Armored communications vehicles conduct battlefield maneuvers under the cover of infantry fighting vehicles. Photo by Li Bin

A brigade of the Army organized collaborative training on cannon hoisting. Photo by Lei Hu

Do you want to turn on the air conditioner in the hot summer?

The steel body was already too hot to touch under the scorching sun, but there was a cool breeze inside the cabin. Sitting in a certain type of armored communication vehicle, the coolness is incredible: this is the moment of fierce battle in a communication exercise of a certain combined brigade of the Army.

“Just after the summer solstice, the meteorological department issued a new round of high temperature warnings, but we are not worried about the impact on training. Practical training must be more scientific. We strictly follow the operating procedures to activate the air conditioner at high temperatures to cool down the information platform so that the technical and tactical performance of the equipment is always at the highest level. "In good condition." During the training break, Staff Sergeant Gao Peng of the brigade's command and communication company felt the "two worlds" inside and outside the vehicle, and talked about his change in training outlook from "hot" to "calm" -

Not long ago, Gao Peng led several soldiers to conduct operational training of this type of armored communication vehicle. The weather was hot, the temperature inside the cabin soared, and the camouflage uniform was quickly soaked with sweat. Private Yuan Jiang turned on the car's air conditioner, and a cold wind suddenly hit his face.

"Why did you turn on the air conditioner? It's summer training, why can't you stand the heat?" Taking advantage of bad weather to temper the will to fight is the brigade's way of training. Yuan Jiang's behavior undoubtedly showed in Gao Peng's eyes that he was afraid of hardship and tiredness.

Xiao Yuan, who was criticized, felt a little "unjust": "Squad leader, when the manufacturer's masters modified the equipment last year, didn't they say that the car air conditioner must be turned on to operate electronic equipment at high temperatures? You see, the temperature inside the car is almost 45 degrees Celsius. It is easy to go on like this. Electronic components are easily damaged."

As soon as this statement came out, Gao Peng was furious: "Now the brigade is training troops to prepare for war. Are you turning on the air conditioner to cool down?"

The controversy attracted the attention of company commander Yu Pengfei. After understanding the whole story, Yu Pengfei said meaningfully: "The information equipment is very sophisticated! If the temperature in the cabin is too high, the equipment will suffer from heatstroke. It must be operated scientifically and avoid blind and reckless behavior."

"Practical training is shouted every day, but do the officers and soldiers understand the actual combat training accurately?" During the training situation analysis meeting, Yu Pengfei raised a question, "Does training with the air conditioner on count as actual combat training?"

Staff Sergeant Yang Peng said quickly: "Practical combat training means being tough and strict. How can we train people with the air conditioner on? How can we talk about hard work and hard work?" Yang Peng's speech received a lot of attention.recognized by some officers and soldiers.

“I feel that actual combat is not simply ‘climb all over the soil and sweat all over’. We also need to refine and understand the information equipment.” Fourth-level sergeant major Li Eryou expressed another opinion.

Taking over what Li Eryou said, Yu Pengfei expressed his own point of view: "Actually, turning on the air conditioner is not inconsistent with actual combat training. We must view the relationship between the two dialectically and cannot equate hard training with actual combat. To win an information war, we must respect the law of combat effectiveness generation of information equipment."

The lights get brighter and the arguments become clearer. This discussion that took place in the command and communication company also attracted the attention of the brigade leadership. They took officers and soldiers who had experienced "brainstorming" to unfamiliar areas such as dense forests and seashores to continue to explore and practice the ability to "communicate on the move" under actual combat conditions.

Should we stop training in the rain?

In mid-June, an Army air defense brigade set up a "challenge" in conjunction with a reconnaissance and early warning exercise: the first missile battalion, known as the "Tiger", and the second missile battalion, known as the "Knife", will be "measured" under the same ruler for their actual combat capabilities.

This competition attracted much attention, but God was not kind to him - on the day of the drill, a heavy rainstorm hit.

"Drills are wars. We won't fight if it rains?!" After a brief mobilization by the commander of the first battalion, the officers and soldiers quickly entered the fighting position, deployed the equipment, turned on the radar, and searched for targets... The missiles were erected high and ready to go.

At this moment, the commander of the second battalion, who was a professional in equipment maintenance, hesitated. He was worried that under such weather conditions, if the radar was turned on and high pressure was applied, it might be damaged by heavy rain. However, if this is a war and the radar is not turned on, the mission will definitely be difficult to complete...

In the dilemma, the commander of the second battalion finally decided: on the one hand, to take rainproof measures for the radar, and promptly dispatch a reconnaissance team to conduct air observation with the help of traditional equipment; on the other hand, conceal and camouflage one's own cover targets, and construct false targets to avoid being discovered by the "enemy".

The first day of the exercise ended, and the results were announced: the first missile battalion captured 6 batches of targets, and the covered targets were safe; the second missile battalion captured 0 batches of targets, and the covered targets were safe.

The reversal of the situation started on the second day of the exercise - the weather was sunny that day. When the officers and soldiers of the first battalion started their equipment, they found that two search and guidance radars were in urgent need of repair due to electronic component failures. At this time, the Second Battalion, due to timely protection, all members participated in the drill in full uniform.

The reconnaissance and early warning exercise that lasted for several days has ended, but the two damaged equipment of the 1st Missile Battalion have not yet returned to the exercise ground. The final drill results were announced: the first battalion failed and the second battalion was excellent.

Where did the First Battalion fail? What is actual combat? How to conduct actual combat training? The reversal of the war situation triggered reflection among the officers and soldiers of the entire brigade.

"Practical combat training does not mean blind and reckless training. The first battalion seems to be training with difficulty and strictness. In fact, it lacks research on the mechanism of winning the war and just attacks and rushes." At the review meeting, the brigade leader pointedly pointed out that combat training is not about going beyond the actual training of equipment personnel. Being tough and strict cannot blindly increase the difficulty. Only by grasping and following the rules can the combat effectiveness of the troops be truly improved.

By drawing inferences from one example, the brigade decisively stopped more than 10 practices that were inconsistent with the law of generating combat effectiveness, including going beyond actual practice to innovate, going beyond standards to conduct assessments, and going beyond stages to conduct inspections.