第一粒扣子), we must start from the 'soldier's beginning' (兵之初) and inject sufficient spiritual nourishment into them." The brigade's leadership told the reporter that by organizing new and veteran soldiers to listen together to the stories of their predecessors and jointly receive education in original aspirations (初心教育), and by encouraging new and veteran soldiers to share their reflections on growth and speak freely about their experiences, the aim is to ensure that new recruits, from the very moment they enter the barracks, can see role models and find a clear direction, and take every step of their military journey in a solid and grounded manner.
At the activity, the brigade also launched a two-way mentorship mechanism of "veterans leading newcomers, newcomers advancing newcomers" (老带新、新促新): new recruits are matched with dedicated mentoring backbone personnel, while new recruit Party members and recruits enlisting for the second time are selected to serve as mentoring group leaders, leveraging their advantages of familiarity with barracks life and solid foundations, in an effort to form a virtuous cycle of "veterans leading backbone personnel, backbone personnel leading new recruits, and the advanced leading all personnel" (老兵带骨干、骨干带新兵、先进带全员).
As the activity drew to a close, new and veteran soldiers all rose to their feet and exchanged military salutes. Outside the windows, sunlight bathed the training ground. Carrying with them the hopes and exhortations of the veteran soldiers, the new recruits marched with firm steps toward their respective posts.