Visiting the bird-scaring squad of a naval aviation station in Xisha
2024-08-07
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Island Airport: My post is "running"
——Visiting the bird-scaring squadron of a naval aviation station in Xisha
■ Fu Lin, Shen Hongquan, Liberation Army Daily reporter Chen Dianhong
The bird scarer ran to scare the birds away. Photo by Fu Jinquan, a special correspondent of the People's Liberation Army Daily
"Oh no, there's a bird!"
Before he finished speaking, a soldier "flashed" out from the bird-scaring vehicle that had not yet stopped, ran more than ten meters along the airport runway that was steaming hot under the scorching sun, then stopped, held his gun, and aimed - with a "bang" of a gunshot, a bird flew away in panic.
Then, the soldier picked up the intercom and said: "The birds have been driven away from the area, and the plane can land."
This is what the reporter saw at a naval aviation station in the Xisha Islands a few days ago.
The soldier is named Wang Zhi, the squad leader of the bird-scaring squad of the station's field service company and also a bird-scaring officer. Wang Zhi said that one of the most feared dangers when flying a fighter plane is bird strikes. The main job of a bird-scaring soldier is to promptly drive away the flying birds in the field to ensure the safety of the fighter plane's flight.
There is a line in the military song "Xisha Black": "Black like an iron reef, black like a steel fortress." Black is the first impression Wang Zhi leaves on people. Xisha is summer all year round, and the officers and soldiers have been exposed to the wind and sun for many years, and all of them have become "Xisha black". However, even if he is so black, it still cannot cover up the black and red scar on Wang Zhi's right face.
Talking about this scar, Wang Zhi opened up: "A few years ago, I was the only bird-scaring worker at the station. Xisha is a must-pass place for many migratory birds, and the task of bird-scaring is extremely heavy." It turned out that Wang Zhi's skin was sensitive to the oil in the bird-scaring gun, and he had to put his face against the butt of the gun when holding the gun. Over time, this unique scar was left.
In the Xisha Islands, the bird-scaring soldiers’ battle positions are called “running sentry posts” by officers and soldiers.
Bird-scaring soldiers usually drive away birds by releasing bird-scaring sound waves, but they cannot harm the birds. Some birds get used to these noises and cannot be driven away by sound waves. Once such birds approach the airport, bird-scaring soldiers need to shoot them immediately to scare them away. Since bird-scaring guns cannot harm birds, the range is limited. Soldiers often have to run while working to ensure the absolute safety of fighter planes taking off and landing.
The station leader told reporters that over the years, generations of Xisha soldiers and civilians have worked together to build Xisha into an ecological green island with rich species and shady trees. "Love the country and the island, and be happy to stay at the end of the world" is their common spiritual portrayal. In order to protect the ecological environment, bird-repelling soldiers must drive away birds without hurting them.
Driving away birds and protecting them is a tiring job for bird-driving soldiers. To this end, soldiers practiced their marksmanship and aimed behind the birds when shooting to scare them away. In addition, rows of bird-blocking nets were set up on the grass on both sides of the runway. After each flight mission, soldiers would rescue the birds that had touched the nets in time and carefully release them back into the wild.
Wang Zhi told reporters that during patrol inspections, they occasionally find birds nesting on the airport lawn, so they move the nests to the woods outside the airport; if there are bird eggs, they wait for them to hatch and fly away before "moving" them. The officers and soldiers said that driving away birds is not only to protect the safety of the fighter planes, but also to protect the safety of the birds themselves.
At the operation site, corporal bird-scaring worker Wu Siyu was observing the surroundings vigilantly. Speaking of "running", Wu Siyu was deeply moved. When the new recruits were first assigned to the bird-scaring team, Wu Siyu thought it was an easy job.
On his first day on duty, he felt what it meant to be a "running sentry post" - "Other sentries have to stand or walk, but ours requires running."
Wu Siyu was out of breath after running more than 10 times in the hot sun. After the bird-scare operation, his arms were too tired to lift. Wang Zhi, who was on duty with him, entered the site at 5 a.m. and left at 8 p.m., and he had almost no rest except for eating and going to the toilet.
When he washed up that night, Wu Siyu discovered that his exposed skin had been sunburned and a deep red mark appeared where the butt of the gun was pressed. It was burning painful when it came in contact with water. He couldn't imagine how the squad leader had persisted for so many years.
Unexpectedly, Wu Siyu, who didn't know how to persist, worked for 4 years. The once fair-skinned young man has now become dark and strong, and the mark on his shoulder that is unique to bird scarers has become deeper.
Talking about the transformation, Wu Siyu said with emotion that through repeated warning education, he understood the harm of bird strikes to flight safety, and because of the special geographical location, they had to run to "guard" for the fighter planes to ensure flight safety. After witnessing the squad leader's timely actions to save the day in emergency situations, he understood more the significance of the bird-scaring soldiers' perseverance.
When his service was over, he wrote in his application to stay in the army: "I have found the value of life by 'chasing the wind' on the 'running sentry post' and guarding the safe takeoff and landing of aircraft."
Cui Guangyao, the driver of the bird-scaring vehicle, also ran hard. "Bird-scaring drivers run on two legs, but I have four legs," Cui Guangyao said humorously.
Cui Guangyao drives a pickup truck equipped with a tweeter that can play various bird-repelling sound waves in a loop. Due to the heavy workload, he drives for more than 7 hours a day on average. The longest time he drove was 24 hours in a row, and the bird-repelling worker who partnered with him was Wang Zhi.
During that mission, the two men fought all night long, reminded each other and cooperated tacitly in the intense work, successfully handled the emergency, and fulfilled their combat mission of "never affecting flight safety", for which they were praised by their superiors.
At noon, the sun was blazing. A faint blue smoke came out of the bird-scaring gun in the hand of Tan Yucheng, the deputy squad leader of the bird-scaring squad.
"Bang!" After Tan Yucheng fired a shot to drive away the flying bird, he quickly reloaded the bullet, then put the gun aside and picked up another gun.
"This is a method of changing guns that he figured out on his own." Looking at the scene in front of him, Company Captain Li of the Field Service Company told reporters about the dangerous situation he encountered during a previous bird-scaring mission.
That day, the typhoon had just passed, and there were many more birds than usual. Tan Yucheng ran tirelessly for the whole morning. The continuous firing and the scorching sun made the barrel in Tan Yucheng's hand hot and it exploded unexpectedly. Fortunately, the explosion was at the front end of the barrel, and Tan Yucheng was not injured.
Afterwards, the field service company immediately launched a study on "how to ensure the safe use of guns". Through scientific analysis of the impact of air temperature and number of firings on barrel temperature, combined with the parameters provided by the manufacturer, they researched and formulated the "Detailed Rules for the Use of Bird-Repelling Shotguns".
"I was a little scared at first, but when I thought about my job responsibilities and my mission, I gained a lot of courage and never backed down." Tan Yucheng told reporters that on the basis of strictly implementing regulations, he figured out a method of changing guns - always keeping two guns ready for missions, and changing guns every five rounds, to ensure that the guns had enough cooling time, which greatly improved the safety factor.
After the interview, the reporter was dizzy from the sun, but the bird-scaring soldiers remained highly alert. Wang Zhi said: "Being on the front line of border and coastal defense, fighting the scorching heat and ensuring safety day after day, watching the war eagles take off and land safely, no matter how much we pay, it is worth it."
Looking at their dark faces with a "frosted feel", the lyrics of "Xisha Black" came to the reporter's mind: "Xisha Black, Xisha Black, the unique beauty of the island guards. Serving the country and devoting themselves to the world, this glorious post is worth a thousand golds..."
Source: China Military Network-People's Liberation Army Daily
